Nursing-home director and caretaker charged for patient’s scalding death
The Central District Prosecutor on Sunday submitted an indictment against the director of the Neot Hasharon nursing home and a former caretaker from the home for negligently causing the death of one of its residents.
Filed in the to the Petah Tikva Magistrates Court, the indictment stated that Avraham Shochet, 49, of Nir Galim, and Napolean Bineh, a 31-year-old Eritrean, negligently caused the death of Miriam Faza.
The indictment stated that Shochet was exclusively responsible for ensuring that Health Ministry regulations were carried out by the nursing home, including making sure that the temperature of any water used could not burn its residents.
Despite his obligations, Shochet did not ensure the use of such mechanisms to protect the residents from high water temperatures. In some cases, the water reached 55 or even 60 degrees Celsius.
He also failed to take alternative safety measures, such as training and performing oversight of the caretakers regarding the water temperature issue.
On January 1, 2013, Bineh brought 86-year-old Faza into the washroom and left her in the shower alone with the hot water running.
When Bineh returned two minutes later from another room, Faza had already been scorched by the hot water at a temperature of 45 degrees Celsius and lost consciousness.
Bineh and emergency paramedics evacuated her and tried to revive her, but she eventually died from her burns.