75-year-old’s broken heel turns into amputated leg after nursing home refuses to remove ‘immobilizing ankle boot’ from foot after being told to take it off:

A Kentucky woman admitted to a nursing home for short-term rehabilitation after an ankle fracture ended up losing part of her left leg, a lawsuit claims, alleging staff failed to follow her orthopedic surgeon’s orders.

Brenda Roberts, 75, of Williamstown, was at Coldspring Transitional Care Center in Campbell County when staff allegedly neglected to remove her immobilizing ankle boot while she was resting in bed or sitting in a chair. According to the legal complaint, this caused her left heel to press against the hard plastic surfaces of the boot.

The lawsuit states that the prolonged pressure led to skin breakdown, a stage 4 ulcer, and “accelerated deterioration of her health,” ultimately necessitating an amputation below the knee.

“No one expects a routine rehabilitation stay to end in a catastrophic injury and an amputation,” said Roberts’ attorney, Matt Mooney. He added that such preventable harm often results from understaffing and inadequate care.

During her stay, Roberts allegedly watched as “the full thickness of skin and tissue over her heel bone” died due to excessive pressure from the boot, the complaint says. Mooney described this as a clear violation of her doctor’s orders and basic safety practices.

The lawsuit alleges that Roberts suffered “unnecessary loss of personal dignity, extreme pain and suffering, degradation, mental anguish, disability, disfigurement” caused by the nursing home’s actions. Mooney emphasized that families trust short-term rehab facilities to help their loved ones recover, not to worsen their condition.

“I felt neglected there,” Roberts told WCPO, a local ABC affiliate. “I didn’t have anyone really coming to look at my foot.”

Coldspring Transitional Care Center did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday.

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