A 69-year-old man with dementia died in a care home in Maasmechelen, Limburg, after spending an entire night trapped in a hoist on the toilet.
Istvan Nagy, diagnosed with dementia at a young age, was placed in the care home’s dementia ward in 2021 because his family could no longer provide adequate care.
On 18 July 2023, he was placed on the toilet using a hoist by a nurse and a student worker around 18:30. They left the door open to remind themselves he was there, but became occupied with other patients.
When the nurse and student finished their shifts between 19:30 and 20:00, they noticed the door to his room was closed. Assuming he had been attended to, they left without checking further.
Routine checks on Nagy and other patients scheduled throughout the evening and night were not all completed. He was only discovered the following morning, still on the toilet, deceased.
The forensic pathologist determined he died from a tear in the aorta, a condition he was already at risk for due to pre-existing heart problems. The prolonged physical stress caused by sitting for hours in the hoist may have contributed, though it was noted that the tear could potentially have occurred regardless.
The public prosecutor and the family’s lawyers argued that being left on the toilet led to fatal stress. However, the lawyers representing the four caregivers on duty that day disputed this and called for their clients’ acquittal.
The care home reportedly struggled with chronic staff shortages, according to both the family and some of the defendants. Basic procedures were neglected, and critical equipment, such as an emergency pull cord in the toilet, had been missing for years.
Due to these systemic issues, the interim director and acting head nurse were also charged. In court, the head nurse acknowledged staff shortages but argued that broader structural problems made it difficult to recruit and retain workers. She claimed such challenges were not unique to their care home.
Lawyers for the accused pointed out that other patients at the facility, both before and after the incident, had also been temporarily forgotten on toilets, though not for as long as Nagy.
The public prosecutor requested a six-month suspended prison sentence for six current or former staff members of the care home.
The court’s ruling is expected on 30 October.
