ATTLEBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - A local family is demanding answers after they say their mother was badly hurt after she was admitted to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro.
During a four day hospital stay, Carol Smith’s daughters say someone at the hospital beat her and left her with a broken nose, a swollen eye, multiple fractures to her skull and bruises on her cheek and ear.
“When I got to the hospital my mother said, ‘She beat me! She beat me! Look what she did she beat me,” said Jennifer Shannon.
The daughters say their 77-year-old mother fell at home while suffering from vision problems in late July and the emergency bracelet she was wearing alerted medics.
Shannon and her sister, Terrie Jordan, say Smith was admitted to the hospital without a scratch on a Friday but by Monday, she was bloodied and bruised.
“Sturdy Medical saying first she was combative and got into an altercation with a nurse then a day or two later changing the story to she hit a wheelchair. Fell and hit a wheelchair,” Jordan said.
Later in the day on Monday, the daughters say Smith suffered a brain bleed. She was transferred to a Boston hospital but did not survive.
Attleboro police say they took a report about Smith’s death and the Bristol County District Attorney’s office says it is investigating the family’s claims.
7NEWS reached out to Sturdy Memorial Hospital about the allegations and was told, “due to HIPAA regulations and patient privacy, we are unable to speak on this matter.”
In the meantime, Shannon and Jordan say they cannot begin the grieving process until they know what happened to their loved one.
“It’s hard when I close my eyes … because when I close my eyes that’s the face I see … that’s the face I’m gonna remember and she looked so scared,” Jordan said through tears.
Smith also suffered a brutal beating back in 2009. She had to undergo brain surgery after the fact.
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