He slowly suffocated in a senior living facility. Why did no one help?

Senior living neglect death: Why did no one help? 

An elderly resident died at Meadow Ridge Senior Living in Golden Valley after he slowly fell off his electric scooter and suffocated with his neck pinned against the wall, according to an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - An elderly resident died at Meadow Ridge Senior Living in Golden Valley after he slowly fell off his electric scooter and suffocated with his neck pinned against the wall, according to an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health. 

The facility was cited for neglect and fined $5,000 because staff "watched idly" and failed to render any assistance after they were instructed to "not touch a resident after a fall." 

 ‘He was not given any chance to live at all by this facility’ 

What we know:

 Larry Thompson was a known fall risk. The 79-year-old grandfather and Vietnam War veteran suffered from vertigo, obesity and arthritis. He also had a documented history of falls, according to the MDH report.

But the state found there were no licensed nurses in the Meadow Ridge dining room when Thompson tried to maneuver himself from a table to his electric scooter on March 30.

Surveillance video reviewed by the FOX 9 Investigators details roughly 13 minutes where Thompson lost balance on the scooter seat, teetered back and forth and fell over.

With his neck pinned against the wall, Thompson struggled to breathe as nearby staff workers failed to provide any assistance. 

Thompson died from positional asphyxiation, according to state records. 

"He did not die peacefully," said Thompson’s daughter, Adrienne Sloan. "He died knowing he was suffocating. He died knowing that nobody was coming to his aid and that he was by himself." 

One staff worker – identified in police records as Angela Ramnarine –  watched "idly" and failed to provide any assistance to Thompson before eventually calling 911. The video shows her standing in the way of other workers who appeared to want to help.

"To not even try and render any type of aid, to move the scooter… check a pulse, he was completely dismissed," Sloan said.

Ramnarine did not respond to phone calls and messages for comment. 

How a 'no touch' policy led to neglect and death in Minnesota senior living facility 

The state’s investigation found both Ramnarine and Meadow Ridge were "responsible for the maltreatment" and criticized the facility’s fall policy, which directed staff to call 911 and to "not touch a resident after a fall." 

The first time anyone was allowed to help Thompson was when first responders arrived on scene, according to body camera video obtained by the FOX 9 Investigators. At that point, Thompson had already stopped breathing and could not be resuscitated. 

The other side:

Meadow Ridge Senior Living’s executive director, Alex Ferrell refused to participate in an interview, and said in a brief email: "We have no comment." 

What they're saying:

Minnesota’s state long-term care ombudsman Cheryl Hennen criticized ‘no touch’ policies like the one at Meadow Ridge. 

"Facilities that have no touch, no lift policies in place create serious risks for individuals," Hennen told the FOX 9 Investigators in a recent interview. "This life could have been saved – this didn’t have to happen." 

As for Thompson’s daughter, she "never thought in a million years" that a policy like that would be in place at the assisted living facility she entrusted with her father’s care. 

"I don’t care about a policy, it’s what you do as a human being to try to save somebody," Sloan said. "That facility, the owners, and that woman, I hold them all accountable."