A New York nursing home was fined $10,000 by the state health department for delayed reporting and destroying potential evidence of a sexual assault between residents, according to The Buffalo News.
Gowanda (N.Y.) Rehabilitation and Nursing Center was fined Oct. 15 for multiple deficiencies found in an investigation of a May 29 sexual assault, according to the state health department's website.
The facility waited more than six hours to tell police about the assault of an 88-year-old resident by another resident. A staff member checked on the victim after the assault and said there wasn't any evidence of the attack. A few hours later, another employee washed the woman and changed her underwear.
More than five hours after the attack, a physician assistant determined the woman had been sexually assaulted and sent her to the hospital to be evaluated. The nursing home contacted police about 25 minutes later.
In September, the woman's daughter filed a civil suit against the nursing home and its owners, Tarrytown, N.Y.-based Personal Healthcare and Ephraim B. Zagelbaum. The nursing home and its owners denied responsibility in court Nov. 4.
The Buffalo News was unable to reach the attorney representing the nursing home and its owners Dec. 2 for comment.