Former nursing home employee gets 2 years probation in patient's death

Sept. 18--A former nursing home employee was sentenced Monday to two years on probation for neglect of a dependent after an elderly patient who fell and hit her head when she improperly moved the woman.

On the day her jury trial was scheduled to begin in Lake Superior Court, Sonya Denise Johnson, 52, formerly of Gary, submitted a plea agreement in the death of Margaret Engle, 89, who was a patient at St. Anthony Home in 2014.

In court records, Johnson admitted she was employed on July 17, 2014, at the Crown Point nursing and rehabilitation center and was assigned to care for Engle. Between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., Johnson moved Engle improperly using a lift device, which caused the woman to fall and hit her head, court documents said. After the fall, Johnson didn't seek medical help or assistance for the woman, which endangered Engle's life because of her advanced age, lack of mobility and inability to speak, documents said. Court records indicate the facility required two people when using the lift device.

One of Engle's eight children, Annette Engle, said her mother was "our center, our focus, our sun."

"We have reconciled ourselves that there was no intent to cause the injury to our mother," Engle said during a victim impact statement.

Court records indicate that around 3:45 a.m. the following day, a certified nursing assistant found the injuries to Engle, who was unresponsive and had a deep laceration to her head behind her ear. Engle was transported to the emergency room. Medical personnel determined Engle sustained a blood clot on her brain and died about two weeks later, documents said.

The case against Johnson, who faced three to 16 years on the most serious of the neglect charges, had been set for trial and potential jurors waited while both sides worked out details of the plea agreement.

Johnson, who now lives in Muncie, was convicted of a felony neglect charge, but if she has no violations while on probation, she can ask the judge to reduce her conviction to a misdemeanor.

Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

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