‘They stripped her of her humanity’: Former nurse dies in assisted living facility after being left unattended for 6 hours

OREM, Utah (ABC4) — A former nurse, and dementia patient, died after falling down a flight of stairs at an Orem senior living facility last year. Now, her kids are fighting for justice for their mom.

A lawsuit filed late last year argues that on Jan. 21, 2024, Ruth Ditty, a resident of Covington Senior Living, suffered a fall in an unsecured stairwell. Ditty, who had shown extensive signs of early-stage dementia, was left with severe head and shoulder injuries from the fall.

The lawsuit also alleges that she was left in the stairwell for six hours after the fall until a family member visiting another resident, found her.

“Believe it or not, rather than calling 911 or taking her to the emergency room, they just put her back in bed,” said Barry Toone, an attorney working with the Utah Senior Justice Project. Toone is one of the attorneys representing the Ditty family.

“I kept asking, why wasn’t she taken to the hospital?” said Scott Ditty, Ruth’s son.

According to attorneys representing the Ditty family, Covington staff then gave Ruth morphine to treat the pain, despite the fact that she was allergic to morphine.

Two days after the fall, Ruth Ditty passed away from her injuries, the lawsuit says.

“We were still trying to get to the bottom of things, and we still just couldn’t get any answers,” Scott Ditty told ABC4.com.

According to the Ditty family, Covington staff discouraged them from putting Ruth into memory care. Instead, they were pushed to pay $440 per month more for two-hour wellness checks.

“When she fell, she was laying at the bottom of the stairs for six hours. That’s three wellness checks that were not done,” Ditty said. “They stripped her of her right to live. They stripped her of her humanity.”

ABC4 reached out to Covington Senior Living for comment and received the following response:

“Ms. Ditty was a beloved member of the Covington Senior Living community, and our condolences go out to her family. Covington cannot comment further. This case is in litigation and needs to proceed through the court process, not the media.”

Scott Ditty says he doesn’t blame the workers for his mother’s death, but rather a poor system that is not conducive to proper care for the elderly.

Ditty says his mom was a widely respected nurse who always prided herself on her professionalism.

“In previous years when I would visit my hometown, really before anybody would say ‘hi’ to me, it was ‘how’s your mom?'” Ditty told ABC4.com. “Yes, we want justice for my mom, but what my mom would want is change.”

Toone says the case was filed in November of 2024 and is currently in the discovery phase of litigation.