Beaver County has settled a lawsuit brought by the bother of an Ambridge man who died at a county-owned nursing facility, according to federal court documents.
Lawyers for both sides and the Beaver County solicitor couldn't be reached for comment. U.S. District Judge Terrence McVerry on Tuesday approved a joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Sean Yocum of Moon claimed that the staff at Friendship Ridge knew Lance Yocum, 40, of Ambridge needed a CPAP breathing mask when he was involuntarily committed to the facility on April 29, 2011. Despite that, they didn't send him to the hospital after realizing that they had inadvertently given him medications that reduced his breathing ability, the lawsuit says.
Yocum died in his sleep on April 30, 2011, the lawsuit said.
The county, the facility's operator Premier Health Resources Inc. and six staff members deny liability in a redacted copy of the settlement filed with the court. The amount of the settlement is blacked out in the document.
