WINONA LAKE – A family filed a complaint against Grace Village Health Care Facility, Winona Lake, claiming wrongful death.

The complaint with the Indiana Department of Insurance in May concerns the Feb. 13, 2016, death of Marolyn Bills, 84.

The complaint was filed by Jacqueline Ushaw, the representative of Bills’ estate.

The circumstances surrounding her death are “disturbingly suspicious and lacking in detail,” according to the complaint.

The complaint asks for “reasonable compensatory damages, as allowed under Indiana Law, plus attorney fees and costs.” The amount of money is unspecifed.

The complaint alleges that on Feb. 11 2016, a nurse took Bills to use the restroom where Bills became unresponsive. She also had a bump on her head and a bruise above the right eye.

There was no documentation of any alarm activated,  the complaint contends.

Bills was transferred to Kosciusko Community Hospital for treatment.

The staff reportedly told the emergency room nurse that Bills did not fall; and in response to questions about the bruising, a staff member said, “I don’t know, it just happened there.”

Bills’ family contends the injuries were not there in the morning when they visited her.

The doctors also noticed other bruises and injuries that appeared new.

The nursing home staff was questioned about some of Bills’ injuries and said they were not sure how they happened, the complaint states.

Bills was flown to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne where she died.

The cause of death was “subdural hermatomal” that occurred when she fell, striking her head.

The nurse said Bills was sitting on the edge of her bed when the nurse found her on?Feb. 11.

The suit alleges that Bills was high fall risk when she was admitted into Grace  Village on Dec. 30, 2015.

The suit contends that Bills fell at least 15 times while she was a resident at Grace.

Grace failed to act in a timely matter and it took 11 falls for staff to put Bills on a high-risk plan, the complaint states.

The high-risk fall plan was put in to place on Jan. 13, 2016, the compliant states.

The complaint alleges the family requested Bills be put on a high fall risk plan from the day she became a resident.

The complaint alleges that staff failed to act in a timely matter and did not respond or care for Bills.

“The defendants failed to comply with state and federal regulations, and in doing so failed to meet the applicable standard of care required under the circumstances,” the complaint states.

In addition to Grace Village, National Fellowship Brethren Retirement Homes Inc., Woodlawn Hospital and Jeff Carroll, CEO of Grace Village, are named as being responsible for Bills’ death  in the complaint.

Grace Village did not return multiple calls regarding the case.

The next step for the case is for a medical review panel to hear the facts, said Doug Webber, chief of staff at the Indiana Department of Insurance.

Webber said the plaintiff doesn’t have to file the complaint in court until the medical review panel makes its decision.

Filing with the IDOI stops the clock on the statue of limitations, he said.