The family of Alvera Meuti, an 84-year-old resident at the Avenue at Warrensville Care and Rehabilitation Center in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging negligence after she froze to death outside the facility on December 24, 2024. She went missing from her room the previous evening, and staff failed to report or search for her adequately despite required regular checks.​
Timeline of Events
Nurse Amber Henderson checked Meuti’s room at 9:30 p.m. on December 23 but took no action when she was absent, later calling the family around 12:36 a.m. without follow-up. A “Code Purple” was not called until 6:30 a.m. the next day, when Meuti was found unresponsive on a patio near an allegedly unsecured exit door that locked behind her, leading to her death from hypothermia. She had multiple health issues requiring frequent monitoring and had been at the facility since December 18 for physical therapy.​
Legal Actions
Henderson, a defendant alongside facility owners, was indicted last March on involuntary manslaughter and patient neglect charges, arrested January 16, 2025, and pleaded not guilty; her next court date was January 27. Her attorney maintains she did nothing wrong and plans a vigorous defense. The lawsuit claims inadequate staffing, unsecured doors lacking alarms, and failure to protect vulnerable residents.
