Woman, 78, died after choking on meatball at Las Vegas assisted-living facility, lawsuit says

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The family of a 78-year-old woman who died after choking on a meatball at an assisted-living facility has filed a lawsuit, claiming staff did not perform CPR before she died, documents said.

Sue Kaveh, 78, who was living with Parkinson’s disease and dementia, died from asphyxia and choking in June 2022, the lawsuit said.

Silverado Ranch Memory Care operates a group home for elderly people living with Alzheimer’s and other memory disorders, state records said. The home is located near Pebble and Bermuda roads.

The 10-bed facility had no violations listed in state records through 2019 and was listed as active as of Wednesday.

On June 10, 2022, Kaveh choked on her food while eating dinner, the lawsuit said. While choking, facility staff “failed to provide adequate care, Heimlich, CPR, finger sweep, or any other basic life-saving measures,” the lawsuit said.

Lawyers for Kaveh’s family allege no employee performed CPR even after a 911 operator provided instructions, documents said.

When paramedics arrived about 10 minutes after Kaveh started choking, they were able to remove the meatball with a “finger sweep,” documents said. At that point, Kaveh had gone into cardiac arrest, the lawsuit said.

Kaveh died shortly afterward, the lawsuit said.

A website for an assisted-living business with the same address as Silverado Ranch Memory Care, but listed as a different provider name, states, “We specialize in providing a compassionate level of care for elderly with physical and Dementia, Parkinson or Alzheimer’s in a home environment,” the lawsuit said.

“Defendants owed Ms. Kaveh a duty of care to comply with the minimum standards of care and practice established in the community for residential group homes,” lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.

The wrongful death lawsuit seeks damages of more than $15,000 in a jury trial, which is standard in state civil court cases.

Lawyers for the family did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. A representative for Silverado Ranch Memory Care could not be reached Wednesday.

Kaveh’s manner of death was listed as accidental, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

A file photo is represented in this article.