ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A lawsuit has now been filed over the death of an Anderson Township nursing home patient whose death was changed from natural causes to homicide by the Hamilton County Coroner.
The family of Robert Meyer claims the Forest Hills Healthcare Center, along with several other people and healthcare companies, failed to investigate and report the injuries he had.
It's a story our I-Team covered in January. The lawsuit claims Meyer was discharged from Mercy Health Anderson Hospital on Sept. 1, 2025, with no injuries documented on his neck or chest.
However, it claims that about 15 minutes later, Meyer arrived at the nursing home with a bruise on his neck. Meyer's family alleges that there was no investigation or report made to authorities.
Meyer died five days later after being transferred to a hospice facility in Blue Ash.
WATCH: Hear why the attorney representing Meyer's family believes the nursing home and others were negligent with his care
Jeff Heller, the attorney representing Meyer's family, said the medical care providers involved were negligent in their care.
"They had their father, brother admitted to this facility to be taken care of the right way, and he was taken care of the wrong way," Heller said.
On Sept. 11, Hospice of Cincinnati’s medical director signed a death certificate saying Meyer died of “protein-calorie malnutrition,” a natural cause.
No autopsy was conducted because the original death certificate said Meyer died of natural causes. However, as his funeral approached, his daughter raised concerns about his care at Forest Hills.
That led to Meyer’s disinterment, a Sept. 22 autopsy and a revised death certificate that listed “physical elder abuse” as the immediate cause of death and homicide as the manner of death. The autopsy also documented injuries to Meyer's neck and rib cage.
The lawsuit claims Meyer experienced six weeks of neglect at the nursing home. It says he became severely malnourished and had chronic pain that wasn't managed properly. According to the lawsuit, the nursing home staff dismissed his cries for help.
"I have never seen abuse like this before," Heller said.
In the five weeks leading up to his death, Hamilton County records show Meyer made four 911 calls, complaining about changes to his medication and pain in his arms, hips and legs.
He did not allege that he was being abused and had trouble remembering his room number and the name of his nursing home, audio files show.
Heller claims that because Meyer was buried without an autopsy, police could not identify who caused his injuries. Heller said that's what led the coroner to amend Meyer's cause of death to "undetermined" in March.
Heller said that was a result of the nursing home, hospice and funeral home failing to report Meyer's injuries.
"It's horrible to think a family would have to have a loved one dug up from the grave just to find out what happened," Heller said.
We reached out to CommuniCare, the company that operates the nursing home. A spokesperson for the company sent the following statement:
While we cannot comment on or discuss many of the specifics of this matter due to HIPAA privacy requirements and our obligation to protect resident information, we can state unequivocally that Forest Hills and its dedicated caregivers strongly deny allegations of abuse or neglect.
There is no evidence that the committed and compassionate caregivers of Forest Hills abused or neglected this resident. We remain confident that when all of the facts and evidence are presented in the appropriate legal forum, they will demonstrate that the allegations against our caregivers are unfounded.
We believe this lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt by opportunistic attorneys and inattentive family members to obtain a financial payday through sensational allegations rather than facts. While we look forward to the truth being revealed through the judicial process, we are also strongly evaluating defamation suit, against those who have made or disseminated false and damaging accusations.
We welcome the opportunity for the evidence to be reviewed in court and believe the judicial process will provide a complete and accurate account of the circumstances. Our staff members devote themselves every day to the care, dignity, and well-being of residents, and we stand behind their professionalism and dedication.
Because this matter is currently the subject of litigation, we will continue to address the allegations through the legal process rather than through public speculation. Forest Hills reserves all rights regarding statements that may be false, misleading, or defamatory and will pursue appropriate legal remedies where warranted.
Our focus remains on providing quality care to our residents and supporting the caregivers who work tirelessly on their behalf every day. We are confident that the facts will ultimately confirm what we have maintained from the beginning: there was no abuse or neglect by the caregivers of Forest Hills.
"It is abhorrent for a facility like this to try to push the blame back onto this family and say they were inattentive when this family was paying this facility, paying them, to care for this man," Heller said.
We reached out to others listed in the lawsuit, including Hospice of Cincinnati and the funeral home, but did not hear back.
We also reached out to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office to learn the latest on its investigation. We did not hear back before this story aired.
Heller said Meyer's family wants those responsible to be held accountable.
"We don't want this to ever happen to anyone else again," Heller said.
