Adam and Johannes Megens sue Weary Dunlop Retirement Village, Wheelers Hill after death of Lena Megens

A dying great-grandfather is suing an aged care operator over the death of his wife after an incident at a Wheelers Hill retirement home.

92-year-old Lena Megens died four dayys after a fall at Weary Dunlop Retirement Village in Wheelers Hill. Her grandson Adam Megens and her husband Johannes are suing the village’s head company Ryman Healthcare.

A dying great grandfather is suing a major nursing home operator after his elderly wife suffered catastrophic brain injuries at one of its facilities in Melbourne.

It’s alleged staff left 92-year-old Lena Megens “unsupervised” before she was injured at Weary Dunlop Retirement Village in Wheelers Hill.

The Coroner’s Court of Victoria has confirmed Mrs Megens’ death at the Ryman Healthcare facility is being investigated but an inquest date is yet to be determined.

Mrs Megens’ family say there was a three-hour delay between her accidently falling over and being taken to hospital.

In documents filed with the County Court, it’s also alleged the village failed to provide proper staffing numbers in the dementia care unit; Mrs Megens was at times not given painkillers for a fractured pelvis; she was at times not unshowered; and her teeth “were not brushed for a month”.

Ryman has strenuously denied the claims, saying the village staff did everything they could for Mrs Megens.

“Her carers immediately came to her aid. A registered nurse checked her vital signs, which were normal,” a spokesman said.

Adam and Johannes Megens are suing the Ryman Healthcare after Lena Megens was critically injured in a fall at Weary Dunlop Retirement Village in Wheelers Hill. Picture: Wayne Taylor.

The great grandmother’s husband Johannes (John) Megens is 92 and in the terminal phase of a cancer battle with just three or so months left to live.

He and his grandson Adam are suing Ryman, with the elder complainant desperate for a speedy outcome due to his health.

Johannes Megens said village employees were good care providers, but they were “overworked” due to the facility being “extremely understaffed”.

Mrs Megens was in the village’s dementia care section at 2.45pm on April 12, 2022 when she was “left alone”, the legal document says.

Mrs Megens tried to get out of her chair, but lost her balance and fell.

Lena Megens was married too Johannes Megens for almost 70 years.

Within hours she was vomiting and had passed out.

She died four days later on April 16 at At Monash Medical Centre.

In their claim, the Megens allege – from February of 2022 until her death – she needed “constant supervision” but she was left alone at times.

They also say the business failed to properly chart and administer pain relieving medication; and it allegedly charged for services which were not performed or were inadequate.

Mrs Megens had only been living in the dementia unit for about eight weeks, but she and her husband had lived in the independent living section of Weary Dunlop for three years. Her husband still lives there.

“The information we got from them (Weary Dunlop) was she was left unsupervised because the person who was supervising the area had to leave to tend to someone else,” Adam Megens said.

“The village was well aware she needed to be supervised all the times when she was on the move as she was unstable.

“When I spoke to them they mentioned nothing about her having hit her head – they said she had a fall and she was fine.

“If they had of told my grandfather she was injured he would have been able to see her while she was conscious and been able to say goodbye.”

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The spokesman for Ryman said Mrs Megens “had no apparent injury to her head” and she was conscious and alert.

He said: “her care team kept her under constant supervision”.

Johannes Megens said he had emotional trauma as a result of his wife’s death and the impending legal case.

“I think on this all day - I cannot sleep,” he said.

“I am mainly worried this could happen to other people – still the same things are going on there. Nothing’s changed.”

Johannes has a voluntary assisted dying decision in place and says he is holding off using it until they reach a settlement.

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The Ryman spokesman said on the day of the accident there were 10 residents in the unit, which was staffed by three personal carers, a registered nurse and a unit coordinator.

He said staff did everything “reasonably be expected of them” to care for Mrs Megens.

Weary Dunlop Retirement Village is one of seven owned by Ryman Healthcare.

“Lena’s care team kept her under constant supervision and registered nurses immediately performed regular neurological and vital sign observations,” he said.

“They contacted Lena’s GP to inform him of the fall.

“The GP advised the care team to carry our neuro-observations hourly, to contact a locum doctor to visit Lena and check on her condition, and to call an ambulance if her condition deteriorated.

“The care team called Lena’s daughter ... who was supportive of the advice provided by the GP.”

Weary Dunlop provided more than 230 minutes of care per resident per day, exceeding the government-mandated requirement of 200 minutes, the spokesman said.

Ryman operates 45 retirement villages across NZ and Australia, with seven

facilities in Victoria where its facilities are often named after famous people, including surgeon and prisoner of war Weary Dunlop, Olympian Raelene Boyle and television star Bert Newton.

“The Court cannot confirm an inquest will be held until hearing dates are scheduled and all interested parties notified,” a Coroner’s Court spokeswoman said.

“At this stage, no hearing dates have been scheduled for this investigation.”