Family of former Steelers lineman files wrongful death suit against McKeesport nursing home
The family of a former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman is suing a McKeesport nursing home, alleging negligence and wrongful death.
Samuel R. Davis was 75 when he died on Sept. 10, 2019. His body was found at the bottom of a set of private stairs at New Life Personal Care Home. He moved there in 2000.
Davis played guard for the Steelers’ Super Bowl teams in the 1970s and was a team captain. He was with the team for 15 years and retired in 1982.
The suit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court was filed this week by Davis’ children, Samantha, Dorothy, Ruel, Tammi and Vanessa Davis.
Jim Cole, the manager at the facility, said Friday morning he had not seen the lawsuit.
“All I know is he had a heart attack,” Cole said. “That’s what’s on the death certificate.”
According to the complaint, Davis sustained a significant head injury in 1991 that worsened over time, causing memory impairment, declining cognitive abilities, seizures, occipital lobe blindness, as well as personality changes, slowed speech and gait.
By 1994, the lawsuit continued, Davis was diagnosed with dementia.
He moved in to New Life in the spring of 2000.
According to the lawsuit, Davis’ ability to walk and vision had declined significantly over time, but the nursing home still allowed him to reside on the second floor of the facility with access to a private staircase that led to an outside exit.
The morning of his death, the complaint said, Davis did not appear for breakfast, and staff began to search for him.
By 8 a.m., it continued, they called police, who also began to look for him.
About 8:30 p.m. — 14 hours after he went missing — Davis was found dead at the bottom of the private staircase.
“During the entire 14-hour time that Sam was missing, the defendant facility failed to discover Sam’s body in this stairwell,” the lawsuit said.
The complaint contends that Davis was alive and could have been saved after the fall were it not for the delay in finding him.
The family alleges negligence in where the nursing home placed Davis in the residence, in failing to block off the stairwell, and for failing to do an adequate search for him.
The suit, too, seeks damages under the Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Act for funeral expenses and loss of companionship.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2019 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of “Death by Cyanide.” She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
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