Robert Meyer arrived at Forest Hills Healthcare Center in Anderson Township about 15 minutes after being discharged from Mercy Health Anderson Hospital on September 1, 2025, with a bruise on his neck. Five days later, he was dead. What followed was a year of shifting medical paperwork, a disinterred body, and now a wrongful death lawsuit accusing a nursing home, a hospice provider and a funeral home of failing to investigate or report his injuries before he was buried.
A Bruise Noticed, Then Buried With Him
According to WCPO 9 Cincinnati, Mercy Health Anderson Hospital documented no injuries on Meyer's neck or chest at the time of his discharge. Meyer, who reportedly had trouble remembering his own room number and the name of his nursing home, was later transferred to a hospice facility in Blue Ash before he died. His death certificate initially listed protein-calorie malnutrition as the cause of death, and the medical director at Hospice of Cincinnati signed that certificate on September 11, 2025.
An autopsy was conducted on September 22, 2025, but it wasn't until Meyer's daughter, Tammy Maham, pushed back against what the station's report describes as repeated dismissals from nursing home, hospice and funeral home staff that the case moved forward. Maham took timestamped photographs showing finger-like blue and black marks on her father's neck directly to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, according to a statement from law firm Nurenberg Paris. Those photos prompted the coroner to order Meyer's exhumation and open a criminal investigation, the firm says.
Homicide Ruling Followed Exhumation
Meyer was disinterred after his daughter raised concerns about his care, per the same account, and a follow-up autopsy documented injuries to his neck and rib cage. The Hamilton County Coroner ultimately changed Meyer's cause of death classification from natural causes to homicide. Attorney Jeff Heller, who is representing Meyer's family, said the coroner had amended the cause of death to undetermined in March before the classification was later revised further, this time listing physical elder abuse as the immediate cause of death and homicide as the manner of death.
Nurenberg Paris, whose account provides the forensic detail behind that reclassification, reports that the autopsy following exhumation documented severe neck contusions with internal spinal bleeding, a fractured sternum, multiple bilateral rib fractures, and severe protein-calorie malnutrition. The coroner noted that the physical injuries appeared less than 24 hours after Meyer was discharged from the hospital with no recorded injuries, the firm's account states.
Lawsuit Details Weeks of Alleged Neglect
The lawsuit names Forest Hills Healthcare Center, its parent company CommuniCare Health Services, the Margret J. Thomas Inpatient Care Center, E.C. Nurre Funeral Home, treating physicians and a medical transport company as co-defendants, according to Nurenberg Paris. Heller told WCPO the medical care providers involved were negligent in Meyer's care and said he had never seen abuse like this before.
The suit claims Meyer experienced six weeks of neglect at Forest Hills, that his chronic pain was not properly managed, and that staff dismissed his cries for help as he became severely malnourished. During that stretch, Meyer made four 911 calls in the five weeks before his death, complaining about medication changes and pain in his arms, hips and legs, though he did not allege that he was being abused, per WCPO's reporting. Meyer's family alleges no investigation or report was ever made to authorities about the neck bruise staff noticed on his arrival.
Attorney Says Burial Delayed Answers
Heller claims that Meyer's burial without an initial autopsy prevented police from identifying who caused his injuries, and he attributed the amended death classification to failures by the nursing home, hospice and funeral home to report Meyer's injuries in the first place. Under Ohio Revised Code § 3721.22, licensed health professionals and nursing home staff who suspect a resident is being abused or neglected are legally required to report that suspicion to the Ohio Department of Health. A separate statute, Ohio Revised Code § 5101.63, requires healthcare providers and nursing facility personnel to report suspected adult abuse or neglect to county adult protective services, and mandatory reporters who fail to do so may face potential criminal charges or fines of up to $500, per the Ohio Department of Aging.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, its Abuse, Neglect, Misappropriation, and Exploitation Program investigates allegations of abuse, neglect, misappropriation and exploitation. The Ohio Department of Health says its complaint process is intended to protect patients and residents from abuse, neglect, exploitation and inadequate care or supervision.
Heller said Meyer's family does not want this to happen to anyone else again, and that they want those responsible held accountable. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office did not respond to WCPO's request for an update on its investigation, and Hospice of Cincinnati and the funeral home did not respond to the station's requests for comment.
CommuniCare Pushes Back, Threatens Defamation Claim
A CommuniCare spokesperson told WCPO there is no evidence Forest Hills caregivers abused or neglected Meyer and that the allegations against them are unfounded. Forest Hills Healthcare Center denies allegations of abuse or neglect, according to the same spokesperson.
CommuniCare Health Services, headquartered in the Cincinnati suburb of Blue Ash, was founded in 1984 and operates more than 80 locations, according to Marit Health. Forest Hills Healthcare Center has 138 beds.
A Facility With a History of Citations and Lawsuits
State inspection records show the facility was cited in 2023 for failing to investigate allegations of physical abuse and failing to report those allegations to state officials in a timely manner. The facility has also drawn scrutiny over its regulatory record, according to The Dickson Firm.
Meyer's family's case will test whether the facility's internal reporting practices meet the standards required under Ohio law.
