A Louisiana nursing assistant killed a patient while attempting to operate a hydraulic lift “by herself” to move the person from a chair to her bed, according to state prosecutors. The patient allegedly “slipped out the side of the sling, landing on the feet of the lift,” which caused blunt force injuries, the state’s attorney general says.

“These cases are very difficult,” explained State Attorney General Liz Murrill in a statement last week while announcing the indictment of Diamond Johnson, a former certified nursing assistant at the Jefferson Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Baton Rouge.

These events underscore the critical importance of proper training and support in healthcare settings, as well as the devastating consequences that can arise when protocols are not strictly adhered to.

“She operated a hydraulic lift by herself,” a press release from Murrill’s office says. “Johnson used the lift to move the patient from a chair to her bed,” it alleges. “During the lift process the patient slipped out the side of the sling, landing on the feet of the lift. The patient became unresponsive approximately 40 minutes after the fall. Resuscitation efforts of the patient were unsuccessful.”

An autopsy was conducted after the incident and the medical examiner determined that the patient “passed away from complications of blunt force injuries due to fall from a patient lift at the nursing home,” per Murrill’s office.

A grand jury proceeding took place on Oct. 2, in which criminality and charges were weighed. It resulted in an indictment of Johnson and she was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

Murrill’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit probed the former nursing assistant and the alleged homicide.

“My job as attorney general is to protect the citizens of this state; especially those who can’t protect themselves,” Murrill said in her statement. “As to the facts of this case, the grand jury felt, as we did, that Ms. Johnson was negligent in the care she provided to the victim, who unfortunately lost her life as a result of that negligence.”

Jefferson Manor describes itself online as a facility that is “passionate about its mission to improve quality of life” for its residents.

“We believe that all our residents deserve to be treated with respect and dignity,” a description says on its website. “Jefferson Manor realizes that each of our residents has individual needs and we specialize in providing the care necessary to fulfill these needs.”

The center did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment on Monday.