BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz wants to make sure families find out more quickly when a loved one is hurt in a nursing home.
He announced Friday he's introducing "Ruthie's Law" named after Ruth Murray.
Murray died a few days after a fight with another resident at Emerald South Nursing Home last August, and Poloncarz says staff there didn't communicate to the family just how serious her injuries were.
Ruthie's law would require nursing homes to let residents' guardians know within one hour when they've determined if the injuries are bad enough to require hospitalization.
"No family should ever be deceived by a nursing home about their loved one's condition," Poloncarz said. "Ruth's family should not have been deceived by the facility, for them to assume that she just had some minor cuts, bruises and lacerations."
Poloncarz and Assemblyman Sean Ryan also want the maximum fine for nursing home offenses raised from $10 thousand dollars to $40 thousand.
.@markpoloncarz wants new law requiring nursing homes to report incidents after 2016 fatal assault on Ruth Murray. pic.twitter.com/x7p0T22dsi
— Steve Brown (@WGRZ_SteveBrown) March 24, 2017