Family files wrongful death suit against Dearborn's Henry Ford Village nursing home

Kerfoot Lewis dies after suffering mysterious broken arm at Henry Ford Village nursing home; family seeks answers

DEARBORN, Mich. – Kerfoot Lewis was a strapping, vital man who ran his Detroit restaurant for decades.

He was the father of Detroit Deputy Mayor Kirk Lewis and has other well-known adult children in Metro Detroit, such as Krista Conyers.

"He should be here and there is no reason, whatsoever, other than Henry Ford's negligence, that he's not here today," Conyers said.

This past April, Lewis' family got a call from Dearborn's Henry Ford Village, a nursing home where he was staying, saying his arm was bruised. The family rushed to the home where they found Kerfoot in terrible pain with a massive hematoma to his arm and contusions to both wrists.

The family insisted he be taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken arm. Kerfoot had dementia and also was bedridden. How did the injury happen? The family still wonders.

Two months later, he died. He never recovered from the arm injury. Since June, the family says they have tried to get answers from Henry Ford Village. They say they have gotten nowhere with the staff. They have retained attorney Norman Yatooma who has filed a wrongful death lawsuit this week.

"We only did because we couldn't get them to open their doors, open their files or open their mouths," said Conyers.

While all of the Lewis children have shed tears over this, Conyers feels the worst. She was the one who urged her parents to move to the nursing home in the first place.

Local 4 spoke with the administration at Henry Ford Village. They said they have not seen the lawsuit but would have their attorneys get back with Local 4 once they had a chance to review the claims. When Lewis was first injured, the nursing home told Local 4 an investigation into the injury was ongoing.


About the Author: