Former resident sues The Cottages at Texarkana over broken kneecap, pressure wound

TEXARKANA, Ark. – A former resident of The Cottages at Texarkana nursing home is suing the facility’s owners and administrator, alleging staff broke her kneecap while moving her from her bed to her wheelchair and that the injury led to a deep pressure wound on her heel.

Barbara Hawkins filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Miller County Circuit Court against Texarkana SNF Operations LLC, which does business as The Cottages at Texarkana at 4701 Jefferson Ave.; Texarkana Assets LLC, which owns the building; Southern Administrative Services LLC, which manages the facility; and administrator Shelia Milam.

Hawkins, who is in her late 60s, is paraplegic from an earlier spinal fracture and cannot move or feel her legs, according to the complaint. She lived at The Cottages from October 2024 until July 2025.

On Dec. 18, 2024, certified nursing assistants were transferring Hawkins between her bed and wheelchair when her foot became caught in the chair, the complaint says. One or more of the aides then “forcefully jerked and twisted” her, causing immediate pain in her right leg and knee, according to the lawsuit.

An X-ray the next day showed a displaced fracture of her right kneecap, the complaint says. She was taken by ambulance to Christus St. Michael Health System in Texarkana, Texas, where she was hospitalized for eight days.

Because of her poor bone quality and other health problems, surgeons treated the fracture with a leg immobilizer and brace rather than surgery, according to the complaint. She was sent back to the nursing home Dec. 27, 2024.

The lawsuit says the brace then caused a Stage 4 pressure injury to her right Achilles tendon, the most severe category of bedsore, leaving the tendon exposed and requiring ongoing wound care. Hawkins also developed an infection during her hospital stay that required intravenous antibiotics, and she continued to need codeine for knee pain for the rest of her time at the facility, the complaint says.

The complaint alleges negligence, medical malpractice and violations of the Arkansas Long-Term Care Resident’s Rights statute. It accuses the defendants of failing to train staff on safe transfers for paraplegic residents, failing to use lifts or enough staff to move her safely, and cutting staffing and training “to maximize profits.”

Hawkins is asking for a jury trial and both compensatory and punitive damages. She is represented by Eric Wewers and Jeff Priebe of the Little Rock firm Rainwater, Holt & Sexton.

The defendants had not filed a response as of Wednesday afternoon. Court records show Texarkana SNF Operations has been named in at least three earlier lawsuits in Miller County since 2021, including two medical malpractice cases. All three were dismissed.

A lawsuit presents only one side of a dispute. The allegations have not been proven in court.