Kanagawa prefecture offers settlement after care home resident at facility for people with disabilities chokes on bread

By Barrier Free Japan with extracts from The Sankei Shimbun

November 22 2021

KANAGAWA– On November 22nd, Kanagawa Prefecture made a statement about an accident in which a man got bread lodged in his throat and fell unconscious in October last year at the prefectural facility for the people with intellectual disabilities “Nakai Yamayurien” or “Nakai Town”. The prefecture announced it would pay about 26 million Yen to settle the matter. The man, who was a resident at the facility, is still in the hospital as he is still unconscious.

Governor Yuji Kuroiwa said at a routine press conference on the same day, “We take it seriously that this happened at a facility for the disabled, which is a place to live safely and securely.”

According to the prefecture, the accident occurred on October 18 last year. A staff member discovered that there was a man in the serving room, which was originally not accessible to residents, and that there were traces of bread having being eaten. The man then collapsed and was taken to the emergency room. It was concluded that the accident was caused by the inadequate locking of the serving room and violated safety regulations.