If a nursing home launders a bedridden resident's cell phone, who's responsible for replacing it?

The resident, who recently had a second above-the-knee amputation, kept the phone in one of the front pockets of his short pants. He relied on it because the phone system at the nursing home was problematic at best.

There was no receptionist at night to handle calls to the nursing home, and the nursing staff was too busy tending to residents to answer phones. A recording asked callers to leave a message. By the time a staff member was free to check on messages, the residents frequently were asleep.

When a nursing home employee came into the man's room to collect the laundry last month, the $120 cell phone was still in the pants that a staff member had set aside with other clothes to be washed.

As you might expect, each item of clothing with pockets wasn't checked to see whether anything was in it before it was placed in the washer. Although cell phones can do many things, they can't swim and continue to communicate.

There was water behind the screen when the cell phone was returned to the resident. Attempts to dry it out were unsuccessful.

A family member contacted the administrator of the nursing home, explained the problem and asked that the phone be replaced. The administrator said he would relay the request to his superior.

A few days later, the administrator said the company would pay half the cost of a new phone. He said his superior felt that anyone capable of using a cell phone should be capable of remembering to take it out of his pocket when his britches were removed to go to the laundry.

The family member said it was unfortunate that the staff member who helped the resident shed his shorts didn't check the pockets for contents.

The administrator said he sympathized.

A new phone was ordered. The elderly resident agreed to pay a few dollars more a month for insurance in case the phone was taken for another swim or was lost.

It was a good idea.

Earlier this month, the resident was taken to a hospital. He took his cell phone with him. After he was stabilized, he was transferred to another hospital. His cell phone didn't make the trip to the second hospital.

The family member was told by two emergency room employees at the first hospital that they saw the cell phone with the patient when he arrived. They said his phone may have been lost when the bedding material that had been covering him when he arrived was replaced by new sheets before his trip to the second hospital.

An employee of a linen service used by both hospitals said she had no reports of a cell phone being found in the washer or dryer. The cell phone service provider said its records showed the phone hadn't been used since the day the elderly patient was taken to the first hospital.

It probably went for a sudsy swim, the employee said, adding, "It happens all the time."

The family member filed a report with the first hospital. He contacted the cell phone service provider and asked about obtaining a new phone. He was told no calls had been made on the elderly relative's phone since he arrived in the ER. He also was told there would be a $40 deductible for a new phone.

The linen service employee recommended that nursing home residents have insurance for their cell phones and keep their phones in a pocket and attached to a lanyard around their necks.

"That way they'll always know where it is," she said.

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