February 16, 2010

$7.75 Million Awarded in California Nursing Home Abuse Case

A California jury awarded Maria Arellano $7.75 million in her case against the Fillmore Convalescent Center, which included $5 million in punitive damages.

Reportedly, the seventy-one year old woman, who was unable to speak or walk due to a stroke, was abused during her residency at the facility. A film was produced at trial that showed Monica Garcia, an employee of the facility, slapping Ms. Arellano, pulling her hair, treating her violently while sitting in a shower seat, and roughly handing her neck and hands. Ms. Arellano's attorneys produced evidence that the facility had been notified in writing of the abuse by more than one family and with at least one party naming Ms. Garcia as the abuser. Both the facility and its owner admitted that Garcia's actions were "so horrible that they exceeded the scope of her employment". Garcia herself admitted to physically abusing Ms. Arellano only on the occasion captured on videotape.

December 15, 2009

$7.75 Million Awarded in California Nursing Home Abuse Case

In 2006, Maria Arellano was a resident of Fillmore Convalescent Center in Fillmore, California. The seventy-one year old woman was the victim of a stroke and was nonverbal. During a routine visit, family members noticed that Ms. Arellano was bruised. They reported the bruising to facility management, but allegedly the facility failed to investigate the incident. The family took action and placed a hidden video camera at the side of Ms. Arellano's bed. The camera caught an employee, Monica Garcia, slapping Ms. Arellano, pulling her around by her hair, bending her neck, fingers, and wrists, and treating her violently when she was in a shower chair.

Garcia was charged for abusing Ms. Arellano and pleaded no contest in February 2009. She received ten days work release as punishment for her crime.

The attorney for the Arellano family tried to settle the case in July 2009 for $500,000 but "they never offered me one dime. They never offered to go to mediation, nothing. There was a lot of arrogance." After a twenty-two day trial, a Ventura County jury deliberated just two days before awarding $7.75 million to Ms. Arellano's family: $2.75 million in actual damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Liability was split among three defendants: 40% to the facility, 40% to owner Eduardo Gonzalez, and 20% to Monica Garcia.

The facility faces yet another lawsuit for abuse of a resident. During the Arellao family ordeal, they Arellanos met resident Daniel Sanchez, who lived across the hall from Ms. Arellano. His family had found bruising and hair-pulling and also suspected abuse. Their case goes to trial in January 2010.

November 16, 2009

California Nursing Home Hit with "AA" Citation After Inadequate Care Leads to Resident Death

Ninety-two year old Robert Doscher was admitted to Valley Gardens Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, a nursing home in Stockton, California, on May 18, 2007, for rehab recovery. He had suffered a mini-stroke, a ground-level fall at home and had other health problems, which included coronary artery disease, irregular heart rhythm, an artificial pacemaker, surgery for prostate cancer, and a recent urinary tract infection that required antibiotic treatment. Once he grew stronger, Doscher was to be admitted to a board-and-care facility.

Upon admission, Doscher was noted to be at high risk for falls and staff was to check on him every one to two hours. He was also to be placed near the nursing station for closer observation, told not to get up without assistance, and a motion alarm was to be used to alert staff to any movement.

Three days after admission, Doscher was found on the floor after he had fallen trying to get back into bed by himself. He had hit his head.

On June 4, a report by the California Department of Health noted that "there was no documented evidence the resident was checked on every two hours" and he was not placed at the nursing station, as his assessment required.

On June 12, Mr. Doscher was again found on the floor. This time, he "developed a change in condition manifested by agitation and then a decrease in his level of consciousness". On June 13, he was taken to the hospital in a comatose condition. He died the following day. His cause of death? "Accidental from falling down on his head in the bathroom", which resulted in an acute subdural hematoma from blunt force trauma.

Valley Gardens Health Care and Rehabilitation Center was hit with a "AA" citation, the state's most severe penalty, and assessed a $90,000 fine after an investigation by the California Department of Health determined that inadequate care led to Mr. Doscher's death.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of wrongful death in nursing home facilities. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

October 23, 2009

California Nursing Home Cited for Inadequate Care, Fined in Resident Death

Fallbrook Hospital District Skilled Nursing Facility has been cited for inadequate care that led to a resident's death.

Reportedly, The Fallbrook Center failed to care plan to help prevent a high fall risk resident from becoming injured. The male resident fell on June 8, breaking a leg, and died four days later due to complications from surgery for the injury.

The facility was assessed a "AA" citation, which is the most severe citation available under the state law governing long-term care facilities and assessed a $90,000 fine.

The Terry Law firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

October 22, 2009

California Nursing Home Cited, Fined For Resident Death

Placerville Pines Care Center received a AA citation, the most severe penalty available, from the California Department of Health for its role in a resident death. The facility reportedly failed to adequately assess the resident and notify his physician of changes in his condition. The California Department of Health concluded that those failures ultimately contributed to the resident's death.

The resident was admitted to Placerville Pines after a hospital admission and was fully expected to recover and return home. Sometime after he was admitted, the resident began showing symptoms of illness and his oxygen saturation and blood pressure levels were very low. The resident also experienced difficulty talking and was difficult to arouse. A family member alerted facility staff to the resident's problems and he was transported to the hospital, where he died.

Placerville Pines Care Center was fined $100,000 for their role in the resident's death.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

October 20, 2009

Sunrise V Elder Abuse Trial Continues

The trial against Edwin and Jane Ingan, the owners of Sunrise V and physicians Robert Schingler and Grace Crittenden continues to gather headlines.

The family of Marian Eileen Kengel, 96, filed a lawsuit alleging negligence and elder abuse after the woman suffered severe life-threatening bed sores and an anti-psychotic drug was wrongfully administered to her.

Ms. Kengel reportedly suffered severe bed sores on her bottom and her feet. The sore on her bottom required surgery to repair and took 14 months to heal. Additionally, she was given Haldol, an anti-psychotic drug in late 2007. Allegedly, the doctor who prescribed the Haldol gave her a dose that was "eight times stronger than the lowest possible dose". The Ingans reportedly took Ms. Kengel to Dr. Robert Schingler, who was not her normal treating physician. Reportedly, Dr. Schingler prescribed the drug, and she has not been the same since taking the drug. Allegedly, the Ingans wanted Ms. Kengel on a medication that would stop her "uncontrollable behavior" and did not ask for her family's consent. Dr, Schingler prescribed a year's worth of medication and did not schedule a follow up visit.

Ms. Kengel's primary physician, Grace Crittenden, reduced the dosage after the woman was unable to communicate and appeared "zoned out" and also failed to schedule a follow up visit.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questinos or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

September 19, 2009

Owners of Murder/Suicide Nursing Home Facility Have Problems at Other Facilities

Leticia and Tony Perez own Oakland Springs Health Care Center, which earned notoriety after a woman shot and killed her daughter and then herself at the facility recently. Diana Harden alleged that her daughter had been mistreated while a resident at the facility and that was one of the reasons that led to the murder/suicide. The incident, as well as past citations, have led to an investigation through the Public Health Department.

Leticia and Tony Perez also own Oakhill Springs Care Center in Oakland, California. Many of the residents of this facility are completely dependent upon staff for all activities of daily living, such as dressing and bathing, eating, and using the restroom. Most of the facility's residents have psychiatric or behavioral problems or dementia. The facility has a one star rating, according to the new rating system instituted by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The one-star rating is partially based on staffing levels and on the most recent annual inspection by Public Health Department inspectors.

According to the May 28, 2009 inspection, inspectors found:

- Seven residents were not provided the appropriate diets and several lost weight due to insufficient caloric intake - despite doctor's orders. One woman lost nearly 8% of her body weight because she was not given a pureed fortified diet that her physician had ordered. Her doctor could not understand why his patient continued to lose weight, despite the health shakes he had ordered for her three times daily. The health inspector did not find any record of the order being implemented or that the resident's diet was fortified with high calorie food. When the cook was asked how she fortified the diets, she said, "I add thickener to the pureed food."
- Residents suffering from kidney disease were given high potassium foods, which could have caused their condition to become life-threatening or at a minimum, worsen their kidney disease.
- Another resident was served fish despite a severe allergy to fish and shellfish that was recorded in their medical records.
- In October 2008, a member of the nursing staff put an iron medication tablet into a resident's feeding tube, causing it to become clogged. The nurse in charge of medication said that liquid iron had not been in stock for two weeks since the medication was ordered.
- In June 2009, inspectors found that doors were unable to be closed due to beds being in the way, which could cause smoke or flames to spread if there were a fire.

The Perezes also operate Oakgrove Springs Care Center in Oakland, California; Hayward Springs Care Center in Hayward, California; Lafayette Care Center in Lafayette, California; and Pleasant Hill Manor in Pleasant Hill, California. The Pleasant Hill facility was cited for numerous violations and, in fact, a resident was reportedly overmedicated in 2004, requiring hospitalization. The Perezes' licensing company, LTP Legacy, LLC, is a named party in a lawsuit concerning the care an elderly resident received at Oakland Springs - then called Clinton Village Convalescent Hospital, that contributed to her death. Tressie Mae Evans was alleged to have been frequently found lying in a soaking wet in a dirty bed with feces from December 2007 until her death six months later. There is no record of a state investigation into Ms. Evans' death.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

September 18, 2009

Facility Involved in Murder/Suicide Had Thirty-Two Substantiated Complaints in One Year

We discussed the tragic murder/suicide at Oakland Springs Health Center in our previous blog.

The California Department of Public Health is studying a letter written by Diana Harden concerning the treatment her daughter, Yvette, received at the facility. Diana Harden mailed the letter to ABC7 News prior to killing her daughter and herself on Sunday, September 12, 2009. Officials say that the allegations contained in the letter could lead to the facility's license being revoked.

Jennifer Rodriguez met Diana and Yvette Harden after she suffered a stroke and came to live at Oakland Springs. She calls them her best friends. Rodriguez confirms that Yvette suffered abuse at the hands of facility staff and alleges that she suffered abuse as well. Rodriguez said, "I'd be sitting outside her room and heard them say that to her. I heard, 'You're a fat pig. I don't want to deal with you, nobody else does either, that's the way it is, we have to and I don't like it', like that, I mean really."

I-Team examined the case files involving Oakland Springs for the past year. They found 32 substantiated complaints. Among the allegations:

- Staff failed to notify a doctor for four days that a resident had broken her finger;
- Staff failed to investigate a resident's complaint that a nurse's aide hit him in the forehead, stomach, right shoulder, and chest area; and
- Staff failed to keep a resident clean and free of feces and urine and a hospital staff found him in that condition.

The owner of the facility, Tony Perez, denied the abuse complaints. Oakland Springs Health Center's neuropsychologist, Dr. Sherman Weldon, callously alleges that Yvette Harden's talk about wanting to die was just a bluff. He said, "She could get more attention onto herself by making statements that involved her longevity than in any other way."

September 17, 2009

California Group Home Director Arrested

We discussed Pensri Sophar Dalton, the owner of Sophar's Room and Board, in a previous blog. Ms. Dalton was arrested on September 5, 2009 on 16 charges of elder abuse after twenty-two residents were discovered living without indoor plumbing in renovated chicken coops at her unlicensed care facility.

Her son, Tony Dalton, was arrested after he violated his probation on Friday, September 11, 2009 when he denied investigating officials entry into the two facilities he managed. He was convicted in 2008 of elder abuse and spent three months in jail. He was also forbidden to work as a caretaker for elderly or dependent adults.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

September 16, 2009

Tragic California Nursing Home Murder/Suicide Prompts State Investigation

Sixty-four year old Diana Harden walked into the Oakland Springs Health Center on Sunday, September 13, 2009 around 10:00 p.m. and shot and killed her forty-three year old daughter, Yvette Harden, and then killed herself. This tragedy might have been prevented if someone had just listened to Diana Harden when she advocated on behalf of her daughter.

Yvette Harden was twenty-eight years old when she was severely injured in a near-fatal auto accident on July 19, 1994. Left a quadriplegic with brain injuries, Yvette had the intellect of an adult but little impulse control and no inhibitions. She also could not balance herself. Her family searched for the next fifteen years for a facility capable of caring for her needs, to no avail.

Yvette lived in multiple facilities, all allegedly incapable of handling her or her needs. She was admitted into Oakland Springs Health Center approximately six years ago. Diana Harden and her family tried desperately to educate the staff on brain injuries and the repercussions of the injuries that claimed Yvette's normal life. There were photos of Yvette in her room ranging from her childhood through the present time, as well as a detailed story of what her life was like. Harden also provided a layman's explanation of brain injuries for staff to read.

There are numerous allegations as to how staff treated Yvette. Reportedly, facility staff treated Yvette like an "animal" or a "non-person". They did not provide Yvette with a diabetic diet, instead just cut her caloric intake. She gained so much weight that she outgrew her wheelchair and had to have a new one ordered. CNAs allegedly called Yvette "fat pig" and told her that they "hate taking care of her". CNAs also allegedly washed Yvette in the shower "like a car real hard" and turned on the cold water to punish her. Once Yvette screamed, the CNAs allegedly would switch the water back to hot before the charge nurse could arrive. The facility allegedly did not provide diapers for Yvette and her family had to provide them for her.

Diana Harden mailed a letter to ABC7 I-Team the day before she went to the nursing home and ended her daughter's life as well as her own. The letter detailed the abuse that Yvette allegedly endured at the hands of facility staff. Dan Noyes of ABC7 I-Team discussed the situation with Tony Perez, the owner of Oakland Springs Health Center. Perez does not believe that any of the situations occurred. I-Team turned the letter over to Oakland Police for review.

Interestingly, I-Team located a tall stack of complaints against the facility at the state Department of Public Health. In August 2008, Yvette filed a complaint against the facility because they took away her motorized wheelchair. The report said "since the facility "took away' [her] motorized wheelchair, [she] said on multiple occasions, 'I want to die; I don't want to live without my wheelchair.'"

The state Department of Health sent a statement saying, "our heartfelt sympathy goes out to all of those impacted by this tragic turn of events. We can confirm we have begun an investigation."


September 15, 2009

Administrator Charged in Nursing Home Druggings

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Kern Valley Hospital


We discussed the tragic drugging deaths at Kern Valley Healthcare District's skilled nursing facility in our previous blogs.

In February 2009, three employees of Kern Valley Healthcare District were arrested following a two year investigation. Former Director of Nursing Gwen Hughes, former pharmacist Debbi Hayes, and staff physician Dr. Hoshang Pormir were charged for their alleged roles in the drugging of nursing home residents. In all, twenty-two residents Alzheimer's and dementia residents were given high doses of psychotropic medications to make them tranquil and easier to control. Hughes allegedly ordered drugs for residents who made noise, argued with her, or were otherwise disruptive. Three residents died and one resident was greatly harmed.

Now, Administrator Pamela Ott has been charged with eight felony counts of elder abuse for allowing her staff to forcibly administer psychotropic drugs to residents for convenience. According to California Attorney General Jerry Brown, Ott hired and supervised Hughes and therefore, is responsible for her actions.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

September 15, 2009

California Group Home Owner Houses Disabled Residents in Chicken Coops

Pensri Sophar Dalton is the owner of a group home for disabled adults in San Bernardino. On Saturday, September 5, 2009, police allegedly conducted a search of the North Golden Avenue home after pounding on the facility door with a battering ram before gaining access.

Dalton had been arrested on Friday, September 4, 2009, after police discovered people living in converted chicken coops at an unlicensed group home for mentally ill individuals. Razor wire fences surrounded the facility, as well as padlocked gates. Twenty-two disabled adults were found living in three buildings without indoor plumbing. The residents were using buckets for toilets. The rooms were as small as six to fifteen feet with two beds and a mattress in the room.

Dalton also owns a group home by the name of Sophar's Room and Board. She faces a lawsuit for the death of one of her residents there. The man allegedly fell into an unfenced swimming pool and his body was not found until the next day.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

September 9, 2009

California Group Home Owner Sued After Resident Dies While In Her Care

Pensri Sophar Dalton, owner of the group home Sophar's Room and Board, faces a lawsuit in the death of one of her residents.

On February 12, seventy-one year old Eucevio Hernandez Vallez died after he fell into an unfenced swimming pool at Sophar's Room and Board. His body was not found until the next day. Vallez suffered from dementia, severe alcoholism, and trouble walking. He was supposed to be supervised to limit his access to alcohol.

Vallez's family filed the lawsuit that alleges "Sophar's multiple failures, including transferring Mr. Vallez to an inappropriate facility without his family's knowledge...failure to ensure that he did not receive or consume alcohol and failure to provide appropriate supervision, caused Mr. Vallez to access the backyard intoxicated and unsupervised".

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.


September 7, 2009

California Convalescent Home Fined in Patient Death

On April 3, 2009, eighty-three year old Hannah Lesser was on her way to the bathroom when she discovered that her walker wasn't near her bed. She grabbed at a nearby television on a dresser for support and accidentally pulled a flat screen television off of the dresser. Both the television and the dresser toppled on top of Ms. Lesser, one landing on her head and one on her chest. Sadly, she died approximately two weeks later from her injuries. It was Ms. Lesser's seventh fall in one month while a resident at the San Tomas Convalescent Hospital in San Jose, California.

The California Department of Public Health cited the facility with a "AA" citation, the most severe citation available for patient care, and assessed an $80,000 fine "for failing to ensure the environment remained as free from accident hazards as possible". Additionally, the facility "failed to provide adequate supervision" and "failed to implement care plan interventions" where the "violations presented either imminent danger that death or serious harm would result".

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

September 1, 2009

California Nursing Home Hit With "AA" Citation, Fined

New Hope Care Center, a nursing home facility located in Tracy, California, has been hit with a "AA" citation by the California Department of Public Health after an investigation concluded that a female resident died due to inadequate care from the nursing staff and that staff "failed to ensure that the resident's medications were monitored and failed to fully assess the resident or promptly notify the physician when there was a change in the resident's condition, which resulted in the resident's death."

The 78 year-old woman was admitted to New Hope Care Center on August 22, 2009, with a recent hip fracture and mitral/aortic heart valve deficiencies, general osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and hypertension. Employees failed to assess the onset of symptoms that indicated that the resident may have bleeding in the brain and failed to contact a physician immediately to get her treatment. The facility was fined $100,000.

Under the new ratings system instituted by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, New Hope Care Center has a one out of five star rating, indicating that the facility provided "much below average" care.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home wrongful death. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

August 26, 2009

California Care Worker Charged with Rape

Humberto Rodriguez is currently being held in the Sonoma County Jail on $130,000 bail after being charged with the rape and elder abuse of an elderly group home resident.

The rape and elder abuse was discovered after the resident, who is in her 80s, sought medical treatment for her injuries. The name of the care home is being withheld by authorities because it would identify the resident.

Rodriguez has been employed by the Sonoma County Health Department for more than 10 years and was also employed part-time at the care facility as an independent licensed caregiver. He is due back in court on August 31, 2009.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

August 22, 2009

California Nursing Home Faces Trial in Resident Wrongful Death

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Georgia Fitsos


Eighty-two year old Georgia Fitsos emigrated from Greece to Sacramento in 1952. After her husband's death in the early 1960's, she raised her sons alone. In 2006, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia and her sons quickly realized that she could no longer live alone. In Fall 2006, they moved her into Broadstone Residential Facility, where, according to the facility brochure, she "can enjoy a lifestyle of Elegance!" Paying a sizable monthly fee, her sons thought she would be well cared for.

In July 2007, she had a black eye. Georgia told her son that someone hit her, but facility staff told him she fell asleep at the dining table and hit her face. In August 2007, Georgia's son, John, found his mother suffering shortness of breath and called 911 because her attendant, a Romanian native who has since returned to Romania, couldn't speak enough English to make the call. Rushed to the hospital, doctors found Georgia suffering from high blood sugar, extremely low blood pressure and, worst of all, "a bedsore the size of a turkey platter". Georgia died of acute sepsis and other complications from the Stage IV pressure sore in October 2007.

Georgia's family filed a wrongful death action against the facility and its owner and administrator, Adriana Catuna and her husband, Viorel. They also face a felony elder abuse trial and license revocation proceedings.

Georgia's son, John FItsos, said, "I'm not interested in blood money. I'm not interested in an adversarial situation. I'm interested in seeing legislation passed that really protects the public."

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

August 20, 2009

Nursing Home Drugging Participant Cops Plea, Testifies Against Accomplices

We discussed the resident drugging deaths at Kern Valley Healthcare District's skilled nursing facility in previous blogs.

Allegedly, Debbi Hayes, a former pharmacist at the facility, Gwen D. Hughes, former Director of Nursing, and Dr. Hoshang M. Pormir, former facility physician, used mood-altering medications to drug at least 22 elderly residents in an effort to control them. The drugging resulted in three resident deaths.

Hayes pleaded no contest in mid-August 2009 to conspiracy to obstruct justice and was sentenced to three years' probation and one year jail time, but her jail sentence will not be imposed if she cooperates in the prosecution of the former Director of Nursing and facility physician.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

August 18, 2009

California Nursing Home Hit with $100,000 Fine After Resident Dies

Arbor View Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, a nursing home facility located in Santa Monica, California, was hit with a AA Citation, the most severe citation possible, and fined $100,000 after a gastronomy tube was inserted into a resident's abdominal cavity instead of her stomach. The resident later died.

The resident's gastrostomy tube became dislodged on September 8, 2008. A facility licensed vocational nurse (LVN) reinserted it and continued the resident's tube feedings, despite a facility policy prohibiting reinsertion of gastrostomy tubes in place less than three months; the resident's tube had only been in place approximately 10 days.

The resident began feeling poorly and began experiencing nausea and vomiting. After being transferred to the hospital, a hospital scan revealed that the resident's feeding tube had been inserted into her abdominal cavity instead of her stomach and showed that her abdominal cavity contained massive amounts of fluid. Sadly, the resident died on October 24, 2008. Her autopsy report indicated that she died due to complications of inflammation of the lining of her abdominal cavity.

This is not the first time Arbor View Rehabilitation and Wellness Center has been in the spotlight of the California Department of Public Health. Between 2007 and 2008, the facility logged more than 75 complaints and is rated as a one-star facility, which is a below-average care facility, according to The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. To read more about the care this facility provides, click here.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

August 16, 2009

California Nursing Home Hit With Stiff Fine in Patient Suicide Death

The California Department of Public Health levied a $90,000 fine against Del Rosa Villa after the facility failed to prevent a resident's suicide. The 52 year-old resident was admitted to the facility on May 22, 2009, just one month after he threw himself in front of a car. He suffered two broken bones in his left leg in that incident. The man had been diagnosed with depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and "suicidal ideation". His June 1, 2009 Care Plan ordered that he was to be on "suicide watch at all times". One June 11, 2009, the resident was seen exiting the facility's laundry room in his wheelchair to smoke. Approximately twenty minutes later, the man was found outside hanging from a fence with a belt wrapped around his neck. All resuscitation attempts failed. The California Department of Public Health's investigation found that the facility staff failed to place the man under suicide watch and was a "direct proximate cause of the death of the patient". A licensed vocational nurse at the facility admitted to investigators, "I missed it. I didn't see it." Elizabeth Tyler, general counsel for Del Rosa Villa, allegedly said, "We serve as a hospital, not as a mental institution." Tyler also admitted that facility staff was aware that the man had attempted suicide at least once prior to his placement at Del Rose Villa. The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.