Garcia & Artigliere attorney Stephen M. Garcia obtained a $700,000 settlement on behalf of the Plaintiff who suffered elder abuse and neglect while she was a resident of a Pasadena Residential Care Facility for the Elderly.
The Plaintiff was admitted to the facility because she was no longer able to live at home due to being a high fall risk and requiring assistance with medication management. During her residency, the Plaintiff’s physical and mental abilities declined, and a care plan was updated to indicate she required assistance with being escorted to meals and activities. Despite knowledge of the Plaintiff’s required care, facility staff left her unattended traveling to meals, and she suffered a preventable fall resulting in a subdural hematoma and arachnoid hemorrhage.
To treat the severe brain injury, the Plaintiff was admitted to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena where she remained in ICU until being transferred to Kaiser Permanente hospital in Panorama City. Since the avoidable fall, she is completely dependent on others and is unable to feed herself, use the bathroom by herself, bathe herself or dress herself without assistance.
The State of California Department of Social Services completed an investigation into the incident and also found the Plaintiff was not administered evening medication as directed by her physician; the facility experienced staffing shortages and was not checking on the Plaintiff according to her care plan; and failed to provide her with necessary personal assistance, including repositioning, incontinence care and feeding assistance.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of elder abuse, contact our attorneys at (800) 281-8515 for a free case consultation.