May 07, 2017
Wrongful DeathNursing homes and similar facilities carry a high level of responsibility. Families entrust such homes with their loved ones, usually when those loved ones are in a vulnerable state. When a California nursing home is accused of the wrongful death of a resident, it is cause for concern. When three facilities in one health care chain face such charges, one may suspect that an alarming pattern is occurring.
The latest death related to the Brius nursing homes in California involves a 65-year-old man who suffered from numerous physical and mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, dementia and anxiety. The man had also suffered a stroke, which left him blind. Nevertheless, after almost two and a half years as a resident of the home, the man was told he could no longer stay.
The patient’s family was never notified that he was being moved. Instead, a staff member allegedly drove the man to a hotel and told him he could stay there for 30 days. The patient was assured that someone from the home would check on him periodically.
The staff member left the patient with a carton of milk and some food, a respiratory machine with no oxygen and his medication. Because he was blind, the patient was apparently unable to prepare the food or take his medications properly. He could not find his way around or go to the lobby for the hotel breakfasts. No one from the nursing home made a health care visit, and the man was found dead of an apparent heart attack four days later.
Two other patients died of infected ulcers in Brius nursing homes, and a wrongful death lawsuit has been filed for each of those cases. Families in California whose loved ones suffer and die from neglect in hospitals and nursing facilities have the right to seek justice through the civil courts. An attorney can assist them and advise them on the best course of action.
Source: times-standard.com, “Third wrongful death lawsuit alleges nursing home abandoned patient“, Will Houston, April 27, 2017
