$700,000 Elder Abuse

CMS&C files action on behalf of elderly Alzheimer's patient after caregiver neglect left him with second-degree burns, heat stroke and a heart attack.

This case involved an 86-year-old Alzheimer's patient who was abused at a senior residential care facility. The Plaintiff was left outdoors in an open patio on a day when temperatures soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Plaintiff had a heat stroke and a heart attack and suffered extensive second-degree burns on his scalp, arms and legs. It took several weeks for the Plaintiff to recover from the burns in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit. The Plaintiff argued that the facility director's actions were reckless as defined by the Welfare & Institutions Code.

The Defendant argued that the patient was not abandoned, but rather had wheeled himself out of the shade and into the sun, thereby causing his own injuries. The Defendant also claimed that if the facility was liable, then it was for negligence.

CMS&C helped the elderly patient collect a $700,000 recovery from the residential care facility.