Police in San Bernardino County, California have arrested Pensri Sophar Dalton. The 61-year-old nursing home resident is accused of running an illegal group home and committing elder abuse by allowing 22 mentally ill and disabled patients to live in squalid, prison-like conditions.
The residents allegedly were made to live in converted chicken coops and small rooms containing multiple beds. Their toilets consisted of buckets. Padlocked gates and razor wire fences surrounded the facility.
Dalton has been charged with 16 counts of inflicting harm on elderly persons. The illegal elder abuse facility, which reportedly was not licensed, has been shut down.
According to the Press-Enterprise, Dalton was recently sued for wrongful death in a San Bernardino County elder abuse lawsuit filed by the family of a 71-year-old man who died in a swimming pool at a Highland facility that she owns. The patient, Eucevio Hernandez Vallez, suffered from dementia, was an alcoholic, and had a hard time walking because of his hip fracture.
Even though the elder facility was told not to give Vallez alcohol, the staff is accused of let him drink and walk close to the unfenced pool. There was reportedly uneven concrete surrounding the pool. According to the San Bernardino County wrongful death lawsuit, on February 12, a worker at the assisted living facility reportedly saw Vallez go into the backyard but failed to supervise or stop him.
Vallez was discovered face down in the pool the following day. The coroner's office reported that the resident died from drowning after falling into the pool while the influence of alcohol. The defendants have submitted a court-filed response disputing the charges.
Patients at any California elder care facility are entitled to a certain quality of care and a certain level of attention. They also have rights that exist to protect them and make sure that they are treated properly. Failure to supervise a resident, forcing patients to live in unsanitary or unsafe conditions, not following instructions for a patient's care, failing to provide patients who are mentally ill with more hands-on attention, overmedication, failure to treat or medicate a patient, and mistreating a resident are some of the reasons why families file San Bernardino County nursing home abuse lawsuits against negligent elder care facilities.
San Bernardino group home owner already named in wrongful death lawsuit, The Press -Enterprise, September 6, 2009
Alleged elder abuse in San Bernardino, ABC Local, September 5, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes
San Bernardino Facilities, California Nursing Homes
In Chino Hills, Apple Valley, Montclair, Highland, and other cities throughout San Bernardino County, California, our nursing home neglect lawyers would like to offer you a free case evaluation.
