Investigators are trying to figure how a 94-year-old woman ended up in the walk-in freezer of her Calabasas nursing home. Molly Fischer, who may be suffering from dementia, was discovered standing inside the freezer on October 28. Staff had gone looking for her after she had gone missing.
Fischer was hospitalized after the incident and is now back at Silverado Senior Living. According to one of the nursing home's executives, corrective action has been taken against two workers. The California Department of Social Services is investigating the incident to determine whether Los Angeles nursing home neglect was involved.
According to a nursing home executive, the cold storage, which is set at 5 degrees, stores meat and other foods. Fortunately, Fischer was not in there long enough to sustain fatal injuries. There are, however, questions remaining regarding whether the doors to the kitchen and freezer, which were supposed to be locked, were not working on the night of the accident.
This is not the first time that the Los Angeles County nursing home has come under scrutiny over the type of care it may be providing residents. It was just earlier this year that one of its former employees, Cesar Ulloa, was convicted of seven counts of California elder abuse and one count of torture. The 21-year-old was sentenced to life in prison for physically abusing a number of patients at the Calabasas assisted living facility.
Silverado Senior Living facility houses primarily patients with dementia. Family members pay about $70,000 a year for their loved ones to stay at the nursing home.
Nursing Home Care for Dementia Patients
It is the responsibility of California nursing homes to provide each patient with the specific care needed. Patients with dementia or other forms of mental illness have very specialized nursing needs. Many dementia patients are at risk of wandering off while unattended, can suffer from memory loss, may exhibit emotional or behavioral problems, or develop other complications. Failure to provide dementia patients with the care they need can result in serious injuries or death. It also can be grounds for a Los Angeles nursing home negligence lawsuit.
94-year-old woman found in freezer, UPI, November 13, 2010
Former Caregiver Sentenced to Life for Torturing Elderly Patients, KTLA, May 26, 2010
Former Calabasas Worker on Trial for Los Angeles County Elder Abuse, California Injury Lawyers Blog, April 5, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Dementia and Alzheimer's Care, HelpGuide.org
Contact our Los Angeles personal injury law firm today.
