Disabled Man Suffers Severe Burns at Group Home

A disabled man was critically burned while left in the shower at a care facility. Now police are investigating, and his guardian wants answers.

Twenty-two-year-old Donzell Harden suffered third-degree burns on the lower half of his body at a Bellevue group home. He's now in the Nebraska Medical Center's burn unit.

Harden's guardian, Sherry Becker, has some tough decisions to make. But, Becker said, Harden shouldn't be suffering. She said it could have been prevented.

Born prematurely, Harden has been disabled his entire life. He's blind, doesn't walk or talk and is unable to use his arms.

On Friday, paramedics rushed Harden to a hospital with severe burns. Police said a staff member left him alone in the shower while she helped a coworker on a computer.

"He was being scalded. He couldn't do anything. He can't move. He can't even cover himself," Becker said.

The owner of Hands of Heartland, Courtney Kline-Hays, said, "This is an isolated incident. There is one person involved. We are conducting our own internal investigation."

"Human error happens. We have put in safety measures to make sure this doesn't happen again," Kline-Hays said.

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Disabled Man Suffers Burns at Group Home