Florida assisted living home must pay $12.5M after woman’s death

It may be the largest jury verdict awarded in a case involving a Florida assisted living facility.

Nicole Santos, 43, who holds a bear stuffed with a recording of her mother’s heartbeat, poses for a portrait in the room where her mother died in 2021 in her Wimauma home on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]

By Hannah Critchfield 

The smell hit Nicole Santos before she’d finished stepping into the hospital room.

Nurses surrounded her mother, she said, stripping bandages from her backside.

They revealed a cavernous bedsore. Through the mouth of the wound, Santos said, she could see bone.

Santos said her mother, Maritza Jackson, 59, had only been living at A Place to Grow, a Brandon assisted living facility, for two months. Though she had Alzheimer’s, she’d been physically healthy. Now, her mother was declining rapidly. An emergency room doctor told her there was nothing they could do, she said.

Last month, A Place to Grow was ordered to pay $12.5 million in damages in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Santos early last year. The complaint, filed in Hillsborough County, alleged that the facility was understaffed and negligent in caring for her mother, causing a preventable injury that led to her death.

It may be the largest judgment awarded by a jury in a case involving a Florida assisted living facility, according to online legal research records.

“It sends a message to the assisted living facility industry in Florida,” said Michael Brevda, an attorney at Senior Justice Law Firm and one of Santos’ lawyers in the wrongful death suit. “Juries will get just as mad at an assisted living facility as they will a nursing home corporation.”

Enrique Toledo, the manager of the company that ran A Place to Grow, could not be reached for comment. He did not retain counsel during the lawsuit, and an attorney representing him in a separate criminal case did not respond to requests for comment. The Tampa Bay Times reviewed a photo of Jackson’s bedsore, which was also admitted as evidence during the wrongful death trial.

Assisted living facilities tend to provide less complex medical care than nursing homes. They’re part of the state’s goal to promote services for older people in the “least restrictive and most homelike environment,” according to laws governing these facilities.

For many, these facilities are considered an attractive option for loved ones who have cognitive problems and require more supervision than family members can provide at home. Memory care services have also become assisted living facilities’ greatest liability, experts say.

“The training that staff need is very different than for someone with just physical issues,” said Carrie Blakeway Amero, director at the AARP Public Policy Institute. “People with dementia might just wait until someone comes to tell them that it’s breakfast time, or in the morning, they may not get up until someone comes to help them orient themselves. Staff need to be aware of how to cue people.”

Santos’ mother was a fiery woman who would hop on her feet at the first notes of a Marc Anthony song.

“She could not dance salsa,” Santos remembered with a laugh. “She had one move. But she loved it. And she was funny — don’t get a little bit of chardonnay in her, forget about it.”

A few years back, Jackson began to seem confused during the evenings. She was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, moving into her daughter’s Wimauma home.

“I fought it, but her doctors kept insisting, ‘You’re going to have to put her in a facility for her safety,’” Santos said. “And we did, because at one point, we had to actually put a lock on the inside of the house because she kept trying to get out.”

An acquaintance recommended A Place to Grow, a small assisted living facility a few miles from Santos’ work. Jackson began living there in May 2021.

Santos visited her mother daily, she said. To her relief, Jackson seemed happy.

That July, Santos said she got a call from a doctor, saying that her mother had pneumonia and a severe pressure ulcer and needed to go to the emergency room immediately.

Jackson died a few days later of sepsis due to those conditions, according to her death certificate. A “failure to thrive” due to Alzheimer’s disease was listed as an additional cause.

In July of last year, one of the defendants and managers of the limited liability company that owned A Place to Grow, Toledo, 53, was charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, who at the time was also named in Santos’ lawsuit.

Toledo did not attend the trial in the wrongful death case or respond to several court mailings ahead of the proceedings, county records show.

The judge presiding over the case eventually issued a default judgment against A Place to Grow LLC and Toledo, meaning all allegations in Santos’ lawsuit should be “deemed true,” according to court filings. The jury merely had to decide how much money to award the Santos family.

Because of Toledo’s absence, it isn’t clear how much money the family will be able to recover, Brevda said.

“I’m not in it for the money,” Santos said. “I just wanted to get justice for my mom. To me, justice has been served — I just didn’t want this to happen to someone else.”

A Place to Grow closed in September, according to Agency for Health Care Administration records.

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Florida assisted living home must pay $12.5M after woman’s death

California care home sued over resident's poisoning death

SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) — The family of a woman who died after she was accidentally served dishwashing liquid as drinking juice at a San Francisco Bay Area care home sued the facility on Thursday.

Trudy Maxwell, 93, was served an alkaline liquid “more toxic than Drano," Niall McCarthy, an attorney for the family, said in a statement.

“When you place your loved one in a senior facility, you do not expect it to be one of the most dangerous places in the Bay Area," McCarthy said.

The lawsuit, filed in San Mateo County Superior Court, alleges wrongful death, negligence and elder abuse and neglect.

Maxwell, who had dementia and couldn't feed herself, was one of three residents who were sent to the hospital on Aug. 28 after drinking the liquid at Atria Park Senior Living Facility in San Mateo, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of San Francisco.

The lawsuit alleges that workers waited more than 30 minutes before calling 911 and that the chemical “essentially melted the lining” of her digestive tract. It names the San Mateo facility and its Delaware-based corporate owners.

Another resident, 93-year-old Peter Schroder, also died and his family also has filed a lawsuit alleging negligence and elder abuse.

In a statement Thursday, Atria said a staff member, in violation of its procedures, “filled a pitcher with liquid dishwashing detergent that has a nearly identical consistency and color to cranberry juice, with the intention of dispensing the liquid into a commercial dishwashing machine."

“Another staff member picked it up, mistaking it for juice, and served it to three residents," Atria said.

“Our residents will always be our top priority. We devote significant resources to ensure our staff are thoroughly trained and able to meet our residents’ needs at all times," Atria said, adding that it was working with authorities to review the incident.

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California care home sued over resident's poisoning death

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Second Poisoning Death Prompts Suit Against San Mateo Assisted Living Facility

Second Poisoning Death Prompts Suit Against San Mateo Assisted Living Facility

Peter Schroder Jr.’s family has filed a lawsuit against Atria Park San Mateo, alleging negligence and elder abuse in his Sept. 7 death.

 

By Jaxon Van Derbeken and Jeremy Carroll

A second Atria Park resident in San Mateo, one of three who unknowingly drank cleaning fluid served to them as cranberry juice back in August, has died.

His family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit accusing the assisted living facility, Atria Park of San Mateo, of understaffing, elder abuse and negligence.

Peter Schroder Jr. celebrated his 93rd birthday in February at the Atria Park facility. Six months later, the retired U.S. Air Force chaplain had plans to spend the afternoon of Aug. 27 with his daughter, Susan.

“He was really looking forward to our outing,” she recalled. “He put on a really good-looking outfit in anticipation of us driving down to Los Altos, because he established a church there.”

But the outing never happened. That morning, Schroder, along with two other residents of Atria Park, was rushed to the hospital after drinking caustic alkaline cleaner served as cranberry juice.

“His lips were blistered and bleeding and his mouth looked like somebody had asked him to swallow a firecracker,” Susan Schroder said. “It was devastating to see him like that.”

Peter Schroder was in the hospital for a dozen days, barely able to speak. He was able to tell his daughter he loved her, but was enduring what doctors told Susan was increasing agony. “He was in so much discomfort – I was glad that they let me sleep in his room for the last two days, and I was with him when he passed.”

Susan Schroder remembered her father as an adventurous soul who studied chemistry but became a pastor instead. He founded Immanuel Lutheran church in Los Altos in 1954 before going on to become an Air Force chaplain, serving in Okinawa at the time of the Vietnam War.

“I feel like I was robbed,” Susan Schroder said. “No one knows how long they have to live…but he enjoyed life…and I just feel like that was all taken away.”

Schroder’s family has filed a lawsuit against Atria alleging negligence and elder abuse in his Sept. 7 death.

NBC Bay Area’s Investigative unit previously reported that a kitchen worker poured the bright red Ecolab-brand cleaner into a pitcher, for later use in cleaning. But the worker became distracted, according to investigators. The suit alleges the worker was called to deal with a disruption in the dining room.

“There were not enough caregivers to handle the ‘disruption,’” the suit states. After that, another worker unknowingly brought out the pitcher left behind and served the cleaning fluid as cranberry juice, investigators say. One of the residents who drank the fluid was 93-year-old Trudy Maxwell, who died within days.

Kathryn Stebner, the lawyer who filed the Schroder family’s suit and who has sued the Atria Park facility in the past, said that it has chronic problems with staffing.

“Atria understaffed so it can make more of a profit,” she said, adding what happened to Peter Schroder “is a good example of having a bunch of people, this many people with dementia, in one room and not enough people to keep them safe.”

Atria Senior Living issued a statement on Thursday, saying: “We continue working with authorities and the Department of Social Services to fully review and assess the incident. The safety and well-being of our residents remain our top priority at all times. Our hearts remain with the residents affected, their families, and loved ones.”

In an earlier statement after Trudy Maxwell’s death, Atria said employees involved had been suspended while it did its own probe. The company promised that following that assessment, “we will take additional actions as needed.”

San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said his office is now reviewing the completed police probe to determine whether to pursue elder abuse or other charges. “Because people died,” he said, “this case gives us a major concern about what's going on.”

The investigation is focused on the kitchen worker who allegedly poured the cleaner into the juice pitcher, he said, but others involved may also face scrutiny. “We're going to give it a very close look to make sure that what occurred there, to find out whether it involved criminal behavior -- if it did, we have no tolerance for that.”

Meanwhile, Susan Schroder said that she’s preparing to bury her father next to his wife, near Chaplains Hill at Arlington National Cemetery. 

A second Atria Park resident in San Mateo, one of three who unknowingly drank cleaning fluid served to them as cranberry juice back in August, has died, Jaxon Van Derbeken has more..

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Second Poisoning Death Prompts Suit Against San Mateo Assisted Living Facility

Nursing Home Sued for Abuse and Death of Pro Wrestler Chief White Owl

The family of professional wrestler George Dahmer, known to fans as Chief White Owl, recently received $2 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Senior abuse lawyers at Pintas & Mullins affirm that the jury found that Lake Worth Nursing Home was failed to properly care for the aging wrestler, which directly led to his death.

His daughter, Debbie Dahmer, stated that the family is also seeking to reform nursing home laws and penalties, hoping to name the stricter regulations“Chief White Owl’s Laws.” Dahmer died at a Florida hospital in May 2008 after spending only two months at Lake Worth Manor, which is now Oasis Health.

Dahmer suffered from dementia and entered the nursing facility in February 2008. In the ensuing months his health rapidly deteriorated, according to statements made by his wife and son. He became severely dehydrated, and lost the ability to walk and communicate effectively. In one incident, nursing home staff lost his false teeth and failed to ever replace them. Staff also failed to adequately monitor and regulate his medication, rendering Dahmer severely overmedicating and almost completely immobile.

Within 60 days of being admitted, Dahmer lost 30 pounds. He developed extreme bedsores on his heels and tailbone, which eventually spread by inattentive care and exposed the bone. Upon seeing this, his wife demanded he be transferred to an Alzheimer’s facility in April 2008. One month later, he was admitted to JFK Medical Center, and died on May 16, 2008, at age 72.

Doctors at JFK were unable to treat the extensive injuries he received at Lake Worth. He was too weak to receive a feeding tube, and doctors were considering amputating his feet completely, as the pressure ulcers had worn through his skin to the bone.

During trial, it was revealed that Lake Worth Manor was significantly understaffed, and that the owners’ behavior caused problems with staff morale. Employees were overworked, and could not, or did not want to perform jobs properly.

Now, with Chief White Owl’s Laws, his family is attempting to send a public message about substandard nursing home care. Dahmer exhibited several common signs of nursing home abuse and neglect before his death: dehydration, bedsores, and overmedication. Sadly, his case is indicative of a larger problem affecting nursing homes throughout the United States. Substandard, deficient levels of care are more often than not the result of understaffing.

Lake Worth Enterprises, like so many other firms that own nursing homes, placed profits before patients in choosing to not hire enough staff to care for residents. Overworked staff often turns to medication to subdue patients or to render them virtually motionless so they do not have to constantly monitor or care for them. Like Dahmer, many nursing home residents suffer from cognitive disorders, and cannot remember to feed, hydrate, or clean themselves on their own. If this is the case, it is clearly noted in the pre-determined care plans for that resident, so nurses know to make sure that person is eating, drinking, and bathing regularly.

The first signs of abuse Dahmer’s family noted were dehydration and extreme weight loss. Unless the resident is actively and consciously refusing to eat or drink, any noticeable weight loss or dehydration is a major red flag that abuse or neglect is occurring. Bedsores of any degree are also a major red flag. Patients who remain in one position long enough to develop pressure ulcers – especially so significant it starts to show bone or muscle- are not receiving adequate care. They are being left to sit, lay or stand in one position for hours at a time without being checked on.

Elder abuse and neglect lawyers at Pintas & Mullins highlight Dahmer’s story to urge anyone with a loved one in a nursing home to check for these signs of inadequate care. The Dahmer family received $2 million in damages. If you or a family member was seriously injured due to employee abuse or negligence, you may be entitled to compensation through a nursing home lawsuit.

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Nursing Home Sued for Abuse and Death of Pro Wrestler Chief White Owl

Family says senior living facility lying about 83-year-old father's death

ROSEVILLE, Calif — Gene Rogers, 83, had dementia and was unable to get around on his own. His round-the-clock care became too much for his wife, Kathryn, to handle by herself. So, the couple’s children sold their parents’ home in Carlsbad, Calif., and placed Gene in Meadow Oaks of Roseville, a senior living community, on Dec 30, 2017.

Gene was a Marine and a veteran of the Korean War. He loved golfing and stock car racing. He spent decades working for AT&T while supporting a family of five. His family says while his dementia affected his ability to get around, he was still smart and enjoyed life.

Their son, Jeff, says the family expected his father’s care to be long term. They chose Meadow Oaks because they were impressed by what they saw when they went to visit. They were also happy the price was well below the $10,000-a-month price tags they saw in the San Diego area. At first, the family was very satisfied. However, Jeff says things quickly changed.

“I noticed his care would start going downhill,” Jeff explained. “You could see he had food stains on his clothes. We'd go there a few times on the weekends and he would be outside on the patio. It was warm. He'd seem groggy and he was slurring his speech a little bit.”

Jeff says the family repeatedly asked the facility not to leave Gene outside unattended, but it kept happening.

“His nephew came in from Oklahoma,” Jeff said. “We found him, again, outside on the patio. Again, he seemed like he was a little bit groggy. We brought him back in and again asked the staff, ‘Hey, you know, I think you guys are leaving him out here too long.'”

ABC10 reached out to Westmont Living, the La Jolla-based company that operates Meadow Oaks. They issued a statement saying, "This case is in litigation, and it is neither fair nor proper to respond to allegations during this process. We understand that some counsel may want to litigate this matter in the press, or in the court of public opinion, but we believe this is an improper attempt to pre-dispose a potential jury pool."

The next week, Rogers was left outside for an uncertain amount of time and had to be rushed to the hospital. He would not return home.

Jeff said on June 30, 2018, he received a calm call from Meadow Oaks letting him know his father was being taken to the hospital to get checked out. He says there was no urgency in the caller’s voice, so he didn’t worry about it. Then a second call came from the hospital.

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“They said, 'Hey, your dad came here almost dead. He was in critical condition. His skin temperature was almost 104 degrees. They had to start life-saving procedures immediately'," Jeff recalled.

Rogers’ family raced to the hospital. They were horrified at what they saw. They say Gene’s arms blackened as if he was lacking circulation.

“We were looking at his legs and his legs were beet red because he had his shorts on and he actually had blisters from being in the sun,” Jeff explained.

The family was told there was little hope for Gene. He had lost his ability to swallow and his condition deteriorated. The hospital advised he spend his remaining days in hospice. Gene died 14 days later.

The Rogers family reached out to Carole Herman for help. Herman runs the Sacramento-based non-profit Foundation Aiding the Elderly (FATE). Herman filed a complaint with the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division, who conducted an investigation.

The California Department of Social Services investigation report states "staff failed to provide adequate care and supervision…which posed an immediate health and safety risk to resident in care." It also says "R1 (Gene) had been sitting outside for 1 hours, 45 minutes or longer when temperatures were increasing and reached 93 [degrees] by 12 p.m. when emergency services were called."

The department substantiated the complaint and planned to assess a penalty of $500, but increased it instead to $1,000 because the facility was cited for having repeated the same violation within 12 months.

The Rogers family hopes its position is bolstered by the ambulance report from June 30, 2018. The report reads: "Per staff PT (patient) was placed outside in wheelchair for a few hours. SNF (skilled nursing facility) forgot about PT."

Jeff says when he tried to get information on what exactly happened that day, he was given an explanation that doesn’t make sense.

“I met with the director there,” Jeff said. “I said, ‘OK, tell me what happened.’ She was like reading from a script. 'Your father got himself outside like he often did.' And now I'm thinking alright, number one, that's not accurate. 'We offered him water and ice at regular intervals and then he got himself back inside and then he was found unresponsive.' And I'm like, 'OK, you can't get yourself back inside because the doors are locked.' And that’s when things were just not lining up.”

The California Department of Social Services investigation report also details interviews it conducted with employees at Meadow Oaks. Those say Gene was given water at regular intervals. The report states, "Time cards shows S2 (employee) was responsible for monitoring R1 (Gene) on 6/30/18. She stated in an interview that she (S2) gave R1 water to avoid dehydration several times."

The Rogers family insists Gene was unable to get anywhere on his own. They say he wasn’t even able to manipulate the wheels on his wheelchair. They say that this makes a response issued by the defendants in the lawsuit particularly upsetting.

"Plaintiff Claude (Gene) Rogers failed to exercise ordinary care on his own behalf for his own safety," the plaintiff's response says. "That negligence caused the injury and damages alleged in plaintiffs’ Complaint."

“We know he couldn't care for himself,” Jeff said. “That's why we placed you in his care [sic]. That's why we paid you almost $6,000 a month, because he couldn't care for himself. I don't know how they can put the fault back on him. It's insulting.”

The Rogers family continues to mourn for Gene. They say his shoes will be hard to fill.

"My dad was the patriarch,” explained Jeff. “He was the one that really looked after everything for many many years. He and my mom were married over 60 years, so you know when you have something like that yanked out of your life all of a sudden, there's going to be a lot of getting used to for a long time.”

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Family says senior living facility lying about 83-year-old father's death

Family of man who died from septic shock files lawsuit against Whetstone Care Center

COLUMBUS (WCMH) -- A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in connection with a case of alleged patient neglect at the Whetstone Care Center. James Chandler died as a result of septic shock at the nursing home on March 5, 2017 at the age of 57.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, alleges that patient neglect led Chandler to develop a massive bedsore.

Chandler’s sister, Melisa Pierson, says the family was shocked to learn the severity of the bedsore. “You’re trusting where they’re at that they’re getting the care that they need,” Pierson said. “We didn’t have any reason to believe that he wasn’t getting the care that he needed. So to find out that the bed wounds were as bad as they were, it’s just really a shock to all of us.”

Earlier this month a Franklin County grand jury indicted three nurses from the Whetstone Care Center on charges of involuntary manslaughter, gross patient neglect and patient neglect as a result of failing to get the patient timely medical treatment. The three nurses are Sandra Blazer, Jessica Caldwell and Kimberly Potter. They are scheduled for a court appearance March 4.

The case was investigated by the Medicaid Fraud Section of the Ohio Attorney General's Office. "This case goes to the heart of protecting the unprotected," Attorney General Yost said earlier this month. "This man literally rotted to death.” “This is gut-wrenching for anyone who has entrusted a care facility with the well-being and safety of a loved one."

The lawsuit alleges medical negligence, wrongful death and a violation of Nursing Home Resident's Rights.

Ryan Stubenrauch, a spokesman for the nursing home, issued the following statement:

“Understandably, Mr. Chandler’s family is upset about his tragic death in 2017. We were also upset to learn that a former resident of our facility had died. However, Mr. Chandler’s death was not caused by the care he received at our facility two years ago. He passed away in the hospital after a five-day stay there after leaving our facility. As always, the health, safety, and well-being of our residents remains our number one priority.”

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Family of man who died from septic shock files lawsuit against Whetstone Care Center

Family: Mom given fatal overdose of meds hours after going to ER with shortness of breath

Jeremia Hodge died April 1, 2018, just hours after arriving to the Mt. Carmel ER and then being admitted to the ICU. (Courtesy: Hodge family)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Four adult sons solemnly sat with their lawyer Monday afternoon, recounting their final moments with their mother before they say a doctor gave her a lethal dose of fentanyl just four hours after they took her to the emergency room.

The Hodge brothers have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. William Husel, and John Doe nurses and pharmacists who worked at Mt. Carmel Hospital. It's the latest wrongful death lawsuit filed against the doctor, the hospital, and other staff after the hospital revealed at least 34 patients were given excessive and potentially fatal doses of pain medication.

“We know about construction, not medicine,” the Hodge brothers said.

So the men say when they were told their mother Sue Hodge was “brain dead” after being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit on April 1st 2018, they had a difficult decision to make. The family had just wrapped up a family picnic at a park on Easter Sunday only to find themselves in the middle of a nightmare.

“We thought she just had a cold and that she was just, we thought she would be in the hospital for some time and would come out of it,” said Jacob Hodge.

He said Dr. Husel recommended taking Sue off life support because “there was nothing else to be done for her.”

“We all had a meeting together and decided to unplug her because that is, he said, that is the best, the best for her. That she would be out of pain and suffering if we just went ahead and did it,” Robert said.

Lawyer David Shroyer said Sue Hodge was given 800 micrograms of Fentanyl and another drug Versed. Shroyer said 100 micrograms would be a “comfort” dose.

“You cannot take a position that I am going to administer drugs that hastens death to put someone out of their pain. That is an act of euthanasia, that is illegal in Ohio. That’s murder,” Shroyer said.

The Hodges talked about how difficult it is coming forward to speak out about the case. Robert Hodge said his mother was his best friend. “I talked to my mom every day. I drove cross country talked to her for hours. I am disappointed in the medical field. Really just upset and angry.”

Steven Hodge said it’s rough on them as the investigation continues. “It was like opening the wound all over again. We gotta live with this again and share it with the public.”

“Why? Why would you do this to people? You are supposed to be trusted,” Steven said about Dr. Husel. “We trusted the doctor’s word. You are in the hospital that is what you do. You trust your doctor. In this case, it was wrong.”

Husel has been fired by Mt. Carmel and his medical license has been yanked. Fourteen nurses and six pharmacists are on administrative leave as the probe continues. “I can’t even comprehend any of this would happen and why there is not situations to stop something like this,” said Jacob Hodge.

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Family: Mom given fatal overdose of meds hours after going to ER with shortness of breath

Lawsuit filed in Southside assisted living death

The estate of a woman who died at a Southside Assisted Living Facility filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the facility and two employees facing criminal charges regarding the woman’s care.

Joanna Neal, representing the estate of her mother, Lois Pruitt, filed the lawsuit for wrongful death against Assistcare, Inc., doing business as Woodland Place Assisted Living, and against its administrator, Caroline Renee Burton, and employee Brooke Tuck Ragsdale.

According to the lawsuit, Pruitt had lived at Woodland Place since 2014. When she was admitted, she suffered from dementia, but was otherwise in good condition of physical health.

“She had memory deficits and moderately impaired cognitive skills; however, she was able to communicate and express her basic needs and enjoyed her life,” the lawsuit states.

Neal paid the facility about $1,950 per month for assisted living services and care for her mother.

A hospice care nurse was employed by a separate entity this year to provide care and treatment while Pruitt continued to live at Woodland Place. The hospice nurse provided a comfort care kit to be kept at the facility, should Pruitt need comforting medications. It contained morphine and other drugs and sedative medications.

On June 19, 2018, Neal visited her mother and found Burton and Ragsdale in her mother’s room, along with the hospice comfort care kit, the lawsuit states.

“Immediately thereafter, Lois Pruitt’s health drastically declined,” the lawsuit contends. “It was later discovered that Burton and Ragsdale had administered a large dose of morphine to Lois Pruitt from the hospice comfort care kit.”

After administering the drug, neither Burton or Ragsdale attempted to contact medical professionals/emergency responders.

Neal learned of the “over-medication” June 21, the lawsuit states, when a Woodland Place employee informed her of the events and circumstances of June 19. She called law enforcement June 21 and her mother was taken that day to Gadsden Regional Medical Center. She died June 22, the lawsuit contends, “as a direct and proximate result of the over-medication of morphine and/or the delay of Burton and Ragsdale to notify medical professionals/emergency responders of Lois Pruitt’s declining condition.”

The police investigation into the incident resulted in criminal charges against Burton and Ragsdale: both were arrested June 22, charged with first-degree assault, and are free on $50,000 bond.

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Lawsuit filed in Southside assisted living death

Former guardian not eligible to bring DeBrodie lawsuit, judge rules

A Callaway County judge has dismissed a wrongful death suit filed by Carl DeBrodie's former guardian Mary Martin.

Judge Jeff Harris ruled July 2 that as Mary Martin and her husband, Bryan Martin, were not DeBrodie's birth or adoptive parents, they did not have standing to bring a wrongful death claim under Missouri statute, according to court documents.

"We already knew we were going to be denied, so it's not such a blow," Mary Martin said Friday. "We'll carry it as far as we can."

She said she, her husband and her lawyer are exploring legal options to continue pursuing the suit.

The Martins filed the wrongful death suit April 13, claiming as "psychological, 'de facto'" parents of DeBrodie, they should be among the beneficiaries entitled to participating in the wrongful death suit.

DeBrodie, the developmentally disabled man found dead in April 2017 after vanishing from a Fulton group home, lived with the Martins from ages 13-21. The Martins attempted to adopt DeBrodie when he was 25, but the petition was rejected by the Circuit Court of Cole County. The legal battle dragged from 2011-14.

Harris cited the failed adoption attempt in his July 2 decision.

"Plaintiffs' claims are barred in that their attempt at equitable adoption has already been adjudicated and rejected in other proceedings," he wrote.

Additionally, Harris noted, DeBrodie's mother, Carolyn Summers, already has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the case.

"Only one action may be brought under the wrongful death statute for the death of Carl DeBrodie," he stated.

Summers and DeBrodie's aunt Carol Samson filed their own wrongful death suit in January and have opposed the Martins' involvement in it. The Martins' civil suit was filed April 9.

On April 13 the Martins filed to intervene as plaintiffs in the Summers/Samson civil suit. At the time, Mary Martin said she hoped to change legal precedent to allow non-adoptive and birth parents more legal recourse in cases like this. She also mentioned plans to use money won through the suit to start a foundation to help people like DeBrodie.

The motion to intervene was terminated April 16.

In May, Samson filed a motion to dismiss the Martins' lawsuit. She and Summers also filed a motion to support its dismissal before the July 2 hearing.

The Martin suit was dismissed with prejudice, court records show, meaning the Martins will have to pay for costs associated with the suit.

"It hurts that the laws do not see us as the psychological parents," Mary Martin said Friday.

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Former guardian not eligible to bring DeBrodie lawsuit, judge rules

See Also:
Carl DeBrodie was killed by injuries from forced fighting, court documents reveal graphic details

Carl DeBrodie case: Family attorney says the charges didn't surprise him

Houston federal judge allows state judge to be sued

HOUSTON - Southern District Chief Justice Lee H. Rosenthal recently issued a landmark ruling allowing a wrongful death lawsuit against a Houston probate judge to proceed in an adult guardianship claim.

Sherry Johnston sued Harris County Probate Judge Christine Butts in 2016, alleging that her elderly mother Willie Jo Mills suffered broken bones and a rapid, preventable decline, which contributed to malnutrition and death when Mills was a ward of the State of Texas under guardianship.

 A ward is typically a senior citizen experiencing cognitive decline or a younger adult with physical or developmental disabilities.

“Construing the allegations in the light most favorable to Johnston, she has alleged a plausible claim against Judge Butts’s bond under § 1201.003,” Judge Rosenthanl states in her May 15, 2018 Decision.

Issued by Texas Bonding Company and Harris County, Judge Butt’s public official bond is valued at $500,000, according to court records.

 Judge Rosenthal’s ruling comes at a time when the adult guardianship system in Texas is under fire, according to a press release.

Bexar County Probate Judge Kelly Cross was admonished this month by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for labeling a proposed ward in another case "Mr. Maggot" and "Maggot Man” while the Spectrum Institute’s Legal Director Tom Coleman has requested records from Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht to determine whether a self evaluation of the state's guardianship system is underway. On April 18, the Texas Judicial Council’s David Slayton announced to Congress in Washington, D.C. that nearly half of adult guardianship cases in the state are out of compliance with reporting requirements.

“Johnston does not allege that Judge Butts failed to conduct the annual examination,” wrote Judge Rosenthal in her May 15, 2018 Memorandum and Opinion. “But she does allege that Judge Butts ignored requests for emergency relief, including a request made two days before Mills died. The context and timing of these requests are enough to state a claim that Judge Butts did not exercise reasonable diligence to determine whether Dexel and Lott were performing their duties as Mills’s guardian. The claim is limited to the amount of Judge Butts’s bond.”

According to court records, successor guardian Ginger Lott settled with Johnston in April 2018.

Judge Rosenthal dismissed claims against Harris County and guardian ad litem Clarinda Comstock however claims against Judge Butts and David Dexel will continue with a status conference on May 29, 2018 at 10:30a.m.

Section 1201.003 of the Texas Estates Code (TEC) specifically states that a judge is liable on a Judge's bond to those damaged if damage or loss results to a guardianship or ward because of the gross neglect of the judge to use reasonable diligence in the performance of the judge's duty under this subchapter.

“It creates a limited waiver of judicial immunity, allowing recovery for losses directly tied to the judge’s duties under the subchapter,” wrote Rosenthal in her decision.

Johnston sued David Dexel for breaches of his fiduciary duty based on allegations that he improperly billed and received attorney’s fees at $300 per hour in many instances instead of billing at a Guardian’s rate of $100 per hour.

According to Judge Rosenthal’s order, claims against Dexel include discontinuing physical therapy for Johnston’s mother, which Johnston alleges made her mother’s muscle problems worse.

“The allegations as to Dexel’s conduct as Mills’ guardian and the allegations as to his conduct in the probate-court proceedings support one claim for breach of fiduciary duty,” Judge Rosenthal’s order states.

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Houston federal judge allows state judge to be sued

Attorney for Carl DeBrodie's family says "whole system failed him"

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Attorneys for Carl DeBrodie's biological mother, Carolyn Summers, said Wednesday that they filed a wrongful death lawsuit on her behalf in order to find out what truly happened to DeBrodie and prevent what happened to him from happening to another vulnerable member of society.

"One of our desires is that it does not happen to other people, and that this be a wake up call," said attorney Rudolph Veit. "We see it all the time... individuals with mental conditions, they're so easy to take advantage of and to ignore."
The lawsuit claims those involved in DeBrodie's care failed to provide for his safety and attempted to cover up the circumstances of his death. The claims include wrongful death, negligence, civil rights violations and civil conspiracy.

On April 17, Fulton police received a missing person’s report from Second Chance Homes. They quickly realized DeBrodie had been missing a lot longer than the Second Chance workers had reported.

A week later, his body was found in a storage facility encased in a box of cement.

According to court documents, the wrongful death lawsuit was filed against 23 defendants, including Second Chance Homes, its' operator Rachael Rowden and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

The number of defendants could shrink based on the depositions.

"If they haven't done something wrong, we would like their names not to be part of it," said Veit. "We only want to get to those people who breached their duty in the care of Mr. DeBrodie."

Veit said that the investigation on the federal level with the U.S. Attorneys office was taking longer than they expected and they wanted to start getting answers. Veit and fellow Carson & Coil attorney Gabe Harris are working as a team on the case.

"We felt like if we filed now, most of their work will have been completed," said Veit. "We can start depositions and do thorough depositions and find out truly what happened in this case, putting people under oath."

Veit said they have a viable case, and right now, they just have to determine who was responsible for DeBrodie's death, and try to bring awareness to the whole system.

"While in a state-paid institution, because of the challenges in his life, he basically ended up in a concrete block," Veit said. "We know that's not supposed to happen, we know that his guardian should have checked on him and there are state regulations on how often his well-being was supposed to be checked and they were not."

The investigation continues but no criminal charges have been filed yet.

Full Article & Source:
Attorney for Carl DeBrodie's family says "whole system failed him"

See Also:
The Case of Carl DeBrodie: The Investigation

Man whose body was found encased in concrete may have been missing months

Advocates: Guardianship law should focus on well-being