It was known when the woman entered Sunshine Villa that she loved to walk and suffered from dementia.  In fact, the brothers purchased a device that is designed to help people keep tabs on an individual who is prone to wandering, WanderGuard, from the nursing home so that Sunshine Villa could keep an eye on their elderly mother.  Hours later, she wandered from the facility and died.

Carol Fundingsland was admitted by her sons at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 9th, 2010 and disappeared about 5:30 that afternoon.  The facility did not realize that she was missing until around 9 p.m. that night.  Erik and Ronald Kuentzel are seeking compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of their mother, who was 74 years old.

Erik, who states that he was reassured several times by Barbara Quinton, the facility’s director of community relations that his mother would receive special care, said that “The worst part about this situation is that my mother died a totally preventable, traumatic and painful death.”  The WanderGuard bracelet purchased by the brothers was never placed on Fundingsland by staff at Sunshine Villa.

Nursing home abuse and neglect is a rising problem today.  While we trust these facilities to care for our elderly loved ones, this is too often not the case.  If you suspect abuse or neglect of your loved one in a nursing home or elder care facility, contact Brown Chiari nursing home abuse and neglect law firm.

Eventually, the family took matters into their own hands by setting up a hidden video camera recording system in Arellano’s room.  What they would find would shock them.  Monica Garcia, an employee of the nursing home, was seen slapping Arellano and also pulling her hair.  Arellano, who is a stroke victim, was also tormented by the employee twisting her wrists, fingers and neck.  Garcia also violently abused the victim while she was in her shower chair.  She has pleaded no contest to simple battery, and was charged with a criminal offense.

The family of Arellano sued and has been awarded $7.75 million, which includes punitive damages of $5 million and actual damages of $2.7 million.  Eduardo Gonzalez, owner of the center, was assigned 40% of the liability, the center also 40%, and Garcia, the employee who abused the victim, was assigned 20% liability.  This incident has brought to light the plight of another resident of this nursing home, 83 year old Daniel Sanchez.  His family has also suspected abuse of their loved one, and he has since passed away.  The lawsuit filed by his family is scheduled to go to trial next month.  He was also a stroke victim.

The arrogance shown by the center is shocking to lawyers for Arellano’s family, who say they showed no interest in settling the claim.  When the Arellano family was unsatisfied with the measures taken by the center to investigate their abuse worries, they took action themselves and uncovered the facts.  The video recording that captured Garcia abusing Arellano weighed heavily in the trial.

California nursing home abuse lawyers ask families of nursing home residents to be aware and alert to any signs of abuse of their loved ones.

*  Look for the common signs of abuse.  Bruises, wounds, bed sores, unsanitary conditions, and failure of staff to bathe your loved one regularly should be reported to the facility at once.

*  Be alert to signs of malnutrition, and check to insure that needed medications are given on time.

*  Notice personality changes such as depression, anxiety or fear that wasn’t there before.  These could be naturally occurring due to dementia, but may also be signs that some form of abuse is taking place.

The Reeves Law Group has offices across California and is dedicated to representing personal injury victims, including victims of nursing home abuse.  Please contact us for a free consultation at (800) 644-8000.

There are different types of abuse one may be subject to endure while living in an ethically questionable nursing home. The first, and perhaps most common type of abuse evident in these types of environments, is neglect. Neglect is an indirect form of abuse in that a resident of a nursing home is perhaps being ignored or not receiving the care he or she wants and needs to be happy and comfortable. Neglect can cause both physical and emotional problems. There have been cases in which residents of nursing homes have been denied any reasonable amount of human contact for days and even weeks on end. Other forms of neglect could include not cleaning a resident properly when that resident is unable to adequately clean him or herself.

Direct abuse is also evident in nursing homes. Many nursing home employees have been convicted of hitting, kicking, punching, and attacking the residents for which they are hired to care and protect. Many residents are physically unable to inform their loved ones of this abuse. Others are threatened by the abusive staff, will result in more injuries, abuse and more pain. If you suspect at all that your loved one is the victim of nursing home abuse, do not hesitate to contact a personal injury lawyer right away.

Unfortunately, every year there is a substantial number of nursing home abuse victims who are unable to recover from the wounds they’ve received from either the direct abuse or intentional neglect of the staff supposedly dedicated to helping them. Many nursing home employees are taken to court and criminally convicted of these crimes each year. Although criminal charges may provide relief and justification to family members of the lost victim, criminal claims do not typically provide any sort of financial compensation to a victim’s loved one. Financial compensation is often necessary to cover medical fees incurred while the victim remained alive or the costly funeral arrangements to lay your loved one to rest. In order to receive financial compensation to help cover these costs and others, personal injury lawyers help thousands of people each year in filing civil charges in addition to criminal charges. The civil charges for a personal injury claim will likely offer you and your relatives the financial support you’ll require to carry on through the difficult mourning process.