A few months ago our elder abuse lawyers wrote a blog on an Arizona woman who escaped from her abusive caretakers. Ruthann Jacox, a 64-year-old woman who suffered from multiple sclerosis and has been bedridden for two years, was under the care of Lea Marie Hughes and her boyfriend Gilbert Pierre Peralta Jr. When a visitor came to the home Jacox asked them to take a picture of her back, which was covered in bedsores down to the bone, when she saw this she begged to be taken to the hospital. The police began to investigate the situation and discovered that Hughes limited Jacox’s liquid to one and a half quarts and only fed her between 700 and 1,000 calories a day. Jacox kept a journal of all of the abuse she suffered under their care.
Peralta Tells Media that Authorities Have the Story Wrong
Unfortunately, even though she was away from her abusers and getting the medical attention that she needed, Jacox died at the Tucson Medical Center on November 8, 2011. Authorities are now saying that the couple also cleared the woman’s bank accounts and credit cards. But Peralta is saying that the stories about what happened to Jacox are not true. He says that both Hughes and himself loved Jacox as if she was family and did not abuse or neglect her. He said he cannot speak for the 12 to 15 hours a day he spent at work and cannot comment on her diet, but he used to make her egg sandwiches in the morning until she told him that she preferred that Hughes care for her. He did notice the weight loss but assumed that it was a result of the multiple sclerosis. He says that he was the one that saw the sores on her back and made the decision to go to the hospital. “I seen the wound and I said ‘Get the wheelchair. We’re going to take her in (to the hospital) right now,” Peralta said. He then wheeled Jacox to the car and Hughes drove her to the hospital while he stayed home with Hughes’ kids. He also said that they never stole from Jacox, she would give him $40 or $60 for gas money occasionally but he says he always paid her back. He also claims that Hughes would give him Jacox’s ATM card and tell him to withdraw money, but that they were given permission and he always gave the card back. “It was nothing damaging like they’re trying to say…Ruthann was my best friend. I took care of her as much as I could,” Peralta said.
Elder Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If your loved one is currently under the care of an individual or they are a resident of a nursing home or care facility and you are worried that the care they are receiving is negligent, abusive, or inadequate and you would like to speak with one of our elder abuse lawyers, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
In 2004, New York’s highest court ruled that women can sue for emotional suffering if their stillbirth is a result of medical malpractice. There have now been a couple cases moving through the legal system that are determining what is justified compensation.
85-year old Heartland Health Care Center – Kalamazoo resident, Dollie McGrew died this month when the facility van that was transporting her to a dental appointment at the University of Michigan hit the curb. McGrew was pronounced dead at the scene while the driver of the van was not injured. The details of the incident have not been released, but the driver of the van did have a valid driver’s license and the facility did report the death to the state.
In one of the suits, Bonita Tomblin is alleging that her late mother, Anoway Rose Smith, died as a result of the nursing home’s “systemic abuse and neglect.” Smith was a patient at the nursing home four separate times between August 25, 2009 and February 2010, and she died on February 23, 2010. According to the lawsuit, Tomblin says her mother suffered “skin breakdown, weight loss and falls” as a result of the neglect from the home. The lawsuit asks for damages for pain and suffering, mental anguish, inconvenience, physical impairment, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, aggravation of existing diseases and physical defects, medical expenses and for her death. It also requests punitive damages.
A woman entered the Lake Ridge Care Center in Buffalo, Minnesota on January 14, 2010 with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure and low potassium. She was prescribed two tablets of potassium three times a day to help keep her blood pumping through her heart. On January 23, 2010, the resident was sent to the emergency room because she was found unresponsive. Treaters in the emergency found a severely abnormal heart rhythm and extremely low potassium levels. The woman died later that afternoon. Her official cause of death was cardiac arrest. 
According to a report issued by the Minnesota Department of Health Facility Complaints Office, the man fell from his wheelchair on March 8th and suffered a “large hematoma, approximately four centimeters by three centimeters, on his left forehead.” He had bleeding that was putting pressure on his brain and depriving him of oxygen. The patient was examined 30 minutes after the fall, but no vital signs or neurological tests were done for at least three hours. Four hours after the fall, he was unresponsive and his vital signs were not stable. The nursing home transferred him to a hospital where he died two days later on March 10th. The death certificate states the cause of death as a “massive intracranial hemorrhage.”
An 82-year-old man from Illinois died this month at Heartland Healthcare nursing home. According to the police report, Irvin W. Brackett was found by nursing assistant Annette Payton at 10:30 p.m. on the floor with an oxygen tube and electrical cord wrapped around his neck and tied to an assistance lever that was hanging over his bed. Payton immediately called other nurses for help. They removed the constraints and began emergency resuscitation. An ambulance was called to help but nothing could be done and the nursing home called for the coroner at 12:16 a.m. Brackett was pronounced dead at the scene by the Knox County Coroner Mark Thomas. According to Thomas: 
The Johnson Mathers Nursing Home in Carlisle, Kentucky received a Type A citation from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ Office of Inspector General on May 10 for an April 30, 2010 incident of nursing home neglect where a resident’s life or safety was endangered because of violations of state regulations. The incident involved a newly admitted resident who was on a pureed diet and had requested all necessary measures be taken to save her life.