In a tragic case of nursing home abuse and negligence, an assisted living facility in Delray Beach, Florida will be paying a $7,500 fine after the death of 93 year old resident Michael Gruen. Gruen suffered from advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease and died after drinking dishwashing liquid.
Homewood Residence (a Brookdale Assisted Living Facility), which has until now neither accepted or denied responsibility for Gruen’s death, received warnings in 2008 regarding insecure areas of their facility. Dangerous chemicals were accessible to the number of dementia patients living within the nursing home. Apparently, the appropriate changes were not made.
Michael Gruen accessed the detergent in the early morning hours of December 28, 2009, while caretakers were busy with another patient. A staff member found Gruen standing over the liquid, and asked him if he swallowed it. Gruen did not answer. He was rushed to the emergency room at Delray Medical Center but died 18 hours later as a result of severe burns to his esophagus.
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The 2008 citations were not the only warnings Brookdale’s Homewood Residence had received. In February 2009, Homewood Residence paid a $3,000 fine when 10 residents became sick with norovirus. And in April 2009, a $1,500 fine was given after questions arose during an inspection regarding the treatment of bedsores. The treatment and care this nursing home was providing was inadequate and negligent then, and continues to be now.
State health agencies investigate these homes and hand out citations and fines, but these small amounts don’t seem to instill any fear or sense of responsibility into those that are running these nursing homes and long term care facilities. Perhaps the only way to truly make owners and administrators aware is to take them to court and let a jury decide their penalties.
If you or a loved one have been victimized by nursing home negligence, please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
Our elder abuse attorneys are here to earn you the compensation you deserve.