Personal Injury Law

Sacramento Man's Family Sues For Elder Care Abuse, Part 8 of 11

By Moseley Collins, Esq.

(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this elder abuse/wrongful death case and its proceedings.)

PLAINTIFFS' SIXTH CAUSE OF ACTION FOR NEGLIGENT HIRING, SUPERVISION, AND RETENTION OF REBECCA COCKRILL STATES A CLAIM.

Liability for negligent hiring, training, retention, or supervision is based on the principle that an enterprise should bear the loss for its negligence in hiring, training, or retaining unsuitable employees. Mendoza v. City of Los Angeles (1998) 66 Cal.App.4th 1333, 1339-1340. See also Restatement of Agency (2nd) Section 213 (employer liable to third parties for injuries caused by inadequate training and supervision of its employees).

Here, with respect to Steven Brown, the first amended complaint alleges that defendants owed him a duty of care in connection with the managers they hired and retained to run the facility, based on their special relationship with him. Mr. Brown paid defendants more than $41,000 to provide care for him, which defendants did not provide, by reason of Ms. Cockrill's mismanagement of the Universal Care facility. This is an economic loss sufficient to show damages to Mr. Brown on this cause of action.

Plaintiffs Christina and David Brown concede that they as individuals, as opposed to successors in interest, have not stated a cause of action for negligent hiring.

Full post as published by Sacramento Injury Lawyer Blog on March 20, 2010 (boomark / email).