Personal Injury Law

Parkinson's Patient At Sacramento Nursing Facility Subjected To Abuse, Part 10 of 12

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 medical negligence case and its proceedings.)

It is also worth noting that situations similar to those described in this elder abuse case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, U.C. Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Sutter, or any skilled nursing facility.

Defendants Have Improperly Interjected New Facts in Their Demurrer

Defendants assert in their Demurrer that Abbey had severe co-morbidities which included Parkinson's and dementia, which specifically prevented her own ability to eat. (Demurrer 6:7 - 9.) Those claims by Defendants are not supported by the facts set forth in the FAC. Defendants repeated references of Abbey's "co-morbidity" (i.e., the coexistence of two or more disease processes) is nothing more than a red herring and appears an attempt to suggest that because Abbey had Parkinson's and dementia then she must have been near death. That is simply untrue.

Rather, in paragraphs 30 and 31 of the FAC, Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants should have been aware of the serious risks associated with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) since Abbey had Parkinson's and the skilled nursing facility and its nurses needed to carefully monitor her swallowing abilities. They did not, which failure was a clear breach of the applicable standard of care of care. For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Defendants also state, "glaringly," plaintiffs simply gloss over the fact that Ms. Albert had several significant co-morbidities, but attempt to articulate that she was relatively healthy. (Demurrer 6:26 - 28.) Defendants again attempt to direct the focus outside of the FAC.

Full post as published by Sacramento Injury Lawyer Blog on September 09, 2010 (boomark / email).