Personal Injury Law

Woman Stuck in Freezer at Nursing Home with History of Elderly Abuse

By guest-writer

A bizarre incident at a California residential facility in which an elderly woman was locked in a walk-in freezer has raised red flags about a nursing home with a checkered past.

The woman, who was 94 years old, was hospitalized after employees of Silverado Senior Living found her stuck in a large freezer. In response to the personal injury incident, state authorities have launched an investigation of the facility and its employees.

According to sources who profiled the potential incident of elderly abuse, most of the residents of the facility suffered from dementia, so the facility’s employees were tasked with supervising residents 24 hours a day.

In addition, the doors leading into the kitchen and the freezer itself were supposed to remain locked at all times. On the night of the incident, however, neither the kitchen door nor the entry to the freezer were sufficiently secured.

The director of the facility declined to say how long the woman was stuck in the freezer, but estimates that the internal temperature in the freezer is roughly 5 degrees. As a result, he thinks the woman was in the freezer for less than 15 minutes, since a longer time of exposure would likely result in death.

This incident is particularly troubling in light of the facility’s embarrassing incident of elderly abuse less than a year ago. Then, an employee named Cesar Ulboa was convicted on charges of elderly abuse and torture and sentenced to a life in prison.

This elderly abuse lawsuit uncovered horrific claims by Ulboa’s co-workers, who claimed the abuser would leap off of furniture and land on top of elderly residents. In addition, Ulboa allegedly used the limbs of residents in wheelchairs to strike other residents, attempting to cause fights between elderly patients.

The case was blown open after authorities exhumed the body of a deceased former resident of the facility. Examiners found evidence of severe physical abuse on the body.

In addition to Ulboa’s stunningly violent behavior, prosecutors in the elderly abuse case also alleged that Silverado Senior Living failed to adequately train its employees and was negligent in not installing cameras in the residents’ rooms.

Both the recent freezer incident and the harrowing case of abuse last year have rocked the residential living facility, which charges up to $70,000 a year per resident.

Unfortunately, incidents of elderly abuse at nursing homes and residential living facilities have become relatively common. Signs of elderly abuse include physical trauma, emotional withdrawal, and the mysterious loss of valuable items from an elderly resident’s room.

Since elderly patients, especially those with dementia, are often unwilling or unable to report instances of abuse, they are a particularly vulnerable population.

In order to prevent future incidents of abuse and punish those who abuse the elderly, the American justice system has developed a robust system of protections for abuse victims. If you or your loved one has suffered from elderly abuse, contact a local personal injury lawyer today.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on November 24, 2010 (boomark / email).