Sacramento Injury Lawyer Blog

In our Sacramento area, owners and two employees of a Citrus Heights care facility are being arrested and tried for the deaths of three of their elderly residents. It was around this time last year that a fire tore through the halls of the facility. All employees and some residents were able to escape the fire, with the exception of three.

Reports from the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District are showing the reason why these two were not able to escape the fire was because of unlawful restraints that held them in their rooms. One woman, Doris Bower, was not able to leave because railing on the side of her bed prevented her from getting out. Another woman, Virginia Esler, was trapped in her room by a locked wheelchair. The third woman, Marjorie Leroux, had a bed that was completely surrounded by railing. People were able to get Marjorie out of the fire eventually, but she died several days later from trauma associated with the fire.

An investigation was carried out that showed the restraints in place during the fire were against safety regulations. Through the investigation, other violations were also revealed. The fire was discovered to be a result of a resident who ignited a stuffed chair in her bedroom with a cigarette. There are regulations within residential care facilities that do not allow for any patient with dementia to be allowed to smoke, except in designated areas. One of the owners found the fire that night and seemingly put it out. Unfortunately, the fire began to smolder again and began the disastrous fire that eventually ended in the death of three.

The owners and two staff are being charged with involuntary manslaughter for these deaths.

Violations in care facilities such as this and elder abuse are a huge and growing concern in the United States. Reports from the United States General Accounting Office showed that in 1998, one-third of nursing homes in California were cited for serious and/or life-threatening problems within their facility. To magnify this problem, please take a look at the following statistics for counties within California:

In 1999, the U.S. Congress Committee on Government Reform (USCCGR) reported that of the 439 nursing homes in Los Angeles County, only one was in total compliance with federal standards of care.

In 2000, the USCCGR reported that only 18 of the 288 nursing homes in the San Francisco Bay Area were in full or substantial compliance with federal standards of care.

In 2001, the USCCGR reported that all 27 of the nursing homes in the 22nd Congressional District (Santa Barbara) violated federal health and safety standards.

No care facility should hold such low standards. If you have a loved one who has been abused as the result of a care facility’s negligence and disregard, please call me at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins.

Web Resources:

Two owners, two staffers arrested in fatal Citrus Heights care home fire, The Sacramento Bee

Elder Abuse In Nursing Homes, The Office of the Attorney General; Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse

I read an incredible story in the news today about a high school boy and his road of recovery since a severe dog attack. The young man’s name is Shawn Jones. When Shawn was 10-years old, he saw his whole life change. One afternoon, Shawn was riding his bike, when a pack of three pit bulls attacked him. It was a brutal attack. They say that one pit bull’s jaw can exert as much pressure as 1,000 pounds per square inch, can you imagine the detrimental effects three of those jaw can bring?

The attacks left Shawn in the hospital with chunks of muscle torn out of his arm, nerves and muscles destroyed on both sides of his face, and both of his ears ripped off. The first several days were very uncertain, with Shawn hanging between life and death. In addition to his horrendous injuries directly from the dog attack, Shawn began having blood and other fluids leak into his lungs. The doctors were constantly in a battle to fight off bacteria and infection.

Luckily, after some time, Shawn began to show signs of improvement. He began to undergo reconstructive surgeries to repair the extensive damage done to his face and body. Shawn spent eleven months recovering in the hospital from his injuries.

Today, Shawn is a junior at high school. He plays football, wrestles and runs track. He is doing well in school, achieving a 3.5 grade point average. He has definitely had his struggles since his near-death incidence. But his determination and God’s hand has prevailed, bringing him through discouragement, bouts of depression and uncertainty. Shawn now speaks to victims of animal attacks at Children’s Hospital. He shares with them that there is hope and to pass along the understanding he has gained from his own six year recovery.

Shawn’s attack from those three pit bulls is one of the worst I have heard. But through it all, there is hope and there is life. Never let go of this, no matter what your situation may be. If you have ever suffered from a serious dog attack, please call me at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins. I am here to listen and to help.

To read the article on Shawn Jones, please click here.

I read the craziest story in the news today. It is about a personal injury lawsuit in Southern California in which a woman was injured from a trip-and-fall and then assaulted. The woman, Star Harris, states that she was in 7-11 when she fell over some crates that were in her way. Badly injured, Star made her way to the counter to call 911. Star suffered another blow, literally, once she reached the counter. While asking a cashier for a phone to call 911, a man punched Star in the face and knocked her down! Hard to believe that someone would do such a thing to a injured woman. A store security camera depicted this second incident, and after the punch, showed the man paying for a beer and leaving.

It is a crazy world.

Star ended up in the hospital, suffering from three broken ribs, and an injured back and head. In response, Star is suing 7-11 for $1 million. 7-11 has offered Star $15,000.

This is a very interesting and unusual case. However, it does depict a trip-and-fall situation. The facts that need to be discovered are several, including whether someone’s negligence caused the fall and whether the crates were open and obvious. Something is open and obvious if it is apparent upon “causal inspection”, so that a reasonable person if in the same situation, would avoid the potentially dangerous object.

If you have been seriously injured in a trip-and-fall accident because of someone else’s negligence, please call me at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins.

To read the full news article, please click here.

A dentist’s from our Sacramento area had his licensed pulled while he faces charges of battery and sexual battery on some of his female patients. Twenty-seven women have come forth in this case, stating that the dentist, Dr. Mark Anderson, groped their breasts during their examinations. Dr. Anderson has stated that he was not groping his patients’ breasts, but rather massaging them as a treatment for temporomandibular joint disorder, a jaw condition more commonly known as TMJ. The defendant brought forth evidence that showed “palpating the pectoral muscles of the chest” is a standard of care for the treatment of TMJ. The judge rejected this evidence stating that the dentist’s conduct went far beyond just palpating the pectoral muscles and noted that sexual comments were often made during this so-called treatment.

California code 1708 states that “every person is bound, without contract, to abstain from injuring the person or property of another, or infringing upon any of his or her rights”. When someone intently offends or harms someone else by touching their intimate parts, they commit sexual battery. Any person who commits sexual battery is liable by law for the other person’s special damages, general damages, and punitive damages.

It is always sad when a professional uses his or her power and/or authority to manipulate or abuse the person they are supposed to be serving. If you have suffered from a sexual assault, please contact me at the Law Offices of Moseley Collins. You should not go through this alone and the assailant should be stopped before he/she hurts more people. We are here to listen and help.

Take care…

To read the full article about Dr. Anderson, please click here.