Dudensing Law triumphs over two Los Angeles facilities responsible for the injury and death of an elderly woman
April 5, 2023
Attorneys specializing in elder abuse from the firm Dudensing Law recovered $1 million from an assisted living facility and $495,000 from a skilled nursing facility who were responsible for the injury, neglect, and subsequent death of a new resident.
The victim was a healthy senior citizen who moved from New York to California to be closer to her son. She had no known history of serious medical conditions, but within days of entering the Los Angeles senior living facility, she suffered a serious fall that resulted in a fractured spine. After treatment from a neurologist, orthopedic specialist, and house doctor they were in agreeance that the victim only needed a neck brace but was otherwise in good health from a lifetime of healthy habits. She was discharged in stable, but fragile condition.
The victim was then transferred to a skilled nursing facility where she died unexpectedly in a matter of days. An autopsy revealed she died of a cardiac arrest and hypertension despite having no prior history of heart or blood pressure issues. Dudensing Law pursued the facts and found failures on the part of both facilities including negligence to monitor the victim after her intake. Dudensing found that the victim was ignored to suffer a worsening condition alone and without proper medical intervention. Proper intervention would have allowed the victim a full recovery back to her baseline of good health.
Dudensing attorneys uncovered a history of massive understaffing and a witness who saw a nurse colluding with staff to falsify records. The nurse was caught ordering another nurse to change log times after the victim’s death and in direct response to the victim’s cardiac arrest time of death to avoid suspicion of negligence. Understaffing creates an overburdened staff and is a dark reality in facilities that choose to prioritize their bottom line, even if it costs a life. Dudensing Law once again secured justice against two negligent facilities entrusted to provide care to vulnerable members of the community.