Elder abuse attorney Ed Dudensing represents Cheryl Doe, a 79-year-old woman, and her son Robert, in a February 2024 lawsuit against the Windsor Healthcare Center of Oakland regarding the alleged rape, elder neglect, and fraud she was victim to while under its care for Alzheimer’s and dementia.
A preliminary investigation by Dudensing law found that after Robert’s mother was raped by another resident, he was not informed until days after the incident. Rather than the managerial staff at the center, a certified nursing assistant was the one who told Robert about both the assault and the center’s intentional concealing of the attack. Emboldened by the center’s inaction after the first attack, the offender again accessed Cheryl’s room where he retaliated, leaving bruises and wounds on her body.
Windsor Healthcare Center of Oakland sits under Brius Management Company, a large nursing home operator similar to others Dudensing Law has brought cases against, citing abuse of the vulnerable elderly population entrusted in their care. Widespread understaffing of nursing facilities subjects residents to dangerous conditions, and by seeking justice for victims and holding these companies accountable, Dudensing Law strives to ensure that senior citizens receive the care they deserve.
“This really strikes at the heart of the fundamental obligation of nursing homes — keep your patients safe,” said Ed Dudensing. “They have a history of failures of care that not only involves resident-on-resident abuse, like this case, but other areas of neglect as well.”
In the wake of new nursing home staffing requirements announced by the Biden Administration in April, many healthcare organizations are voicing concerns about a lack of necessary funding. Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL which represents 14,000 nursing homes, went as far as to claim that the mandate will ultimately lead to widespread nursing center shutdowns and resident displacement.
Speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Dudensing explained that the cries of poverty from the nursing home industry are easily debunked by the fact that “private equity money, venture capital” and other investments “are still flowing into these facilities at record rates… and balance sheets are very easy to manipulate.”
Earlier this year, KFF Health News reported that “for-profit groups own about 72% of the roughly 15,000 nursing homes in the United States, which serve more than 1.3 million residents.”
While representing Sam Rios, a former Sacramento State professor who died due to complications from pressure sores after residing in a nursing home, Dudensing went beyond suing just the nursing home, also naming its partner companies as defendants. He proved that this highly profitable conglomerate, including a private equity firm, paid high salaries to its top executives while the nursing homes it owned suffered from understaffing and low quality of care for its residents. In March 2024, the suit ended with a jury verdict of $5.9 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages.
With these new mandates in place, Dudensing has emphasized that it is crucial that the state of California identifies understaffed, high-risk facilities and ensures that the requirements are met. With some of the most vulnerable groups of society at risk of abuse, fraud, and injury, large for-profit groups must be held accountable in maintaining adequate staff numbers and pay in their facilities.
The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging is investigating “walkaway deaths” at assisted living facilities, where residents wander off or are left unattended, leading to fatal outcomes. Senator Bob Casey sent letters to CEOs of major assisted living facility corporations, particularly in California, regarding reports of workforce shortages and inadequate care.
According to renowned elder abuse attorney Ed Dudensing, these deaths can be caused by exposure to inclement weather, pedestrian accidents, lack of access to vital medicine and other situations where elderly people are especially vulnerable.
The issue is especially critical for California due to its climbing elderly population, with over 6.1 million residents aged 65+, many of whom will soon enter the care of assisted living facilities. Assisted living facilities are a crucial part of the healthcare industry but often face staffing shortages and lower training requirements compared to skilled nursing facilities, posing significant risks to residents.
Private equity firms have increasingly invested in assisted living facilities, driven by profitability. Research suggests that when private equity firms acquire healthcare facilities, patients face higher risks and lower quality of care.
“Californians have long prioritized access to quality health care. We need to encourage federal, state and local governments to take a vested interest in the required quality of care at assisted living facilities, and advocate for the rights of those who are no longer able to advocate for themselves,” said Dudensing.
Dudensing Law currently is representing family members in a lawsuit against Colony Capital (now known as DigitalBridge), Formation Capital, and others, regarding a walkaway death in which the victim walked out of a 2nd floor door that was unarmed and unalarmed, fell down a flight of stairs, and froze to death outside. Walkaway deaths like this are simply unacceptable.
Sacramento elder neglect attorney reaches settlement for senior citizen who was allowed to choke to death on a hotdog
January 30, 2024 — Dudensing Law has retrieved $625,000 on behalf of a victim who choked to death while under the care of a Stockton assisted living facility. Dudensing Law discovered an untrained and overworked staff running the facility. The case involved an 88-year-old woman who was not given access to her dentures and given a whole hot dog to consume unsupervised. When the victim choked and lost consciousness, staff failed to intervene with the Heimlich maneuver. Instead, the assisted living facility staff waited for an EMT to arrive who was able to easily dislodge the food from her airway. This failure on the facility’s part caused the victim to die within days.
$1.25 million elder neglect settlement against Auburn skilled nursing facility for severe dehydration
December 22, 2023 — The victim’s son knew his father needed some assistance with personal care and hydration but otherwise was an alert and
relatively healthy 83-year-old man. The skilled nursing facility in question promised to provide physical exercise and protect this elderly man’s hydration levels. Instead, the victim’s health took a rapid and sharp decline in the coming days after his admission to the facility. Attorney on the case, Ed Dudensing, found that the facility was hiding their bad behavior under
COVID-19 restrictions which prohibited visits from family. After just 39 days, the victim’s son received a shocking call that his father was on his death bed. The victim was rushed to the hospital by family, but complications from severe dehydration had taken its toll and the man tragically died. Top elder abuse attorney, Ed Dudensing, found that the skilled nursing facility was responsible for neglecting the victim’s basic needs to stay alive and vital.
September 9, 2023 — Ed Dudensing announced today that his office has reached settlement with two
Sacramento area assisted living facilities in connection with their neglect of his elderly client. Shortly after her admission to the assisted living facility, the victim suffered a significant fall. The assisted living center’s failure to manage their client’s resulting pain set into motion catastrophic mental and physical consequences for her.
California Attorney Ed Dudensing secures significant recovery against understaffed, negligent skilled nursing facility
July 6, 2023 — Ed Dudensing delivered plaintiffs a $1.5 million recovery on behalf of a
gentleman who wrongly suffered multiple injuries and death. Dudensing revealed that the
skilled nursing facility kept admitting residents despite their understaffing issues which resulted in an elderly man’s rapid decline in health and painful death. Staff did not respond
to victim’s recurring urinary tract infections, pressure sores, delirium, and massive weight loss. The issues compounded as he was given a sleep sedative that increased his risk of falling. The victim suffered frequent falls that further injured him even though the family was promised a sitter to prevent falls. Mr. Dudensing revealed that staff failed to provide plaintiffs
with the sitter, which resulted in more falls and complications from his neglected ailments.
Because of this abhorrent treatment, the victim was unable to make a recovery and died
within weeks.
July 5, 2023 — Dudensing Law delivered justice on behalf of an El Dorado County woman who died of sepsis from a clostridium difficile infection that she acquired while in the care of a Placerville skilled nursing facility. The elder abuse attorneys uncovered that unsanitary conditions, neglect, and severe dehydration were the cause of her death. Attorneys found out that the victim complained of not being given fresh water every day. Additionally, she suffered recurring infections including pneumonia. Shockingly, Dudensing Law found that she was given only one shower during the nearly two months in their care.
June 30, 2023 — The owners of multiple skilled nursing facilities agreed to pay $975,000 on behalf of a deceased man who choked to death while under care. Dudensing Law found that the patient had a clear
care plan in place to ensure safe eating. The facility was aware of the victim’s need for monitored food intake prior to admittance, but these needs were ignored by staff.
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.
