Blog Post

San Mateo County, Nursing Home Settle Abuse Lawsuit


May 21, 2008
Topic: Nursing Home Abuse

San Mateo County has settled a nursing home abuse lawsuit with Res-Care after a woman in the guardianship of the county was almost burned to death at the nursing home facility four years ago.

The incident happened on May 4, 2004. Mentally disabled Theresa Rodriguez was seated in the shower at the Redwood City nursing home, a part of the largest conglomerate in the country - Res-Care. A sudden malfunction caused the woman, who can't speak or walk, to be scalded with a burst of boiling water. The water, which was heated to 145 degrees, caused Theresa to suffer horrific third degree burns over about 60 percent of his body. Her skin was scalded from her waist down.

That a disabled woman who had lost her ability to talk was burned in this manner itself is unforgivable, but the nursing home abuse that followed was even more reprehensible. The nursing aide, Oretha Ocansey, covered Theresa up in a diaper, and then did nothing for another two hours. She did not inform her supervisor. Theresa basically suffered for two hours until a supervisor was finally called in.

Only at that point did Theresa receive any form of medical care, being airlifted to Santa Clara Hospital. She spent the next two days on life support. She finally pulled through, but not before sustaining injuries severe enough to warrant full time medical care and attention. Her hospital care costs the county, which is her sole guardian, an amount of $3,000 per day.

Ocansey, a Liberian national, was arrested for nursing home abuse. Later, it was found that the woman had almost no experience caring for sick older people. This can be gauged from the fact that she simply dumped Theresa under the scalding shower, and left her there. It turned out that the nursing home rules forbade anybody from calling 911 until a supervisor was called in. Apparently, they thought it was too expensive, and thought it preferable to use their own transport in case of an emergency. Even so, prosecutors maintained that Ocansey was still liable for the nursing home abuse injuries suffered by Theresa because she waited two hours before calling in her supervisor.

In August 2004, Ocansey pled guilty to elder abuse, and was awarded a sentence of the 34 days she had already spent in jail and probation for four years. She was also banned from working at other healthcare facilities. Five months later, the County sued the nursing home facility for actual and punitive damages. The county is the sole guardian of Theresa Rodriguez.

In its lawsuit, the county maintained that Res-Care knew of the water temperature problem in the shower, and did nothing about it. That wasn't all. The home is one of three homes owned and operated by Res-Care in San Mateo that has had problems meeting standards for care. Two of those homes have been cited, and one was forced to shut down.

The lack of care of our elders in nursing homes seems to be crossing all limits of civilized society. Bottom-lines seem to be taking precedence over proper care, and some of the nursing home abuse cases that we've recently seen have bordered on torture, as in the case of Theresa. To burn a person in full control of her faculties and her senses intact would have been a crime. To force such pain and trauma on a defenseless invalid is unforgivable. With this nursing home abuse settlement, at least Theresa will have a more stable care environment for the rest of her life.

If you have a loved one who has been the victim of nursing home abuse, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.