Oakland Nursing Home Faces Allegations of Rape, Neglect, and Fraud

An East Oakland nursing home facility is facing a lawsuit that makes allegations of rape, elder neglect, and fraud. The complaint is drawing negative attention to one of the largest skilled nursing home operators in the state of California.

The case involves a 79-year-old woman with cognitive impairments. She was allegedly sexually assaulted multiple times at Windsor Healthcare Center of Oakland, according to the lawsuit. Nursing homes are expected to keep their patients safe from harm. This is especially true of memory care patients who can’t perform the activities of daily living, get confused easily, and cannot care for themselves.

The plaintiff and her son reached out to the media to make their story known. They showed pictures of bruises on the plaintiff which her son alleges were the result of a sexual assault that was swept under the rug. According to the lawsuit, the son didn’t find out until two days after the rape that his mother had been assaulted. The son says his mom was raped by another resident living in the facility last August. He reports that a certified nursing assistant told him about the assault—not the management of the facility. According to the son, the CNA clandestinely told him about the continuous rapes that had been occurring. She also indicated that the facility knew about the rapes, and chose not to tell the son about them.

The complaint alleges that a CNA and a charge nurse knew about the rapes, but nothing was done. The complaint accuses the facility of not only failing to tell the family about the rapes, but choosing to deny that they ever occurred. The facility changed tactics after an employee said they witnessed it happen. The son told the press that several days after the first incident, the man was able to get back into her room and do it again.

The son contends that the alleged rapist retaliated against his mom and hurt her again after she told one of the nurses about what happened. “He hit her… he beat her….there were bruises all over her arm and scrapes on her knee,” the son said. According to the plaintiff’s attorney, there was a man at the facility who was repeatedly sexually abusing the plaintiff. The complaint specifies that at least two employees were aware that the resident was being attacked. Yet, the facility did nothing to prevent the man from accessing his victim’s room.

Ultimately, the facility is responsible for ensuring the protection of its residents. In this case, the plaintiffs contend that they allowed their resident to be sexually assaulted multiple times, knew about the first sexual assault, and did nothing to prevent future sexual assaults. The plaintiffs hope to hold the nursing home accountable for their negligence.

Talk to an Oakland, CA Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today 

Nursing homes are expected to protect their residents from abuse. When they don’t they can be held liable for negligence. The Oakland personal injury lawyers at Venardi Zurada represent the interests of abused or neglected nursing home residents. We serve the Bay Area from our office locations in Oakland and Walnut Creek.   Call our office today to learn more about how we can help.

Source:

abc7news.com/nursing-home-assault-rape-windsor-healthcare-center-of-oakland/14517455/