$27 million awarded against assisted-living facility for negligence in care of Alzheimer's patient. Sacramento County.

Facts and Background

• Facts and Background:

  Joan Boice and her husband Myron Boice, moved into Emeritus Assisted Living Facility in Auburn, CA, on September 12, 2008, from another assisted living facility. She walked into Emeritus with her walker. She left Emeritus on December 4, 2008 with multiple full-thickness pressure ulcers, contractures, and a 20-pound weight loss. Joan died on February 14, 2009.

  (Myron Boice died shortly before complaint was filed.)

   

• Plaintiff's Contentions:

  That Joan Boice had received excellent care at her prior assisted living facility, but was neglected at Emeritus because of a corporate scheme to understaff its facilities, while marketing to elders and their families that Emeritus was the leader in assisted living and dementia care, and that its staff was highly trained and provided its residents with an activities-focused program.

  None of the staff had the state-mandated training or the training set forth in Emeritus's own policies, nor did the staff meet the qualifications set forth in Emeritus's own written job descriptions.

  The staff did not have the time or the training to protect Joan Boice from health and safety hazards, including assisting her with ambulation in her walker or providing her with activities. She declined rapidly due to severe understaffing, that included multiple nights with no staff to oversee the care of 17 dementia residents in the Memory Care Unit where Joan Boice lived and only 2 staff members for nearly 80 elders across a three-story building.

  There were few if any activities for the residents, and the staff was not trained nor had the time to assist residents with their activities of daily living, like eating, walking, and bathing.

  That Emeritus violated state safety regulations and laws. That Emeritus violated their own policies and procedures. That Emeritus corporate officers, directors and managing agents, directed, authorized and ratified, the malicious, oppressive and fraudulent conduct that resulted in Joan Boice's neglect and death. That Emeritus's neglect was a substantial contributing factor in Joan Boice's death. The pressure ulcers she developed were treated by unlicensed staff for nearly two months before any notice was given to the physician or the family.

• Defendant's Contentions:

  That Emeritus acted at all times within the law and the standard of care. That care met state standards, but there were some documentation issues with the care. Joan Boice died as a result of a mixed dementia caused by strokes, coupled with her Alzheimer's disease, that caused spontaneous pressure ulcers and no amount of care would have prevented her death or a negative outcome.