Faasisila v. Evergreen Castro Valley Healthcare Center, Evergreen at Castro Valley, L.L.C., and EHC Management, L.L.C

Attorneys at the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates obtained a settlement of $750,000 on behalf of the surviving family of a 78 year-old woman who died two months after sustaining second degree burns at a skilled nursing facility (SNF). The victim sustained the burns to about 10% of her upper body surface after being scalded by a shower nozzle known to the staff and administration of the SNF to occasionally deliver sudden bursts of scalding water. The burns affected the victim’s face, shoulders, neck, back, chest and abdomen and resulted in extensive blistering covering 10% of her total body surface area. After the incident, the victim became mute and deteriorated considerably before dying two months later.

Our attorneys were able to prove that the victim’s injuries were a direct result of elder abuse, as the lady sustained burns in a shower that the facility knew was defective but neglected to repair. Evidence showed that numerous complaints by the victim’s niece, who worked as a CNA at the SNF in question, about the shower’s tendency to suddenly release scalding water were ignored by the SNF’s administrators and nurses prior to the victim’s injuries. Our attorneys were also able to obtain compensation for the victim’s family through a wrongful death claim by proving that the woman’s injuries lead to her death shortly after the incident.