An assisted living center in Louisville, Colorado, and some of its employees are facing a lawsuit in Boulder County Court after one of its residents — Mary Jo Staub — froze to death last February, Reporting by Katie Weiss from CBS Colorado. A wrongful death lawsuit, filed by attorneys for the Staub family, alleges that employees at the Balfour’s Lavender Farms assisted living facility were negligent and failed to protect the 97-year-old.
Surveillance video, the lawsuit says, shows her wandering outside the facility in the middle of the night last winter, locking its doors, and then knocking on the doors for help. But no one found her for five hours.
According to the lawsuit, Staub’s family paid an additional $1,500 each month for intensive care at the facility. But the lawsuit claims last February that no one was watching Staub when she wandered outside in sub-zero temperatures.
politeness
The lawsuit says Staub walked around the building to the doors near the nurses’ station, and alleges that surveillance video shows she climbed a snow mound and, after injuring her ankle, “crawled (crawled) on her hands and knees” toward the doors, “leaving a trail of blood in the snow.”
Despite knocking on glass for help, the lawsuit claims, for five hours, “no one at Lavender Farms was watching the security cameras that night. … No Balfour employee noticed that Staub was locked out of the facility … No No employee of Balfour turns up to assist Mary Jo in any way.”
The Staub family’s attorney, Elizabeth Hart, declined to be interviewed, but released a written statement that said in part: “Mary Jo was much loved. Her life was tragically cut short. Supported living facilities are meant to provide protective oversight for our elderly loved ones.” It would happen to any other member of this vulnerable population.”
Louisville police did not pursue criminal charges, but the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment inspected the facility after the incident and issued eight citations against the facility.
The state health department told CBS Colorado that it found an immediate risk to residents, but that the facility has made the appropriate changes to address those concerns.
Eileen McMannis, director of CDPHE’s Division of Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services, issued a written statement saying, “We are deeply saddened by this tragic event that should never have happened. Once notified, we sent experts to the facility to investigate what happened and ensure the safety of residents.” Where we found deficiencies, we have asked the facility to make changes quickly, and to closely monitor the facility until it has completed all corrective actions.”
CBS Colorado has reached out to the facility for comment but has not yet received a response.
[ad_2]
