Concern about elder abuse is growing in Hawai‘i. Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman is currently representing local victims of elder neglect, abuse, and exploitation, as well as their families.
The firm is pursuing a lawsuit against Oceanside Hawai‘i Assisted Living on behalf of the family of Susan Pedro, an elderly mother who died at Wahiawa General Hospital last January, just a month after her family took her out of Oceanside.
Tragically, the conditions that led to Ms. Pedro's death were preventable. She died as a result of complications from the facility's neglect.
Attorney Anthony Carr described the conditions she endured in an interview with Hawai‘i News Now: "[Oceanside] left her in her wheelchair, around the clock, for an unknown period of time to soak, just soaked and soiled in her feces and urine, which caused not only pressure sores, but caused those pressure sores to get infected by the very bacteria that she was left sitting in."
Oceanside has recently been the subject of numerous violations in state inspections, which reported that "health, welfare and safety of the residents are/were at risk.”
Needless to say, tragic events like these have had profound effects on Ms. Pedro's family and other families of neglected elders in care homes. The full article from HNN is availalble at the following link: Assisted living facility targeted with wrongful death suit.
Perhaps worst of all, this case is part of an epidemic: with the average age of the population in Hawai‘i increasing, elder abuse and neglect is on the rise.
