On September 30th, Erwin Cablayan, shareholder of San Marino Manor, Inc., advised the trial court that the nursing home had filed bankruptcy. This announcement came just prior to a jury returning with damages in the case of a woman who died after being abused at the nursing home. Cablayan was found liable of abusing an elderly resident in the case of Reyes C. Angelo, a resident who died in March of 2006.
The jury returned a verdict that would have led to expected punitive damages of about $20 million and $1.5 million in liability. An investigator in the case related to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office in 2006 that Angelo’s death was suspicious. The cause of her death was said to be infection caused by accumulated bed sores.
The patient entered San Marino Manor in January of 2003 and was in reasonably good condition, capable of feeding herself and well nourished. In October of 2005, she entered a hospital following a stroke and subsequent fall that left her with a fractured shoulder, where she remained for 5 days before going back to San Marino Manor.
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In the following months Angelo developed bed sores on her inner thighs and buttocks, hips, toes, lower buttocks and coccyx, more than 5 of them being black, necrotic and infected with MRSA. The bed sores were hidden from family members with clothing and bandages, and were not revealed until 2006 when Angelo’s daughter found her sitting over a puddle of urine in a wheelchair. Angelo’s diaper was soaked with urine and fecal matter; at this time the family became aware of Angelo’s condition.
Records at the nursing home reflected that Angelo had not been receiving diabetic insulin prescribed, but records were changed and dosages filled in at a later date in order to attempt to “cover up” the lack of medical care.
Lawyers for the Angelo family stated that while they had known that the Cablayans would refuse to pay the verdict from day one, they would continue to seek justice for Mrs. Angelo. Erwin Cablayan made many efforts to avoid litigation, including informing the Angelo’s lawyer that he ran the facility without insurance.
This is a sad example of what happens in nursing homes today, but not totally surprising. Hopefully the Angelo family will win some type of compensation for the grief they have experienced because of this negligent and abusive nursing home facility.
Brown Chiari is a team of New York nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers dedicated to securing justice for our clients. Contact us at once if you suspect your loved one is being abused in a nursing home or elder care facility.
