Senior Awarded $7.75 Million in Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit

Senior Awarded $7.75 Million in Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit

Senior Awarded $7.75 Million in Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit
Ventura County, CA: Maria Arellano has been awarded a $7.75 million settlement by the jury who heard her case against the Fillmore Convalescent Center.

The suit alleged that the 71-year old woman was abused during her time at the nursing home. Due to a prior stroke she was unable to speak or walk. Evidence in the form of film clearly showed an employee of the nursing home, Monica Garcia, slapping Arellano, pulling her by her hair, roughly handling her neck and hands and treating her violently in a shower seat.

Arellano's lawyers provided evidence that the nursing home had been notified of the abuses, in writing, by more than one family, with at least one party naming Garcia. The center and its owner contended that Garcia's actions were so horrible that they exceeded the scope of her employment. Garcia admitted to physically abusing Arellano on that day only. The award included $5 million in punitives.