By Dana Littlefield, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
June 17, 2009
A jury has determined that a woman suffered abuse and neglect in 2006 at an elder-care facility in Fallbrook and awarded her more than $1.3 million for past medical bills and damages.
The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed in January 2008 on behalf of Elaine Stinson against Leisure Palms, where Stinson had been a resident. The two-week trial ended Monday in Vista Superior Court.
In October 2006, Stinson – then 82 – was placed at the six-bed facility by her husband, Alvin, who was 10 years older. She suffered from Alzheimer's Disease and was recovering from hip surgery.
According to the lawsuit, Elaine Stinson fell at Leisure Palms on Dec. 31, 2006, and suffered a head contusion, broken ribs and a punctured lung. Caregivers at the Morro Road facility placed her in bed but did not immediately call her doctor or family.
The next morning, her husband found her nonresponsive. He called 911 and Stinson was taken to a hospital where she underwent surgery.
Stinson recovered over the next 10 months in a nursing facility. She now lives in an elder-care facility in Murrieta. Her husband died in 2007.
Attorney Robert Hamparyan, who represented Stinson along with attorney George Kindley, said staff members at Leisure Palms were not properly trained and some could not speak, read or write English.
“There was an inability to monitor, care for or even understand the needs of the elderly that they take on,” Hamparyan said in an interview.
But Laurence Haines, who represented Leisure Palms and its owner, Phyllis Kittinger, said the staff was trained and that Stinson's injuries were the result of an unfortunate accident, not neglect.
“Nobody did anything willful and appropriate actions were taken by the staff,” Haines said.
He said his client plans to appeal the jury's verdict.
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