$7.75 million awarded in abuse case
Elderly victim a patient at Fillmore facility
By Stephanie Hoops
Staff writer Kim Lamb Gregory contributed to this report.
December 11, 2009
A Ventura County jury Friday awarded $7.75 million to the family of a 71-year-old stroke victim who filed an elder abuse lawsuit against the Fillmore Convalescent Center.
The trial, which featured a secret videotape of the woman being abused, lasted 22 days. The jury deliberated for two days before announcing the verdict: $2.75 million in actual damages and $5 million in punitives.
In 2006, Maria Arellano, 71, was a resident at the center and family members noticed during a visit that she was bruised. They complained to management but alleged the center failed to investigate. So they set up a hidden video camera on a side table in her room.
Gregory Johnson, an attorney representing the family, said the camera caught employee Monica Garcia slapping Arellano, pulling her around by the hair, bending her neck, fingers and wrists, and treating her violently in a shower chair.
Garcia was criminally charged and pleaded no contest to simple battery in February, according to her attorney, David Lehr.
“She did 10 days’ work release and is halfway through,” he said. “My client was very sorry for her actions. She told the jury that. She’s no longer going to work in the nursing home environment, and this case has deeply affected her life. She wishes the Arellano family well.”
No one at the Fillmore Convalescent Center could be reached for comment late Friday. The center’s attorney, Thomas Beach, also could not be reached.
Abridged
SOURCE: The VCStar
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