Another Minnesota Family Files Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit in South Dakota

As nursing home abuse attorneys in Baltimore, Maryland, we recently reported in a blog on a series of lawsuits against Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society in Albert Lea, Minnesota, by families of a nursing home abuse victims—after an investigation revealed nearly half a year of alleged nursing home abuse in 2008.

A recent article from the Argus Leader reports that yet another lawsuit has been filed against the nursing home in the U.S. District Court of South Dakota, as the Evangelical Good Samaritan Society’s corporate offices are based in South Dakota. In Minnesota, civil suits reportedly die with the abuse victim, but the abuse and assault claims are still open for South Dakota litigation.

According to the lawsuit, Sylvia Wulff, now deceased, was one of the victims of the alleged nursing home abuse in Good Samaritan Society’s facility. Wulff’s family reportedly filed the lawsuit on September 29 in Sioux Falls, claiming that the company failed to monitor the staff, and properly screen the employees. Wulff is the sixth deceased victim who has had a lawsuit filed in South Dakota.

Brianna Broitzman and Ashton Larson were charged earlier this year with civil assault, disorderly conduct by a caregiver, abuse of vulnerable elders, and failure to report abuse, among other charges. In August, Briotzman pleaded guilty to three counts of disorderly conduct by a caregiver. Four other women, who were teenagers at the time, were reportedly charged in the case as juveniles with failure to report abuse.

According to the investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health, Larson and Broitzman were found to have allegedly encouraged young staff members at the facility to routinely abuse fifteen dementia and Alzheimer’s nursing home residents in a sexual, emotional, and physical way, while videotaping the abuse.

Under the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, all residents living in nursing homes are entitled to receive quality care and attention in an environment that improves and maintains the quality of their mental and physical health. If a Maryland nursing home resident becomes injured or dies because of nursing home abuse or neglect, the nursing home could be held liable for Maryland nursing home negligence or wrongful death.

Our attorneys represent victims of nursing home abuse, and their families, who wish to recover personal injury compensation from nursing home abuse, negligence and harm. Contact at Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers today.

Family Sues S.D.-based Company in Elder Abuse Case, Argus Leader, October 4, 2010
Former Nursing Home Assistants and Good Samaritan Home Sued for Abuse and Negligence, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, February 9, 2010
Another Lawsuit in Albert Lea Elder Abuse Case, Globe Gazette, June 17, 2010

Related Web Resources:

National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)

Maryland Department of Aging

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