A Long Beach nursing center is being sued by the family of a man who they say suffered a wrongful death due to the nursing center being understaffed.
A law firm called Garcia, Artigliere & Medby is suing Covenant Care California, LLC., which operates a skilled nursing facility in Long Beach under the name Royal Care Skilled Nursing Center, on behalf of the family of Gilbert Guerra Jr.
According to a statement from the law firm, the lawsuit alleges that Covenant Care California was understaffed in both number and competency of the staff made available to residents “in order to raise profits.”
“Covenant Care California cut staffing costs to maximize their own profit even though the State of California’s Department of Public Health had undertaken enforcement action against the facility for failing to meet the required minimum staffing levels for resident care,” according to the statement. “The lawsuit further alleges that although Royal Care Skilled Nursing Center was aware that failing to meet the minimum staffing requirements required by law would place their residents at risk, the management team at Royal Care ignored the risk to its residents and continued to act in a way that would allow for their own money tree at the expense of the minimum care its residents were entitled to under the law.”
These cutbacks resulted in the death of Guerra, the lawsuit alleges. Guerra was admitted to Royal Care in April 2014 with a pre-existing health condition that made him susceptible to pressure sores and an infection.
The law firm said in their statement that Royal Care was aware of Guerra’s condition but still withheld the proper care that would prevent pressure sores from developing. This caused Guerra to sustain severe pressure ulcers and an infection. He also suffered from dehydration, pneumonia, kidney failure, respiratory distress, weight loss and overmedication.
“The staff failed to regularly evaluate Mr. Guerra’s condition, monitor intake and output of food and urine as specified by his physician, and offer pressure-relieving devices that would help prevent sores,” according to the law firm’s statement.
The lawsuit alleges that Guerra died on June 19, 2014 because of “the abuse he endured while in the care of Royal Care Skilled Nursing Center.” Guerra was 64, according to an online obituary.
“Royal displayed a reckless disregard for the health and safety of their patients,” said Stephen Garcia of Garcia, Artigliere & Medby. “Had the management team cared enough to simply conduct a proper pre-employment screening and maintain the legal requirement of staff necessary to care for their patients, Gilbert Guerra Jr. would likely still be alive.”
A representative from Covenant Care California could not immediately be reached for comment by the Long Beach Post.