A new lawsuit alleges that a skilled nursing facility's neglect led to the suffering and eventual death of a 71-year-old resident. The complaint, filed by Bonnie Christy on July 2, 2024, in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco, names Golden Gateidence Opco LLC, doing business as Victorian Post Acute, among other entities, as defendants.
The plaintiff claims that Daniel Christy was subjected to severe neglect while residing at Victorian Post Acute. According to the complaint, Daniel Christy suffered from multiple medical conditions that required diligent care and monitoring. However, the defendants allegedly failed to provide proper medical treatment, nutrition, hygiene, and wound care. This neglect resulted in bed sores, sepsis, blood clots, and MRSA infections. The complaint states that despite being aware of these risks and their responsibilities under federal and state laws designed to protect dependent adults like Mr. Christy, the facility's staff failed to follow necessary protocols.
Bonnie Christy accuses the facility's Director of Nursing Celwin Tolentino and Administrator Matthew Russell of ignoring policies essential for patient care. The lawsuit claims that both individuals were aware of chronic understaffing issues but did nothing to address them. "Defendants’ managing agents knew the facility was chronically understaffed," reads the complaint. It further alleges that this understaffing was part of a broader pattern aimed at cutting costs at the expense of resident care.
The plaintiff is seeking general and special compensatory damages along with punitive damages for what she describes as willful misconduct by the defendants. She also requests attorney’s fees per Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657 and demands a jury trial on all issues so triable.
Attorneys Dawn M. Smith and Janine A. Mitchell from Smith Clinesmith LLP represent Bonnie Christy in this case (Case No.: CGC-24-61612). The case has been assigned to Judge Mark Ud An.