A California care facility faces serious allegations of negligence and elder abuse after a harrowing incident involving a resident with dementia. Alicia Johnson, acting individually and as the legal guardian of her mother, Thelma Woerz, filed a complaint on April 14, 2025, in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara against Kensington Senior Living, LLC. The lawsuit highlights multiple failures by the facility to provide adequate care and supervision for Woerz, leading to severe emotional and physical distress.
The complaint outlines several causes of action against Kensington Senior Living, including negligence, elder abuse under Welfare & Institutions Code §15600 et seq., breach of contract, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and violation of residential care facility rights under Health & Safety Code §1563.03. According to the filing, Thelma Woerz is a 76-year-old woman diagnosed with severe cognitive impairment and Lewy Body Dementia residing at Kensington Place. On January 15, 2025, the staff allegedly failed to meet her daily needs and left silverware accessible during breakfast—a known behavioral trigger for Woerz. Instead of using dementia-informed de-escalation strategies when she collected the silverware, the staff contacted police and falsely claimed she threatened a caregiver with a butter knife.
This incident was not isolated; prior actions included administering medication without consent from Alicia Johnson or approval from a physician. On January 15th itself, the situation escalated when staff called 911 to initiate a psychiatric hold without notifying Johnson. Upon arrival at the facility, Johnson found her mother handcuffed with visible injuries and in distress due to inappropriate handling by law enforcement officers who were unaware of her communication impairments caused by Receptive Aphasia.
Johnson accuses Kensington Senior Living of failing in their duty to provide safe memory care services as agreed upon in their contract. She alleges that these breaches directly resulted in both physical injuries and psychological trauma for her mother. Furthermore, it is claimed that the Executive Director had previously threatened coercive measures unless Woerz was medicated against family wishes.
In response to these grievances, Alicia Johnson seeks compensatory damages for general harm suffered by her mother as well as punitive damages under relevant statutes addressing elder abuse. Additionally sought are statutory penalties along with attorneys' fees related to violations concerning residents' rights within care facilities.
Representing Alicia Johnson is attorney Dylan Hackett from The Hackett Law Firm based in San Francisco. The case is presided over by Judge T. Phan under Case ID: 25CV463444.