Mishandling of Sexual Assault Claim for 77-year-old Woman

Nursing home abuse and neglect is the focus of Reinan Law. We are dedicated to bringing justice to those who have experienced nursing home abuse and neglect while in the care of nursing home facilities. We are committed to holding the individuals and corporations accountable whose abuse and neglect result in uncalled-for suffering to those entrusted to their care. When you entrust a loved one to the care of a licensed care facility, you have a right to expect that they are well taken care of, comfortable, and safe. In a perfect world, they are. That was not the case, however, for 77-year-old Susan “Sue” Mason during her stay at an Aurora, Colorado nursing facility.

Although Advanced Health Care of Aurora says it didn’t happen, evidence in the case suggests that less than two days into her stay inside Hall 3 of Advanced Health Care’s Aurora facility, Sue Mason was the victim of an assault. According to a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) report, a nurse called 911 after finding Sue “unresponsive” in her private room shortly after 6 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2017. The facility specializes in short-term nursing and rehabilitation after hospitalization. Sue was taken by paramedics to The Medical Center of Aurora, just three blocks from the nursing home facility, at 6:55 a.m. due to being unresponsive. An examining nurse told reporters that whoever did this “left Sue for dead”.

When she was examined at The Medical Center of Aurora, staff at the hospital suspected a sexual assault due to the nature of Sue’s injuries, prompting the hospital to utilize the services of a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (S.A.N.E.), a forensic nurse with special training in the medical, psychological, and forensic examination of sexual assault victims, and contact the Aurora Police Department and detectives from the sex crimes unit. Although she was initially placed on a ventilator and therefore unable to speak, Sue nodded “yes” when asked if a male had assaulted her, and again when asked if he was white. Bruises around Sue’s neck became evident the following day, and when the ventilator tube was removed, family friend and lawyer Julie Groves, who agreed to go to the hospital to both witness and document the sexual assault exam, stated that the first words Sue spoke to her were, “I was mugged”.

In a sworn affidavit regarding possible nursing home abuse and neglect in the case of her friend, Groves stated that Sue Mason told her a man she did not know stuck his head inside her door and asked if he could use the bathroom in her private suite. She said yes, and when he exited her bathroom, he “cold cocked her” and beat her around the head and neck area. Her daughter maintains that Sue never recovered from the humiliation and after effects of the attack; she died just three months later.

Although the Aurora Police Department was never able to identify a suspect in the attack, and Advanced Health Care will not concede that the attack took place inside their facility, the police investigation is open and ongoing. Advanced Health Care refused an on-camera interview with a local news station, which reported that Colorado state investigators cited the facility because it failed to thoroughly investigate the case early on, did not interview the staff directly responsible for Sue Mason’s care, and conducted no follow up.

Despite being cited by state authorities, that citation never made it to the State of Colorado’s website, with officials citing technical difficulties and an IT programming error as the reason this report did not get posted “as it should have”. Eventually, the citation was posted online, but is not easy to locate.

Approximately 3.2 million people reside in nursing homes in the U.S. If you suspect a loved one is being abused or neglected in a nursing home facility, report it immediately. There are several ways to do this:

• If the abuse or neglect is life threatening, call 911 and report it
• Reach out to the primary care physician and request a meeting or phone call
• Contact a nursing home abuse and neglect attorney such as Reinan Law
• Go to the Administration of Aging’s National Eldercare Abuse page online to obtain contact information for the proper local authorities to report to
• Contact Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 to get more information on state laws and regulations

If you or someone you know may have suffered abuse or neglect as a nursing home or assisted living facility resident, and you would like more information about pursuing a legal claim against a facility for abuse, neglect, or wrongful death, Reinan Law is the nursing home abuse and neglect expert you can depend on to represent your interests and bring justice in your situation. J. M. Reinan, P.C. brings his extensive experience as a medical malpractice defense attorney representing medical professionals, hospitals, nursing homes and insurance companies together with his compassion for vulnerable elderly citizens who have been abused or neglected by a nursing home facility.

Give our office a call today at (303) 894-0383, or reach out to us with your questions in an email to info@reinanlaw.com. We are located at 1437 High Street in Denver, Colorado, and our staff is here to help you Monday through Friday. We look forward to hearing from you.

Contact Us Today