Man Says Kaiser, Others Responsible for Wife’s Death
2-12-2013 16:30:00


SANTA CLARA, Calif. (CN) – Kaiser Foundation Hospitals is one of several defendants responsible for the death of a man’s wife, he claims in court.


Alvin Simmons says wife Rosella, 76, was admitted on an in-patient care basis at Kaiser Permanente’s San Jose Medical Center on June 22 through June 24, 2011, and again from July 25, 2011 to August 5, 2011. She was admitted to the hospital yet again, on August 6, August 11 and September 22, 2011. She was also admitted to Vasona Creek Healthcare Center (Golden Oaks) in Los Gatos, Calif., and Pacific Hills Manor in Morgan, Calif.

Also named as defendant is Dr. Alice Lively, an employee of Vasona Creek, and Dr. Timothy Lockyer, an employee of Pacific Hills.

Simmons claims defendants failed to properly care for his wife, leading to her eventual death.

According to the complaint, defendants “negligently, recklessly and intentionally breached their aforesaid duty of care, causing decedent to suffer severe physical, mental and emotional injuries, including but not limited to the development of severe pressure sores on her coccyx/sacrum, severe weight loss, malnutrition and dehydration.”

Simmons says the lack of care provided to his wife is considered “abuse” under California law.

He says in his complaint the doctors and named facilities collectively “failed to provide such care, assistance and supervision as was necessary to meet decedent’s needs, and did so intentionally and in conscious disregard of the peril to decedent posed by such failures. In fact, decedent was routinely and as a practice of the defendants’ business operations, not provided with adequate care, assistance and supervision from defendants and the staff they selected, trained and supervised, and was subjected to ‘neglect’ and ‘physical abuse’ as those terms are defined,” by California code.

Plaintiff is suing pro se for negligence, willful misconduct and wrongful death. He is seeking general, special and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees.

1-12-CV-231638