Mildred Hernandez celebrated her 100th birthday weeks before she died at a California assisted living facility. The centenarian, who had Alzheimer’s disease, lived at Greenhaven Estates in Sacramento for five years. She wandered outside in near-freezing temperatures in February 2019 and could not get back inside. When she was finally found around 6 a.m. on February 12 of that year, it was too late. A jury recently awarded her family $110 million in a wrongful death suit.
Hernandez fell in the facility’s courtyard and injured herself, the New York Post reported. She apparently could not get up for help and ultimately froze. When emergency responders got her to a hospital, doctors could not find a pulse or obtain her body temperature. They pronounced her deceased around 7:30 a.m.
According to court documents obtained by the Post, Hernandez had difficulty remembering things and needed staff assistance while living at Greenhaven. Staff noted checking on her at 1 a.m. the day she died. Many believe she stayed out in the cold temperatures for hours before anyone found her.
KCRA reported that Hernandez’s family, represented by Dudensing Law, sued Formation Capital, the asset manager, and Colony Capital, the owner of Greenhaven Estates. A jury ultimately found the assisted living facility negligent in Hernandez’s death and awarded her family $110 million.
Her family shared a statement obtained by KCRA following the court’s decision. “Our mother deserved to live out her final years with dignity, safety, and compassion. Instead, she died alone in the cold because Greenhaven Estates and its corporate overseers failed to provide the most basic protection they promised,” the statement read.
“While no verdict can bring our mother back, we hope this outcome will prevent other families from suffering the same heartbreak and force these companies to prioritize the well-being of the vulnerable seniors entrusted to their care,” the statement continued. “We are grateful to our attorneys for their tireless dedication and to the jury for recognizing that what happened to our mother was wrong and preventable.”
Nothing will bring Hernandez back, but hopefully this case will open the eyes of those who own such facilities. Yes, they’re running businesses, but people’s lives are at stake, and care should mean more than a bottom line.
