Brius is facing its fifth wrongful death lawsuit in Humboldt County in the past 15 months, this time from the relatives of a resident they claim had a such a large build-up of fecal matter in her digestive tract that it looked like “an eight-month pregnant uterus.”
The Eureka Times-Standard reported last week that the fecal matter build-up occurred over several months and eventually blocked the passageway out of Jeannette Sharp’s stomach.
“The operating physicians captured 3-4 liters of fecal matter from Ms. Sharp’s colon with more spilling into her abdominal cavity,” court documents state. “Because of the severity of her fecal impaction, Mrs. Sharp died shortly after the surgery.”
The lawsuit alleges that Granada Rehabilitation and Wellness Center failed to follow Sharp’s care plan, which required monitoring of her bowel movements.
Sharp, who also suffered from dementia, had lived at the nursing home since November 2010, according to the paper.
The lawsuit, filed by the firm Janssen Malloy LLP, also names Brius CEO Shlomo Rechnitz among the defendants. The firm has also filed lawsuits against Brius over the deaths of two patients, Ralph Sorensen and Randy Kruger, who developed severe pressure sores, and Alan Dewey, whose family alleged that he was dumped at a nearby hotel, where he later died.
Last month, Brius was hit with another lawsuit which claimed that 84-year-old Ida Branch died five days after being admitted to the Pacific Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Eureka following a surgical procedure on her leg. Branch’s family is being represented by law firm of Garcia, Artigliere & Medby.