Poliakoff & Associates, P.A. Abuse and Neglect, Staffing No Comments

Supervise and Protect

Long term care facilities have a legal, moral, and ethical duty to keep an eye on the residents. They must protect them from foreseeable harm. Unfortunately, the industry betrays that responsibility too often. As a nursing home attorney for over 25 years, we see how this betrayal affects families who entrust loved ones to facility caregivers.

Police arrested Louie Alonso Alberto for a sexual assault at Seal Beach Health and Rehabilitation. Alberto was a convicted felon who once lived there. Police said Alberto sexually assaulted another resident living at the skilled nursing facility: an 85-year-old woman with dementia.

Staff called police after hearing a vulnerable resident screaming. Caregivers pushed through the door blocked by the suspect’s wheelchair and found the suspect on top of her, on her bed.

“When they did break through the barricade of his wheelchair, they came upon him engaging in acts against her of a sexual nature,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.

One woman told Eyewitness News she worried after hearing of the arrest because she has a loved one living there.

“Wow, they don’t have very much security, apparently.” the woman said. “It doesn’t seem like there’s too many of them watching what’s going on or actually paying attention to the patients.”