Lawsuit Filed Against Assisted Living Facility Sunshine Villa in Wake of Resident's Death, by Comstock Thompson Kontz & Brenner

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A lawsuit has been filed with the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Cruz, against assisted living facility Sunshine Villa by the children of deceased resident Carol Fundingsland. Ms. Fundingsland wandered away from Sunshine Villa on Friday, April 9, 2010 just hours after she was first admitted to the facility. Her body was found on the evening of Monday, April 12 after she had presumably walked at least ten miles through cold and rainy weather for several days.

The lawsuit claims that Sunshine Villa and its representatives neglected to fulfill its basic duty to keep Ms. Fundingsland safe, that the facility fraudulently misrepresented the skill and training of its staff as well as the measures in place to ensure the safety of its residents, and that it should be held responsible for her wrongful death. As Ms. Fundingsland suffered from dementia at the time of her admittance, the case also argues that Sunshine Villa and its representatives committed elder abuse by failing to adequately care for a dependent adult in its care.

Ms. Fundingsland's son, Erik Kuentzel, brought her to Sunshine Villa at 1:00pm on Friday, April 9, 2010 to have her admitted to the facility. He was repeatedly reassured by Sunshine Villa's Director of Community Relations, Barbara Quinton, that Ms. Fundingsland would receive particular care and attention upon her admittance. Mr. Kuentzel notified Sunshine Villa staff at 5:00pm that he would be departing and that his mother required supervision and attention. Surveillance videos later revealed that Ms. Fundingsland walked out through the front door of Sunshine Villa at 5:30pm that evening into the Beach Flats area of Santa Cruz.

"When I got home late that Friday night, I heard increasingly frantic messages from Sunshine Villa that they did not know where my mother was," said Erik Kuentzel. "They were unclear as to whether she had even been admitted; they didn't even try to reach me until almost 9:30 that night. I'm not sure when they realized that she was missing."

Because Ms. Fundingsland suffered from early dementia and also enjoyed walking as a pastime, Sunshine Villa staff had urged Mr. Kuentzel to have a WanderGuard bracelet affixed to her wrist. The bracelet was designed as a safety measure to notify staff when a resident left the facility grounds. Although Mr. Kuentzel purchased the optional bracelet to ensure his mother's safety, it was never affixed.

Sunshine Villa did not notify police of Ms. Fundingsland's disappearance until nearly 9:30pm on April 9. Unfortunately, the extended delay may have hampered the search for Ms. Fundingsland. After increasingly intensive search efforts were put into place, her body was found just south of Bonny Doon Road on Highway 1 on the evening of April 12, nearly 72 hours after she wandered off from Sunshine Villa and ten miles away from the facility. The coroner's report indicated that Ms. Fundingsland died of exposure and hypothermia. Extensive bruising and scratching throughout her body showed that she likely wandered through wooded, brush-filled wildlands on the northwestern edge of the city.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Nathan Benjamin of Santa Cruz law firm Comstock, Thompson, Kontz & Brenner, noted that Sunshine Villa staff was recklessly negligent in its treatment of this new resident. "Ms. Fundingsland was understandably upset and disoriented during her first night in this new facility," Mr. Benjamin stated, "which is precisely why measures such as the WanderGuard bracelet should have been immediately affixed when she was admitted. By putting profits above people, Sunshine Villa neglected to provide even basic safety to this elderly woman."

Sunshine Villa staff vigorously reassured Mr. Kuentzel that his mother would receive special attention during her transition period to the facility and that they would take good care of her.

"The worst part about this situation is that my mother died a totally preventable traumatic and painful death," said Mr. Kuentzel. "My mom died because the staff at Sunshine Villa failed to do their job, plain and simple. The only way to ensure that what happened to my mom doesn't happen to other people's families is to hold Sunshine Villa accountable."

Mr. Kuentzel and his brother, Ronald Kuentzel, are seeking compensatory and punitive damages in the case. Sunshine Villa has been placed in a two-year compliance program by the California State Department of Social Services and has terminated several staff people since the incident.

The court has not yet set a date for hearing in this case.

Sunshine Villa is owned by Cornell Springs Partners and operated by BPM Senior Living, which manages 17 Senior Living communities in the western United States, including Desert Flower in Arizona; Magnolia Village, Orchard Park, Regency Grand at West Covina, Sun Oak, and Sunshine Villa in California; Willow Park in Idaho; Acacia Springs, Heritage Springs, and Regency Palms in Nevada; Regency Park, The Regent, Regent Court, Royalton Place, and Sheldon Park in Oregon; Canyon Creek in Utah; and Overlake Terrace in Washington.

SOURCE Comstock Thompson Kontz & Brenner