Family sues Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital, alleging ‘preventable’ death

The children of an 86-year-old man are suing Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital for alleged elder abuse, wrongful death and negligence, claiming their father died due to head injuries sustained after a “preventable” fall during his hospital stay, court records show.

Carlos Rodriguez, of Van Nuys, was admitted to the hospital on March 21 with back pain and an inability to walk, which put him at high risk for falling, according to the lawsuit, filed this month in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

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Two days later, he was moved from the intensive-care unit to a floor with “little to no available monitoring or supervision,” at one point leaving him to wait two hours for a pillow, the lawsuit alleges.

At 2 a.m. the following morning, Rodriguez’s daughter, Sandra Rodriguez, was notified that her father had died. She was initially told that he had just stopped breathing, according to her attorney, William Artigliere.

But when she questioned his swollen forehead, she discovered that her father had been found in a pool of his urine, presumably after falling while attempting to go to the bathroom from his bed, which did not have bed rails, the lawsuit claims.

“The family’s now lost their dad pretty quickly to something that shouldn’t have caused his death,” Artigliere said.

Carlos Rodriguez, the lawsuit stated, had pressed his call button with no response before he was found, having been left unattended while on morphine.

“Unable to hold it anymore, he proceeded to get up to go to the bathroom by himself,” the lawsuit states. “He never made it, however, as he fell and suffered a fatal head injury between his bed and the bathroom.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the hospital was not sufficiently staffed.

“There are a number of ‘never’ events that should never happen in a hospital,” Artigliere said. “One of them is a fall that causes death.”

Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital released this statement on Thursday:

“Patient safety and quality care are our top priorities at Glendale Memorial Hospital. We respectfully uphold the rights of our patients and their families to maintain their privacy and therefore cannot comment on issues related to active litigation. Glendale Memorial is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care, personal attention and leading-edge medical technology that brings both healing and humanity to the body, mind and spirit of our patients and the communities we serve.”

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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek

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