Nursing Home Agrees to Pay $500,000 to Man Who Says Attendant Dropped Him

The owner of a nursing home has agreed to pay $500,000 in an out-of-court settlement to a Fullerton man who says he was dropped when an attendant moved him from a hospital bed to a wheelchair, worsening the effects of a rare disease he suffered.

Leonard Biel, 45, a former assistant city manager in Lakewood, said he was dropped on Sept. 26, 1986, while a patient at the Care West-Westminster nursing home at 206 Hospital Circle, Westminster.

Biel suffers from a rare disease called sarcoidosis, which causes fibrosis or scarring of organ and bone tissue. The disease is often confused with cancer, is fatal in 3% of the cases and has no known cause or cure, according to Biel’s attorney, John Van Dyke.

Biel’s hips deteriorated, and inflammation on the left side led to a hip joint prosthesis in 1983. A year later, an infection forced the surgical removal of the prosthesis. The procedure left Biel with a “flailed” leg, attached to his body but incapable of supporting his weight, Van Dyke said.

Last year, with inflammation in the right hip, Biel again had a prosthesis implanted. He underwent two months of physical therapy while recovering from that surgery at the Westminster home.

“He was being moved from his bed to a wheelchair” when he was dropped, Van Dyke said.

The dislocated right hip resulted in another operation to remove the prosthesis, Van Dyke said. Biel now is confined to a wheelchair.

Biel’s medical expenses have been covered through his former employer. The settlement of Biel’s Orange County Superior Court lawsuit this week covers pain and suffering and lost future earnings. Care West acknowledged no liability in the settlement.

“The amount of money is never enough, no matter how much you get,” Van Dyke said.

Care West also agreed to pay $20,000 to Biel’s parents, Max and Thelma, for the emotional distress they suffered. They were present when their son was dropped.

Biel lives with his parents and a 13-year-old daughter in a mobile home in Fullerton. He is considered permanently disabled, according to Van Dyke.

“Hopefully, he will have sufficient funds to maintain himself,” Van Dyke said. “But it sure isn’t going to be a party. It just keeps him out of the poorhouse.”