Settlement for resident who suffered 3rd degree burns
San Mateo Daily Journal had an article about a settlement three years after a mentally disabled woman was scalded nearly to death in a Redwood City nursing home. The resolution came May 13, one day after the county was set to square off in court with Res-Care and employees, including Oretha Ocansey who was criminally convicted for her role in the severe burning of Theresa Rodriguez in May 2004.
The county, which is Rodriguez’s legal guardian, sought both punitive and actual damages for Rodriguez who was left so badly injured her hospital care costs $3,000 a day. The lawsuit was filed after Ocansey was sentenced for placing the woman in the boiling hot stream of water but the defendants argued the entire company was not responsible for the actions of the single employee.
On May 4, 2004, Rodriguez was seated in the shower at Res-Care, located on McGarvey Avenue, when 145-degree water poured onto her lap. Rodriguez, who is unable to speak or walk, suffered third-degree burns over 60 percent of her body. Nurse’s aide Oretha Ocansey placed a diaper on Rodriguez and did not alert a supervisor for two hours. An hour after the supervisor learned of the situation, Rodriguez was airlifted to a Santa Clara County hospital and spent more than two hours on life support.
During the investigation in Ocansey’s role, prosecutors learned that Res-Care forbid workers from calling 911 until they first contacted a supervisor. Prosecutors still considered Ocansey culpable, however, for waiting two hours before even contacting her boss. In August 2004, Ocansey pleaded no contest to felony elder abuse in return for an immediate sentence of the 34 days she had already served plus probation and a ban from working at health-care facilities. The plea bargain spared her trial and up to four years in prison if convicted by a jury.
The county went after the nursing home and its corporate owners the following January, claiming the facility knew of the water temperature problem for six days before Ocansey placed her in the shower.
