Fairs Oaks, California RCFE Closed Over Alleged Elder Abuse and Wrongful Death

Written by Adam Peck Category: Elder Law January 26th, 2013 2 min read

Shortly after his grandmother moved into a residential care home in Fair Oaks, Sean Suh installed a small camera beside her bed to make sure the staff knew someone was watching.

But often when he visited, he said, he would find the “Grannycam” unplugged.

Suh decided to find a new place for Kyong Hui Duncan, a Korean immigrant and beloved matriarch who had become too frail to live on her own. But by the time he found one, Duncan, 73, was dead from a constellation of problems that her grandson said were inflicted upon her at Fair Oaks Residential Elderly Care.

A short video clip captured by Suh’s “Grannycam” that shows a staffer violently shaking Duncan in her wheelchair now plays a key role in the state’s decision to shut down the care home. The clip, which Suh discovered only after Duncan’s death, is also at the center of a civil lawsuit the family filed Thursday that charges abuse, neglect and wrongful death.

Following an investigation spurred by Suh’s complaint, the California Department of Social Services on January 13, 2011 ordered the care home’s operators, Myung S. Kim and Jay J. Kim, to cease operations by the end of the business day. The state is moving to permanently revoke the home’s license.

The state’s suspension order accuses the home of violating the personal rights of residents. One of the concerns the state cites stems from the “Grannycam” clip, which shows staff members moving Duncan from the floor to her wheelchair, then dumping the chair backward with Duncan in it and shaking it. Among other allegations: that staff members improperly restrained Duncan and failed to quickly attend to her after she had fallen.

Once, the state alleges, family members arrived to find Duncan, crying and unattended, positioned upside down in her wheelchair. The order also cites instances in which Duncan suffered mysterious bruises and infections that went untreated.

Duncan’s autopsy report showed potentially toxic levels of narcotics in her system, at least one of which her doctor had never prescribed, according to the document. The lawsuit charges that she suffered injuries, infection and “lethal doses of drugs,” all of which contributed to her death.

The state also accuses the home of fire code violations, failing to dispose of contaminated needles, using prescription medicines that had expired and forging prescriptions.

Share it

Questions? Check with Peck Today

Blog Lead Form

Elder Abuse and Neglect in Assisted Living Facilities

Elopement in Nursing Homes

Assisted Living Abuse

Settlement Reached in Assisted Living Facility Death

Assisted Living Abuse and Neglect Attorneys

Written by Adam Peck

Expertise: Personal Injury

Adam J. Peck, ESQ is a principal with Peck Law Group, APC. In 2008, Mr. Adam Peck received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School where he graduated Cum Laude. His practice is primarily dedicated to representing Elders, Dependent Adults, along with their loved ones and family members, who have suffered horrific personal injuries.