A jury in Marlborough, Massachusetts has awarded an 87-year-old woman more than $2 million dollars after finding that she had been sexually assaulted by an aide in the Bolton Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in 2011.
The victim has dementia and Huntington’s disease. According to the MetroWest Daily, a nurse practitioner who was not associated with the nursing home saw evidence of the assault, and ordered the victim transferred to the hospital where it was determined that an assault did take place.
The nursing home, however, contends that no assault ever took place even though an investigation led to an alleged abuser. The aide has not been brought up on criminal charges.
It’s difficult to imagine the helplessness that surrounds so many nursing home residents. Huntington’s disease is a hereditary brain disorder that affects movement, speech and swallowing.
A person with Huntington’s disease is typically able to comprehend language and retain awareness, making the dementia complication all the more tragic.
The enduring tragedy in this case is that the abuser in this case will most likely never be charged and will probably go on to sexually assault residents in other nursing homes in other states if not in Massachusetts. The lack of hard evidence stems from the fact that the abuser was probably also the person to clean up any DNA evidence.
If you have a loved one you suspect has been the victim of abuse or neglect in an Illinois nursing home, contact the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle for a free and confidential evaluation of your case. At my law offices we never charge a fee unless we earn a recovery for you.