A Sacramento County jury awarded $110 million to the family of a woman who died of hypothermia after she wandered outside an assisted living facility.Mildred Hernandez had been a resident of Greenhaven Estates in Sacramento for more than five years and had suffered from Alzheimer’s dementia. On Feb. 12, 2019, she was found unresponsive in the early morning amid 38-degree temperatures. A wrongful death lawsuit alleged the facility failed to provide adequate supervision and safety measures. The family was represented by Dudensing Law and the lawsuit targeted Formation Capital, the asset manager, and Colony Capital, the owner of Greenhaven Estates.“Our mother deserved to live out her final years with dignity, safety, and compassion. Instead, she died alone in the cold because Greenhaven Estates and its corporate overseers failed to provide the most basic protection they promised,” Hernandez’s family said in a statement. “While no verdict can bring our mother back, we hope this outcome will prevent other families from suffering the same heartbreak and force these companies to prioritize the well-being of the vulnerable seniors entrusted to their care. We are grateful to our attorneys for their tireless dedication and to the jury for recognizing that what happened to our mother was wrong and preventable.”Colony Capital has since rebranded to DigitalBridge. KCRA 3 reached out to Formation Capital and DigitalBridge for comment.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
A Sacramento County jury awarded $110 million to the family of a woman who died of hypothermia after she wandered outside an assisted living facility.
Mildred Hernandez had been a resident of Greenhaven Estates in Sacramento for more than five years and had suffered from Alzheimer’s dementia.
On Feb. 12, 2019, she was found unresponsive in the early morning amid 38-degree temperatures.
A wrongful death lawsuit alleged the facility failed to provide adequate supervision and safety measures.
The family was represented by Dudensing Law and the lawsuit targeted Formation Capital, the asset manager, and Colony Capital, the owner of Greenhaven Estates.
“Our mother deserved to live out her final years with dignity, safety, and compassion. Instead, she died alone in the cold because Greenhaven Estates and its corporate overseers failed to provide the most basic protection they promised,” Hernandez’s family said in a statement. “While no verdict can bring our mother back, we hope this outcome will prevent other families from suffering the same heartbreak and force these companies to prioritize the well-being of the vulnerable seniors entrusted to their care. We are grateful to our attorneys for their tireless dedication and to the jury for recognizing that what happened to our mother was wrong and preventable.”
Colony Capital has since rebranded to DigitalBridge. KCRA 3 reached out to Formation Capital and DigitalBridge for comment.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel