The family of a McAllen woman who died due to COVID-19 is now suing the nursing home where she lived, accusing the facility of negligence.
Four children of Eufemia Garcia filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Grand Terrace Rehabilitation and Healthcare in McAllen on Friday, arguing that staff did not do enough to prevent her death in July 2020 due to COVID-related complications.
Garcia was 93 when she died and, at the time, her children say she was in “relatively good health for a person her age,” though, they add she had some underlying health conditions.
They argue that she “was never given a fair opportunity to recover in that said employees of the facility were either overworked or were sick themselves or neglected to monitor the condition of their resident Ms. Garcia.”
They added, “There were numerous letters that were sent to the resident families indicating that (Grand Terrace) was aware of the infections and were trying to isolate or segregate residents from infected and non-infected residents.”
However, they claim they were misled into believing that the facility would make “every reasonable effort to extend life-saving procedures” for their mother and allegedly misled into believing that the nursing home would keep them informed of those efforts.
They make nine specific allegations:
>> Grand Terrace failed to advise Garcia’s treating physician or her children that she was showing symptoms indicating she had COVID-19.
>> They failed to take proper precautions to prevent Garcia from becoming infected with COVID-19.
>> They failed to properly inform her children so that proper medical treatment could be extended to Garcia.
>> They failed to timely segregate Garcia from other infected residents as was allegedly done for other residents.
>> That they failed to timely transport her to the nearest hospital for treatment of COVID-19.
>> They failed to timely test for COVID to immediately start a medical treatment plan to possibly help in her recovery.
>> That the testing used by the facility at the time was not the most reasonable or reliable because it had a 10-14 turnaround time and testing with 24-hour turnaround times were already available.
>> Employees, agents or servants of the facility allegedly misled her children and various family members by supposedly indicating she was free of COVID-19, leading them to not seek medical help for Garcia.
>> The facility employees failed to have Garcia’s treating physician alerted to her symptoms or infection so he could implement health care for her attempted recovery.
A representative for Grand Terrace did not respond to a request for comment.
As a result, her children say they were caused pain and suffering and to incur damages such as medical care and expenses, loss of parental consortium, mental anguish, and physical pain and suffering.
As compensation, they are seeking monetary relief over $1 million.
