Facts

Nathaniel Robinson, 30, lived at D&D's Turning Point Inc. (Turning Point), a level four residential home for developmentally disabled individuals. On Oct. 28, 2007, Robinson died at the facility. A subsequent investigation revealed that Robinson and staff members were involved in an incident, and that staff members had to restrain Robinson, after which Robinson's breathing stopped. The coroner concluded that his death was an accident. Robinson's parents, Donald and Carla Robinson, filed suit against Turning Point and its staff alleging wrongful death.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs maintained that Robinson's death was the result of improper restraint techniques used by individuals who lacked proper training in such skills.

According to plaintiff's counsel: Defendants Breedlove and Cotton operate Turning Point, pursuant to a contract with Far Northern Regional Center. It is to be noted that level four is the highest level of care available in the Regional Center system, which is provided for individuals who have severe deficits in self-care and/or behaviors. As such, the placement of Robinson, who was moderately mentally retarded and required special monitoring due to his developmental disability, at Turning Point was entirely appropriate and created a special duty of care on the part of the facility.

Operation of a level four residential facility requires, in part, that the operation of said home be in compliance with applicable state laws, statutes, rules and regulations governing such homes or facilities. As a level four residential facility, Turning Point was required to provide special assistance to its residents who required a high level of care, including 24-hour, around-the-clock care and supervision by Turning Point staff.

Defendants Turning Point, Breedlove, and Cotton clearly failed to adequately supervise, monitor, and instruct their employees regarding their duties and responsibilities. Specifically, defendant Breedlove, although listed as the administrator of Turning Point, passed on his responsibilities to Adrian Thompson, who was not licensed or credentialed to be an administrator of a level four residential facility. Although required to be at the residence a minimum of eight hours each day, Thompson was frequently absent at the Turning Point residence and failed to undertake the basic duties and responsibilities of an administrator.

At the time of Robinson's death, on or about Oct. 28, 2007, both administrators of the residence, Breedlove and Thompson, were absent from the residence. Instead, Robinson and the other three residents of the home were supervised by the untrained staff of Turning Point, including T. Gilmore, B. Alvord, and B. Gibson. Gilmore, the lead staff member of Turning Point, was arguably the most experienced direct care staff member at the residence, yet he was not equipped to prevent the escalation of the events leading up to Robinson's death. Gilmore, moreover, was absent during most of the incident giving rise to Robinson's death and arrived as Alvord and Gibson were physically restraining Robinson. Alvord and Gibson have both maintained that they were inadequately trained for their duties and responsibilities as direct care staff and were never advised by Turning Point of any anti-restraint policies. Nonetheless, Alvord, Gibson, and Gilmore proceeded to forcibly detain, physically restrain, and physically bind Robinson without justification and in violation of Turning Point's own policies and procedures. These acts caused Robinson's breathing to cease and him to ultimately expire.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants contended that, while decedent was not at fault, he had exhibited a pattern of aggressive behavior. Prior to restraining him, staff members had asked him to lay down on the floor and to calm down.

Result

The parties reached a settlement of $600,000.