Dutchess County man sues Genesa Home and Companionship Agency, Fidelis Care for negligence, wrongful death

DUTCHESS COUNTY, N.Y. — A Dutchess County person claims the household overall health aides he hired to treatment for his ailing father did a lot more harm than excellent.

“I started off viewing, like, this deficiency of care,” Thomas Zahn explained to CBS2’s Ali Bauman.

In 2020, Zahn took his elderly father in to his Dutchess County residence, but as 93-12 months-old Henry’s dementia progressed, Zahn could not treatment for him on your own.

“He would get up late or early in the morning and variety of wander,” he mentioned.

As a result of his father’s well being insurance company, Fidelis Care, Zahn observed Genesa Household and Companionship Company in the drop of 2020.

“Individuals aides rotated, you know, 24-hour timetable. 1 working day particular person, one particular evening man or woman,” Zahn said.

Zahn experienced beforehand set up surveillance cameras in his father’s residing room. He claims they were in plain sight and the aides were manufactured aware.

Zahn says he only began paying out focus to the recordings when he discovered unexplained bruises on his dad.

“I took him to Urgent Treatment. We had the x-rays done,” he reported. “I experienced gotten this prognosis that 4 ribs were being fractured.”

Henry Zahn had fallen a few times prior. His son says the aides picked him up and in no way reported it.

“In selecting up the man or woman, if you are not actually, truly properly trained properly, you can not only damage by yourself but hurt them much more,” said Debbie Drelich, a treatment supervisor for New York Elder Care Consultants.

“What the aide typically does is they acquire a photo of the bruise,” mentioned Steven Schwartzman, an aging everyday living treatment supervisor.

“The expectation is they are supposed to notify their agency of the fall and in lots of scenarios simply call EMS,” Drelich explained.

Disturbed by this incident, Zahn claims he checked previous recordings for far more.

That is when he claims he figured out at night, the right away aide tied 1 finish of his father’s catheter to his bed.

“It was practically like his tether, like his leash, so he would not go strolling around. And that didn’t end him. It just manufactured it so a lot worse,” Zahn claimed.

When Henry wandered at night time, the catheter stretched and ripped out of him, leading to him to tumble.

“I have heard some unpleasant factors, that a single, you shocked me on,” Drelich stated. “A person who is so confused and genuinely just not properly prepared to treatment for someone in this predicament.”

“The insurance plan enterprise basically admitted to my consumer, Mr. Zahn, that this agency that they hired was not even thoroughly accredited,” attorney Dana Stricker explained.

Zahn claims Fidelis Care advised him due to the fact of his site in Dutchess County, they could not give an alternate company.

His father bought an infection after the catheter ripped out. Zahn thinks it finally contributed to his father’s demise, a declare Genesa denies.

“The bacterial infections guide to the antibiotics not functioning any longer, and that was how he ended up dying, of sepsis,” Zahn mentioned.

Neither Genesa nor Fidelis Treatment have answered any of CBS2’s inquiries about the allegations for this story, even though Genesa denied the allegations of negligence in court filings.

In a assertion, Fidelis Treatment instructed us, “The wellbeing and properly-becoming of our members is usually our major priority. Nevertheless, as a subject of coverage, Fidelis Treatment does not remark on pending litigation.”

Zahn is suing the company and insurance provider, alleging carelessness and wrongful dying.

“Why did you want to file this lawsuit and bring notice to what happened?” Bauman requested.

“I can not be the only just one this is happening to,” Zahn stated.

Specialists say there are means to vet household well being care aides.

“Job interview them. Check with them for references,” Drelich claimed. “Do your because of diligence. There is a nurses aide registry, as effectively, in the point out that 1 can check to see if there are any allegations.”

Gurus convey to us if a spouse and children suspects abuse, they should really speak to the condition well being division, and consumers always have the ideal to talk to an agency for a diverse house wellness aide.