Florida
Related: About this forumAttorneys: Charges expected in Florida nursing home deaths
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Defense attorneys said Sunday that arrests are expected shortly in the case of a Florida nursing home where 12 elderly patients died after the complex lost power and was engulfed by sweltering heat when powerful Hurricane Irma struck in 2017.
Lawrence Hashish told The Associated Press his client is one of three nurses, in addition to an administrator, expecting to be charged in connection with the deaths after Hurricane Irma, which blew through Florida on Sept. 10 of that year. The storm knocked out a transformer connecting the main air-conditioning unit to the power grid at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, sending temperatures soaring .
Hashish said the attorneys dont yet know what the specific charges would be, but he expected it would likely be some form of manslaughter.
Twelve deaths at the center had been ruled homicides . Police have been investigating the deaths for nearly two years but no charges have been filed. A voice message and email left by the AP for Hollywood Police were not immediately returned Sunday.
Read more: https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/news/20190825/attorneys-charges-expected-in-florida-nursing-home-deaths
Eugene
(61,595 posts)Source: Associated Press
By KELLI KENNEDY and TERRY SPENCER
August 26, 2019
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) Four employees of a Florida nursing home where 12 people died in sweltering heat after a hurricane cut power were charged Monday, at least three of them with aggravated manslaughter, their attorneys said.
Nursing home patients at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, ranging in age from 57 to 99, began dying three days after Hurricane Irma swept through in September 2017.
The center, which housed about 150 patients at the time, did not evacuate any of the residents as the temperature began rising, even though a fully functional hospital was across the street, investigators said. The homes license was suspended days after the storm and it was later closed.
Former Rehabilitation Center nurse Sergo Colin and administrator Jorge Carballo were each charged with 12 counts of aggravated manslaughter, according to jail records. Nurse Althia Meggie was charged with two counts of aggravated manslaughter and two counts of tampering with evidence.
All three turned themselves in at the Broward County Jail on Monday and were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, their attorneys said.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/8ac17cbefb1a42bb989dafff29cc4dfe
TexasTowelie
(111,312 posts)I'm glad that they are pursuing criminal charges. Thanks for posting.