Gharibian Law is currently representing Ronald Clarke, a Korean War veteran, and his family in an Elder Abuse lawsuit against Sunbrook Residential Care, an elderly assisted living facility located in La Quinta, California, where a Korean War veteran was brutally murdered last November.

Elder Abuse, Elder Neglect, Wrongful Death, Negligence, Negligent Hiring and Intentional Inflictions of Emotional Distress are some of the allegations stipulated in the lawsuit against Sunbrook Residential Care, an assisted living facility where a man was brutally murder by his caretaker, who has now been charged with the crime. The lawsuit was announced exclusively by News Channel 3.

On November 21 last year, 32-year-old Cristina Canimo of Palm Desert was arrested and then charged with torturing and murdering Ronald Clarke, an 87-year-old resident at Sunbrook Residential Care. Canimo allegedly dumped Clarke’s body in a trash can outside the home, which is within the Esplanade gated community in La Quinta.

Canimo, a caregiver at Sunbrook, is accused of torturing him, using a knife, box cutter, screwdriver, and a hammer in the murder and dumping his dead body in the trash. She’s now eligible for the death penalty and this lawsuit is being brought against that elderly care home where she worked by the veteran’s family represented by us, Gharibian Law Firm.

Art Gharibian, our Elder Abuse Attorney managing the lawsuit said in a scoop to News Channel 3: “How can something like this happen in an environment where you are supposed to be employing individuals who are compassionate, who also have special training…” He’s currently representing 3 of Clarke’s children who were hit hard by the sudden and tragic loss of their father “They were all close with their dad, they visited him often, they were involved with his life and this is as you can imagine came as a complete shock” he added.

Art’s lawsuit declares Clarke was improperly admitted to Sunbrook "merely for profits," then he was "simply abandoned" and left "with a single caregiver who was neither qualified nor in the right mind to care for him". This leads Art to think they’re liable, "There are a lot of things that they could have done, should have done, to prevent this” he finally said.

Sunbrook operated three facilities in the valley, all owned by Ron and Ramona Sykes, named as defendants in the lawsuit too. Documents of the Department of Social Services show the Sykes had their licenses for all three facilities revoked earlier this year. The documents detail a history of abuse, including another resident allegedly suffering traumatic injury after she was "dropped during a routine transfer" in which she fractured her tailbone. The woman was later diagnosed with 18 pressure wounds, some severe and requiring surgery. She died the next month.

Gharibian Law hopes to tap into Sunbrook’s liability insurance. They’re required by California law to carry a policy for $1 million to $3 million. But in the fine print, we found a cap limiting Sunbrook to just $100,000, which we believe is insufficient and actually in violation of state law.

If you find yourself caught in a possible case of Elder Abuse or Negligence, here at Gharibian Law, we recognize that there is always an inherent risk when it comes to healthcare and care in general and we welcome your call to have a legal consultation to see if we can help you with your case. Contact us at 888-288-0091 or through our website. https://www.gharibianlaw.com