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An employee of Atria Assisted Living Facility in San Mateo is being charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and elder abuse after three residents became ill and two died from ingesting industrial cleaner placed in a juice pitcher on the counter during breakfast, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
On Aug. 28, 2022, Alisia Rivera Mendoza allegedly poured toxic cleaning fluid into a juice pitcher intending to use it to clean the kitchen later but left it on the counter. Another employee picked up the juice pitcher believing it contained juice for the residents and poured it into glasses for three residents, who drank the fluid, believing it was juice. After a few sips, the residents went into serious distress, according to the DA’s Office.
Two residents died, Gertrude Maxwell, 93, and Peter Shroeder, 93, from ingesting the fluid. The third victim, Richard Fong, survived, according to the DA’s Office.
“The families of the victims are devastated,” District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said, adding he hasn’t seen anything like this before in the county.
In September, the family of Maxwell filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company, calling for policy changes and accountability. The lawsuit alleges negligence and bad decisions from Atria staff and that the company had been misleading and downplaying the incident.
Maxwell was in pain and had severe damage to her mouth, throat and esophagus before her death. Atria employees also allegedly waited 30 minutes before calling 911.
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“This shouldn’t have even been possible,” her son James Maxwell previously said. “It isn’t just that someone made a mistake. It should never have been possible.”
According to the lawsuit, Atria put out a misleading press release calling the substance “dishwashing liquid” when it knew it was industrial cleaner, misrepresented facts about a similar Atria Park Walnut Creek incident days earlier, and Atria employees misled first responders into thinking the patients drank the liquid themselves.
The lawsuit names Atria San Mateo, Atria Senior Living and Atria San Mateo administrator Jennifer Duenas.
Atria Senior Living issued a statement about the lawsuit in September.
“Our residents will always be our top priority,” the statement said. “We devote significant resources to ensure our staff are thoroughly trained and able to meet our residents’ needs at all times. We take this incident very seriously. We’re continuing to work with authorities and the Department of Social Services to fully review and assess the incident. Our hearts remain with the residents affected, their families and loved ones.”
Rivera Mendoza was in court Wednesday, July 19, but her attorney Joshua Bentley wants more information from the victims’ families. Mendoza returns to court Aug. 9. She remains out of custody on her own recognizance. She could face up to eight years in state prison if convicted, the DA’s Office said.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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