Man Could Face Felony Elder Abuse Charges After Smothering Father

A Florida resident is accused of attempted murder, and could face additional felony elder abuse charges, after trying to suffocate his terminally ill father in a nursing home on Monday, July 28th.

Steven B. Curtis, 58, has been formally charged with assault, attempted murder, menacing, and disorderly conduct. Allegedly, Curtis was intoxicated at the time of the assault. Prosecutors and investigators have not mentioned felony elder abuse charges in addition to the other charges, but because Curtis’s father was elderly and a nursing home resident, felony elder abuse could be added to the list.

Curtis’s father, Roy H. Curtis, 86, was a resident at The Oaks of Brecksville. Staff at the facility told police officers that they witnessed Steven Curtis put his hands over his father’s nose and mouth. When a staff member attempted to intervene, Steven Curtis threw a telephone and barricaded himself in his father’s room.

Roy Curtis died several hours later, although the coroner has not yet ruled whether the cause of death was suffocation. Steven Curtis could face additional felony elder abuse charges.

The case has been bound over to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, and Curtis was released from prison on a $50,000 bond.

Signs of Elder Abuse, Including Felony Elder Abuse

Under federal guidelines, each nursing facility must develop and implement written policies and procedures prohibiting mistreatment, neglect, or abuse of residents. That includes physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse from staff members and family members. Nursing homes are designed to help protect vulnerable senior citizens as they age, but unfortunately, nursing homes instead have become epicenters for elder abuse.

A person does not have to inflict abuse to be held responsible for the physical abuse. Allowing it to take place without doing anything to stop or prevent the abuse is sufficient. By law, physical abuse includes: slapping, hitting, kicking, biting, choking, pinching, burning, drugging a patient or confining a patient to control behavior.

Nursing home residents suffering from physical abuse by their caregivers (home caregivers, family member caregivers) may show:

• bruises, welts, burns
• unexplained fractures or other physical injuries
• repeated accidents
• injuries left untreated
• references to caregiver’s temper or anger
• nervous or quiet around caregiver
• runs away from the home or tries to
• has marks or scars from restraints on wrists
• shows effects of chemical restraints such as incoherence, grogginess, excessive sleep
• sudden fear, restlessness, anxiety
• prevented from getting medical treatment or being alone with visitors

Physical abuse of the elderly, whether in a nursing home, or at home by a caregiver, is a felony and should be prosecuted

The Attorneys at the Strom Law Firm Prosecute Felony Elder Abuse

If your loved one has physically suffered, or died wrongfully, because an in-home caregiver or registered nurse in a nursing home has neglected the patient, you may have a felony elder abuse case. The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm understand the sensitive nature of elder abuse cases, and will treat you with respect and compassion. It is important to fight felony elder abuse so you, your family, and others no longer suffer because of criminal behavior. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case. Contact us today for help.803.252.4800