In the summer of 2021, Daniel Crommett was admitted to Mount Joseph nursing home in Waterville. He was 48 years old and had cognitive challenges, cerebral palsy, and a seizure disorder.
The placement was supposed to be temporary. But less than six months later, he died.
Members of his family are now suing the facility, alleging that Daniel died from neglect and abuse. They say it was the direct result of business practices that enriched Mount Joseph's owners but left the facility understaffed and underfunded.
Daniel loved apple picking, playing games, and giving hugs, says his sister, Carrie Francis. And despite his many health challenges, he lived a full life.
"It never held him back from being a very important and well-loved part of our family," she says.
As an adult, he moved into a group home in Gardiner where he thrived, says Carrie. But after he fell and broke his hip in June of 2021, he was admitted to Mount Joseph nursing home in Waterville to recover.
"He was not going to be there long," Carrie says.
"Four to six weeks at the most," adds her sister, Krista Crommett - Daniel's twin.
Krista says after several weeks at Mount Joseph, Daniel didn't appear to be progressing in his recovery. And she noticed other problems.
"He was never ever washed or showered, or teeth brushed, or anything like that," she says.
Daniel's family began to question his care, as did some staff members.
One evening in mid-September, nurse Shenee Foster noticed that Daniel's anti-seizure medication had run out. When she called the pharmacy to order more, they told her it was out of stock- and had been for days.
"And when I looked back for the previous eight days, it had been signed off as given, meaning he got the medication, but the pharmacy said there's no way he got it," Foster says.
The nurse who had signed off, Marius Ramirez, had been reprimanded before for falsifying records, according to the family's lawsuit. He'd also received warnings for ignoring policies, being rude to residents and staff, and for sleeping on the job. Foster says she told managers that Daniel had missed doses of his medication.
"And it went nowhere," Foster says. " Nothing was done. The nurse was never investigated. There were other instances that I actually went to the director of nursing about this nurse, and at one point I was told to stop going to her, that I was picking on him."
Daniel, meanwhile, began to have frequent seizures, says Foster. One lasted 10 minutes, and he was found with blood coming out of his mouth. He got cuts and bruises from falling out of his wheelchair.
"There was one day he had a seizure, fell to the floor and split his head open, and we had to send him out to the emergency room," says Foster.
Daniel's family says Mount Joseph shared little information about why Daniel's condition was worsening. As they grew more concerned, Krista says they tried to find him another placement. Then, during a visit in early December, Krista found her brother in excruciating pain, with bruises on his wrists, knees, and finger. She called 911 and Daniel was taken to a hospital.
"I thought, ok, finally, phew," Krista says. "We're out of the woods. He's never going to go back there again."
But two days later, while still in the hospital, Daniel died of heart failure.
Meryl Poulin is an attorney who's representing Krista, Carrie, and their father in a lawsuit against Mount Joseph and its owners. Poulin says the night before Daniel was taken to the hospital, nurse Marius Ramirez pinned him to the floor and gave him anti-psychotic medication, which he should not have administered because of Daniel's seizure disorder.
"Ramirez was criminally charged for what he did by the Attorney General's office," Poulin says.
Ramirez served 30 days in jail and temporarily lost his nursing license. It's now listed as active on a state website. But Poulin says others also bear responsibility.
"This was not just nursing ineptitude," she says. "Not just, you know, one bad apple."
Poulin says Daniel's death is also the result of Mount Joseph's business practices. Its owners and investors - Michael Biderman, Akiko Ike, and Ephram Lahasky - also have a stake in several companies that both operate the facility and own the real estate. The lawsuit alleges that they charged inflated rent and management fees to enrich themselves, while draining the nursing home's resources to a degree that compromised patient care.
"This was a deliberate scheme that was put in place, executed on, followed through on, knowing that the very thing that ended up happening would probably happen," says Poulin. "That's evil. It's depraved. And people need to know about this, because this isn't the only nursing home where this kind of thing happens."
The state of New York is currently suing Ephram Lahasky for $18 million for alleged understaffing and neglect of residents at a nursing home. Lahasky, Ike, and Biderman own nursing homes in other states that have been fined for violations or have been issued low federal quality ratings. Mount Joseph has one star out of five.
"It's a slum," nurse Shenee Foster says.
She now works at another facility. While she was at Mount Joseph, Foster says it was chronically understaffed. She's frustrated that it took Daniel's death to hold people accountable for his lack of care.
"At the end of the day, you know, Biderman still gets to live his life. Marius gets to live his life," she says. "But Daniel doesn't get to live his."
Daniel's sisters say the pain of losing their brother is just as raw today as it was four years ago. And Krista says it's hard to believe that it happened despite their heavy involvement in Daniel's life.
"I would like other families to know that if you have instincts or suspicions or feel like something's amiss, it probably is," she says. "And follow your instinct, even if people disagree with you or think you're being a bulldog or you're being too aggressive."
When reached by phone, an administrative assistant at Mount Joseph said that the owners are not commenting on the lawsuit.
