Mildred Hernandez, a 100-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s dementia, allegedly froze to death after wandering out of Greenhaven Estates Assisted Living and Memory Care in Sacramento, California, in February 2019. Her family filed a wrongful death and elder abuse lawsuit against the facility (now Spanish Vines Assisted Living and Memory Care), claiming staff knew of her nighttime wandering but failed to document it or implement safeguards like door alarms.
Incident Overview
Hernandez exited through an automatically locking door, preventing re-entry, during freezing temperatures around 38°F. She was found hours later “cold to the touch,” with agonal breathing, undetectable body temperature, and no palpable pulse at Kaiser Hospital ER—she died from hypothermia. The family’s attorney, Ed Dudensing, noted no Silver Alert was issued and no alarms alerted staff; a caregiver discovered her too late.
Lawsuit Allegations
The complaint names 12 defendants (at least five settled or dismissed), accusing Greenhaven of negligence for inadequate supervision despite knowing Hernandez was forgetful, confused day/night, required redirection, and was a high fall/wandering risk. Key failures:
- No written assessments or care plan addressing wandering risks.
- No interventions like alarms, monitoring, or protocols for cognitively impaired residents.
Defendants argue insufficient evidence linking negligence to her death.
Facility History
California Department of Social Services reports cite Greenhaven for ongoing deficiencies in staffing, training, and supervision—as recent as 2025. The trial, with jury testimony ongoing this week (January 2026), seeks damages for negligence, wrongful death, and elder abuse, highlighting broader U.S. assisted living oversight gaps where “wandering deaths” have claimed nearly 100 cognitively impaired seniors since 2019 per investigations.
