Elderly Woman Died After Nursing Home Residents Served Dishwashing Liquid

An elderly woman died at an assisted living facility in California after staff members accidentally served the residents dishwashing fluid instead of juice. Two other people at the Atria Park Senior Living facility in San Mateo were hospitalized and remain in critical condition.

According to KRON, the deceased woman was identified as 93-year-old Gertrude Elizabeth Murison Maxwell. Her family told the news station that she was rushed to the hospital with "severe blistering of her mouth and throat and esophagus."

Maxwell's daughter, Marcia Cutchin, noted that this was not the first incident they had with Atria Park. She told the news station that her mother broke her hip in a fall six months ago. When doctors performed an x-ray, they discovered she had previously broken her hip, but Cutchin said that injury was never reported to her family.

Atria Senior Living issued a statement to the news station saying they have launched an internal investigation into the incident and are cooperating with the police and Department of Social Services.

"We can confirm three of our residents were recently transported to the hospital after mistakenly being served dishwashing liquid as drinking juice. We have been working with local authorities, who have informed us that one resident passed away. Our sincerest condolences are with the family. When this occurred, our staff immediately contacted authorities, and the residents were transported to the hospital for evaluation and treatment," the statement said. "We are conducting our own internal investigation, and the employees involved have been suspended until this investigation concludes. We will continue working with the police and Department of Social Services to fully review and assess the incident, after which we will take additional actions as needed. The safety and well-being of our residents remain our top priorities at all times. Out of respect for the people involved, we cannot comment further."