BEAUMONT, Texas — A family is suing a Beaumont assisted living facility, claiming the neglect of its staff made way for an attack that worsened the memory of elderly man with dementia.
The entire attack was caught on camera.
The children of then 80-year-old Charles Jinks decided it was time to get him professional care in 2020, after Hurricane Delta tore through Louisiana. Charles Jinks has dementia, and the chaos of the evacuation led his children to begin looking for assistance.
"He just needed somebody there 24/7,” Charlene Young, Charles Jinks’ daughter, said.
The Jinks’ family search led them to Brookdale Dowlen Oaks in Beaumont, a senior living facility that specializes in memory care for patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
"And we really want that, because he needed to be engaged often,” Charlene Jinks said. “He needed to have something to do. He's a very busy man."
The family felt Brookdale’s secure setting, equipped with trained staff 24 hours a day, was the right place for Jinks. On September 25 2020, Charles Jinks became a resident of Brok0kdale Dowlen Oaks.
When it came to him, the family wanted nothing but the best.
“Oh, we would do the best for daddy, because he would have done the same for us," Young said.
Concerning Jinks’ safety and wellbeing, the family did not take any chances.
"We had put a camera in his room because, you know, we didn't trust anybody,” Young said. “We just wanted more eyes, our eyes, on him."
A little more than month into the elderly man’s stay at the facility, on October 28, 2020, the camera captured a brutal assault.
In a video seen by 12News attached to the lawsuit, Charles Jinks is seen sleeping in his bed when another memory care patient enters his room. The other patient walks around freely for several minutes, leaving and reentering Jinks’ room multiple times.
After a while, the patient reenters the room with a porcelain top to a toilet in his hands. The toilet top was then used as a weapon in a brutal assault that left Jinks with facial fractures, a black eye and lacerations.
The other patient is not named in the lawsuit. Charles Jinks had to get 11 staples.
“The ER doctor said that if dad's head would have been turned more sideways and that happened, it would have killed him,” Young said.
The attack left the family angry, mad and desperate for answers. Some members of the Jinks family couldn’t bear to watch it more than once.
“When I saw him hit dad the first time, I didn't watch anymore,” Young said. “I never watched it again. I don't want to look at that anymore.”
Video shows after the assault, staff members appeared to be confused.
"When I walked in here, he was coming out of the room with the back of a toilet lid,” a staff member said.
The Jinks family suspects there is a case of neglect and was disgusted by Brookdale’s response.
"They told us they saw the video and how horrific it was, but it was like they didn’t take it into consideration what had actually happened,” Young said. “I mean, we thought it was just ungodly."
Brookdale representatives said while they cannot provide specific details about the incident, they do take the health, safety and security of their residents seriously.
"We are committed to a high level of quality in the care of our resident," a Brookdale representative said. "If a situation occurs involving residents, we respond quickly with the residents' well-being at the top of our priorities."
If a situation does arise, Brookdale representatives said the facility works closely with the affected family.
"We follow regulations by reporting to the applicable authorities and then work with them on any follow up investigation of incidents," a Brookdale representative said. "We reported to Texas health and human services, and were found in compliance with regulatory regulations."
Cody Dishon works at the Ferguson Law Firm in Beaumont and is representing inks and his children in a civil suit.
“Well, when the family first came into my office, I didn’t know there was a video,” Dishon said. “They showed me the video, and I was alarmed. Quite frankly, I was angry, and I wanted to fight for the family."
The suit is against the senior living facility not the patient that attacked Jinks.
The suit alleges negligence by Brookdale and its staff on 20 counts. One count states the facility and staff allowed, “another resident to leave his own room in the middle of the night, wander through the hallways, and then attack Mr. Jinks for several minutes."
The case could be handled in private by an arbitrator. However, Dishon and his team believe it should be in the public eye.
"I firmly believe if 12 strangers in this community look at that video, and watches it, and hears Mr. Jinks' story, they would make Brookdale pay,” Dishon said. “They would send a message with their verdict that this type of behavior cannot happen here in Beaumont, Texas. It doesn't need to happen anywhere."
For the Jinks family, it’s not just about the money. In addition to damages, they also want systemic change and an apology from a company they believe has been lying to its patient.
"The brochures and all the little videos are awesome, but they're not,” Young said. “It's smoke and mirrors. That's what that is."
Dishon believes more often than not, companies only change when they begin to lose money.
“We are not looking for some quick payday or some cheap settlement,” Dishon said. “What we do want is Brookdale to change, and most companies only change when you hurt their bottom line. When companies start putting profits over safety, which we believe Brookdale did here, jurors tend to not like that, and they will send a message with their verdict."
Charles Jinks’ children said the attack worsened his memory issues. They hope what happened to their father serves as a warning for others.
“Our daddy deserves for this to be out there, and for what they did and didn't do,” Young said.
Charles Jinks is now in a Louisiana facility, closer to home. Still, his children are not taking any chances.
“We still have cameras watching him every day," Young said.
A decision on whether the case will be handled by an arbitrator has not been made.
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