PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A Port St. Lucie family has received $6 million in a wrongful death lawsuit after the death of their family's matriarch.
Kathleen Menard died after she fell outside and was left lying in the extreme heat at the Harbor Place assisted living facility, WPEC reports.
"They had given her a safety pendant, where if she falls, she can press the pendant to get help and the staff were to come out and help," Scott Mitchell Fischer, the family's attorney, told WPEC. "But there was one big problem: the staff never told her the pendant didn't work outside."
Menard was found unconscious by a visitor, suffering from burns and a heatstroke. She died 87 days later, according to the local television station.
Her family sued the assisted living facility and found out they won this past weekend.
"I'm hoping legislation will change and it'll also change for other people so nobody ever has to go through this," Menard's daughter told WPEC. "This is the worst thing I've ever dealt with in my life and I will never, ever live it down."
The family hopes to draft a bill in her name.
The assisted living facility remains open.
What other people are reading right now:
- Grandpa carjacked at gunpoint, doesn't panic
- FHP: Florida man driving Cadillac from sunroof says he'd rather go to jail than back to his wife
- Gov. DeSantis vetoes bill that would have put an end to straw bans
- Father might be heading to Georgia after breaking into home, removing daughter
- The 24 best Mother's Day deals and freebies for 2019
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10News app now.
Have a news tip? Email desk@wtsp.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
