Elder Neglect Lawsuit Filed Against Shuttle Bus Company

A San Francisco shuttle bus company faces a wrongful death lawsuit, brought by the family of an elderly man with dementia who died after he was allegedly dropped off at the wrong location. 

The complaint was filed by the family of Kenneth Chin, who was 73 years old when he was found dead about a mile from the assisted living center where he lived. He was last seen getting off of a shuttle bus run by MEDSAM Enterprises.

The elder neglect lawsuit was filed against MEDSAM, the bus’s driver, Eugene Pearlman, San Francisco Paratransit and Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) in connection with Chin’s death. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco County Superior Court.

On February 24, 2011, Chin was headed home from Irene Swindell’s Center for Adult Day Services when he boarded the MEDSAM bus as usual. When he failed to return home at the allotted time, JFCS, his conservator, was notified. However, JFCS has a three-hour notification delay for a missing person.

The lawsuit alleges that those three hours were crucial in finding Chin, indicating by the time the three-hour notification delay expired and Chin’s family was informed that he was missing, night had fallen and a storm had rolled in. Chin’s body was found 10 days after he was last seen alive again.

According to allegations raised in the complaint, the bus driver failed to ensure Chin made it to the correct location safely. The family claims that it was Pearlman’s job to make sure Chin reached his door and that he verified Chin was in the right place due to Chin’s special needs. The lawsuit indicates that no one, including Pearlman, knows where Chin was let off that day.