SLO County, HASLO sued for alleged elder abuse, wrongful death 

A Riverside County man is holding San Luis Obispo County, the city of Paso Robles, the Housing Authority of SLO, Paso Robles Nonprofit Housing Corporation, and Affordable Housing Paso Robles accountable for allegedly causing the death of his aging mother.

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• File Photo By Jayson Mellom
• NAMED While a wrongful death lawsuit points fingers at Housing Authority of SLO for the death of 80-year-old Carolyn Jane Roach-Hendershot of Chet Dotter Senior Apartment Community, it's unclear who truly is responsible for the apartment building.

Chet Dotter Senior Apartment Community resident Carolyn Jane Roach-Hendershot, the 80-year-old mother of plaintiff Daniel Bacon, reportedly died because of elder abuse and neglect, according to Bacon's complaint for damages filed on July 25. The lawsuit alleged that Roach-Hendershot fell sick in January and needed emergency help.

"In her distress, she reached for an emergency pull cord, a measure meant to swiftly alert defendants and their agents, employees, managers, personnel, and/or staff to her urgent need for assistance," the complaint read. "However, despite her efforts, decedent's distress signal went unnoticed; the response time was slow; and/or the emergency cord was not functioning as intended."

Affordable Housing Online shows that the pull cord feature is publicly advertised as a part of living in the Chet Dotter Senior Apartment Community, which has 40 rent-subsidized apartments for people 62 years and older.

The complaint added that the apartments were also advertised to come with an on-site person who would be available to help around the clock.

"Medical personnel eventually arrived at decedent's unit but were unable to gain entry despite multiple attempts to reach a senior community property manager of defendants or their agents, employees, managers, personnel, and/or staff," the complaint said. "With no alternative, medical personnel had to forcibly enter decedent's unit. Their efforts came too late, and decedent tragically passed away on Jan. 15, 2024, from the injuries she sustained on Jan. 12, 2024."

Roach-Hendershot's son is seeking damages for negligence, premises liability, elder abuse, wrongful death, and survival. Bacon legal representative Los Angeles-based Wilshire Law Firm declined to speak with New Times on the record.

In these early stages of the lawsuit, it remains unclear which body is responsible for the senior apartment community. HASLO didn't respond to New Times' request for comment by press time, but SLO County did.

"We believe the county is not a proper party to this lawsuit and will be making every effort to extricate ourselves," SLO County Counsel Rita Neal said. Δ