The family of an Edmonton-area senior is devastated after being hit with an unexpected bill in the wake of their mother’s death. The family is sharing their story in the hope that others will not find themselves in the same situation.
It was a call on Memorial Day that Connie Brooks will always remember.
“It was the administrator who called and said to my older sister: ‘Your mother flooded the room, she left the window open, the pipes froze. It’s all her fault, she’s going to have to pay for it,” said Connie Brooks, the daughter of 92-year-old Elsie Fuhr.
Brooks said the call came in around noon and her mother had to leave West Country Hearth lodge by 4 p.m., with the administration saying there was no other accommodation.
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Fuhr ended up staying with one of her daughters.
“She fell one day and we ended up taking her to the hospital, and while she was at the hospital she started having a series of heart attacks and passed away the next morning,” Brooks said.
The family was later left with a bill of about $14,000 for the repairs to the room.
In a statement to Global News, West Country Hearth pointed to its housing lease agreement signed with admission, saying in part: “The resident/s hereby agrees to indemnify West Country Heath immediately upon demand for any damage to or destruction of any of West Country Hearth property due to negligence or incompetence by the Resident or their family members” and that “The Resident/s is responsible for damage to plumbing due to freezing, or to floors or walls due to rain, if windows are left open.”
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“My insurance covered the contents, but they wouldn’t cover the pipes freezing and the repairs because the building is already insured and they’re not going to sell insurance for something that’s already insured by another company,” said Brooks said.
Ruth Adria with the Elder Advocates of Alberta Society said Fuhr and her family may not have understood or been aware of the damage policy.
“People who move into lodges are debilitated, they are dependent, in some cases there may be a bit of dementia,” said Ruth Adria.
Brooks hopes that sharing her story will bring awareness to others facing a similar situation.
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