An elderly woman with dementia passed away after mistakenly being served dishwashing liquid instead of grape juice at a senior citizens home in California, according to the facility.
Gertrude Elizabeth Murison Maxwell, a resident at Atria Park Senior Living Facility in San Mateo, was one of three people rushed to the hospital after consuming the caustic liquid.
The employees involved have been suspended as the home conducts an internal investigation and cooperates with local authorities, the facility stated.
According to a statement to KRON-TV by Atria, “We have been working with local authorities, who have informed us that one resident passed away. Our sincerest condolences are with the family.”
An NBC Bay Area source suggested that the dishwashing liquid may have been mistaken for grape juice.
“There may have been a mistake,’” stated the source involved in the investigation to the local NBC affiliate. “A jug of grape juice is what somebody thought they had picked up and poured into glasses, but it was some sort of cleaning fluid.”
The victim’s daughter, Marcia Cutchin, stated that the senior home informed her family that the substance given to her mother was an “alkaline cleaning solution that eats protein.”
Cutchin explained that Maxwell, who suffers from dementia, was unable to feed herself.
She added that upon arrival at the hospital, her mother had “severe blistering of her mouth, throat, and esophagus”.
“Many people, like my mother, you have to hold a cup to her mouth and tip it into her mouth,” Cutchin told KRON-TV.
San Mateo Police are reportedly investigating, but no additional information has been provided, according to the television station.
Maxwell is survived by eight children and 20 grandchildren.