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How it all started
: In 1994 Lesley Clement received a phone call notifying her that her great aunt, Dorothy Palmer, had been hospitalized. When Lesley arrived at the hospital, she found her great aunt with bloody fist-sized bruises covering her limbs. The emergency room physicians who were attending to Dorothy also diagnosed her with broken ribs and a ruptured abdominal wall. Upon seeing her great aunt, Lesley, who had never before pursued personal injury work, knew that something had to be done.

Lesley discovered that the single aide had been left in charge of forty-two Alzheimer’s patients. Because of this incredible resident load, the aide became frustrated with Dorothy, beat her, and then locked her outside of the Alzheimer’s care facility to make it appear that she had been mugged. Dorothy, seeking refuge from the night into which she had been locked, had to find her way to a nearby garage for help. In investigating further, Lesley also found that the owner and administrator of the nursing home had altered charts in order to make Dorothy appear aggressive and combative while, in reality, Dorothy was a frail 4 foot 11 inch woman who weighed only 98 pounds. Lesley was determined to ensure that justice was served, so she took her great aunt’s case to court. The care home settled the case only three weeks into trial, but Lesley was not satisfied. She was not just seeking monetary compensation for her great aunt, but wanted to send a message that the abuse of elders is something that will not go unpunished any longer. She set her sights on getting the care home owner’s operating license revoked. After a year and a half, she succeeded.

This case changed Lesley’s life. Through trying this first case she found that her great aunt’s assault was not an isolated incident. Elder abuse is pervasive throughout the entire elder care industry, and, as an advocate, Lesley could not stand by knowing that others are being as neglected and abused as Dorothy was.