Parkridge Specialty Care of Pleasant Hill, Iowa reportedly has been sued three times since 2024 for wrongful death, with the most recent filed in August 2025 by the Estate of Maris Bergis, alleging dependent adult abuse, recklessness, negligence, and wrongful death.
The lawsuit reportedly alleges that Bergis was admitted to Parkridge on September 1, 2023, for what was supposed to be a 48-hour stay following his hospitalization for pneumonia. Upon admission, he allegedly was alert, awake, and oriented. Parkridge was required to provide physician-ordered breathing treatments, to monitor Bergis for difficulty with breathing, and to watch for any signs of anxiety, confusion, or restlessness.
The lawsuit alleges that Parkridge failed to administer the breathing treatments and that Bergis was left in urine-soaked clothing. The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing reportedly cited Parkridge for its care of Bergis, finding that it had delayed providing necessary medical care and treatment.
Bergis’ widow, Leila Bergis, reportedly stated in a sworn affidavit: “When he arrived at Parkridge, he was not in a diaper. However, he called to go to the restroom once, and they did not come quickly enough, so he urinated in his pants. After that, they put him in a diaper – not because he was incontinent, but because they were not attending to his calls for assistance to use the bathroom … On multiple occasions, Maris and I used the call light to request assistance. Staff frequently failed to respond in a timely manner. Many times, staff took more than fifteen minutes and up to at least 30 minutes to respond. On one occasion, I arrived at Parkridge and found Maris in bed with his clothing soaked in urine. I called for staff to assist him. Although staff changed his undergarments, they did not bathe him or otherwise clean him… After Maris’ stay, while cleaning out his room, my daughters and granddaughter discovered a pair of his sweatpants in a dresser drawer that were soaked with urine. The Parkridge staff did not set up Maris’ breathing treatment equipment or have the albuterol — the medication — in his room. The equipment sat unplugged underneath the TV. Because of this, Parkridge did not give Maris the breathing treatments that were ordered by his physician. Even if I wanted to help give him a breathing treatment while he was at Parkridge, I couldn’t. This is because Parkridge did not have any albuterol in the room.”
“When Maris arrived on September 1, 2023, his prognosis was to come home. However, in about three days, Parkridge treated him so poorly and neglected him so badly — by letting him soak in his own urine and failing to give him prescribed treatment — that we had to rush him out of Parkridge by ambulance to the hospital.”
Prior Wrongful Death Lawsuits
In August 2024, the family of Kerry Morris sued Parkridge, alleging that Morris died at age 58, one week after being admitted to Parkridge for what was supposed to be a temporary stay to assist with recovery from a leg amputation. The lawsuit alleges that on the evening of August 23, 2022, two nurses failed to respond to a certified nurse aide’s request that they come to the assistance of Morris, who was in respiratory distress at the time. In March 2025, the parties reached a confidential settlement of the case.
In June 2024, the family of Neuang Boun Sisamouth sued Parkridge and Care Initiatives, alleging that on June 20, 2022, the staff at Parkridge failed to respond to her deteriorating condition, despite dangerously low blood sugar levels. Licensed Practical Nurse Dezaree Major failed to call 911 as ordered, and there was a 90-minute delay in transporting Sisamouth to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later. Trial is scheduled for March 29, 2027.
(In 2022, the Iowa Board of Nursing reportedly alleged that Major was working at an unspecified Iowa nursing home in 2021 where, for five months, she falsified various medical records and performed nursing services beyond the scope of her license.)
Visit our website to be connected with medical malpractice attorneys (nursing home claim attorneys) in your U.S. state who may assist you with your nursing home claim, or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.
