Hollywood Hills nursing home administrator acquitted in deaths of 9 residents
FORT LAUDERDALE - A South Florida judge acquitted a nursing home administrator in the deaths of nine patients after Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Jorge Carballo, 65, had been charged in nine of the 12 deaths. He had been the top administrator at the Hollywood Hills nursing home.
Prosecutor contended Carballo was guilty of manslaughter because he failed to give adequate direction to his staff at the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills after power to the facility's air conditioning system was lost.
Carballo faced 15 years in prison.
He was originally charged with 12 deaths, but three cases have been dropped. Charges were also dropped against three of his employees, who will testify against him.
Carballo's defense attorney said his client did everything within his power to protect his patients. He had his staff notify Florida Power & Light that the air conditioning's power was down right after it happened and several more times over the next two days.
Those who died, ranging in age from 57 to 99, had body temperatures of up to 108 degrees, paramedics reported at the time.
The deaths began three days after Irma knocked out a transformer that powered the cooling system. Otherwise, the facility never lost power.
A state report said that before the storm hit on Sept. 10, 2017, Carballo and his staff made appropriate preparations. They purchased extra food and water and seven days' worth of fuel for the generator.
Temperatures that week were in the upper 80s (about 31 degrees Celsius). On Sept. 12, two days after the storm, serious problems began arising.
The fire department ordered the home evacuated.
