MIAMI – The family members of the elderly man whose body was found in the closet of a Miami nursing home facility have turned to an attorney in their search for answers.
CBS News Miami has learned the attorney for the family of Elin Etienne, 71, has already taken legal action.
He has filed a notice of a wrongful death claim, which is the first legal step in such cases.
Family members say they turned to the attorney to get answers about the death of Etienne.
They said an anonymous caller told them he went missing from the North Dade Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in North Miami on August 22nd, and an anonymous caller told them his body was found in a closet on September 2nd.
They said the nursing home has refused to tell them how this happened.
Edeline Etienne, Elin’s daughter, said, “I just want answers about my dad. I can’t believe my dad died like that. This was terrible.”
Attorney Philip Gold said, “The question is… was there proper staffing? Was there appropriate staffing? Was there a problem with a rogue staffer? We don’t know.”
“This was unacceptable negligence and a lack of supervision and a question of people not doing their job.”
Rivly Breus, Elin’s niece, said, “I am concerned about how the nursing home is going to respond because we just want the truth.”
Gold said he wants to know if the surveillance cameras were working at the nursing home.
CBS News Miami reached out to the facility again Wednesday but did not hear back.
They have said in the past they are committed to the safety of their residents and are cooperating with the appropriate authorities.
North Miami Police are not commenting because of the pending investigation.
