In a new lawsuit, a paraplegic man says staff at a care facility in the East Bay city of Concord gave him a cup of wound-cleaning solution with his pills instead of water. He says they didn’t call 911 for two hours until he borrowed his roommate’s phone.

As Bay Area News Group reports, Steven Sharp, 55, says on the first morning of a six-week stay at Diablo Valley Post Acute rehabilitation center, he was mistakenly given about five to six ounces of a solution containing bleach with about 12 pills. Per Bay Area News Group, he immediately told staff he’d been given bleach and was feeling burning in his esophagus and stomach.

According to the lawsuit, after 45 minutes of Sharp asking staff to call 911, an employee came in and apologized for what happened. Sharp reportedly waited for emergency personnel for two hours before someone called 911 — only after they found out Sharp had borrowed his roommate’s phone, per Bay Area News Group.

Sharp says he suffered “severe and ongoing bodily injuries and emotional distress,” and he’s seeking unspecified damages. The lawsuit, which also includes Diablo Valley Post Acute’s parent company PACS, is suing for “gross recklessness, deception, and willful delay of medical care,” as Bay Area News Group reports.

“We take all concerns seriously and have initiated a thorough internal investigation into the allegations,” Diablo Valley Post Acute spokesperson Dan Kramer said.

Bay Area News Group points to two similar cases in San Mateo and Walnut Creek in 2022. At the San Mateo facility, three seniors — two of whom died — were given a cleaning solution that had been poured into a water pitcher. A 94-year-old man died two days prior in Walnut Creek under similar circumstances.

Recent Yelp reviews of Diablo Valley Post Acute describe the facility being under-staffed and their loved ones being severely neglected, including being left with crusty diapers and infected wounds.

Image: Diablo Valley Post Acute/Yelp