Brian Taylor spent nearly two decades living at a group home in Tallmadge, a place his mother chose for him when he turned 20 because he needed round-the-clock care. He was nonverbal, diagnosed with a chromosomal abnormality at just 11 months old, and his family says he lit up whenever they came to visit. In May 2025, at age 38, he died of sepsis — and now his family is suing, alleging that neglect and abuse at the facility set his death in motion.
The lawsuit, filed by Taylor's family, alleges that medical negligence at the group home and later at a Cuyahoga Falls nursing facility contributed to his death, according to Cleveland 19 News. Taylor had lived with his mother, Donna Sandy, until he was 20, when she moved him into the Tallmadge group home, where he stayed for close to twenty years. The family's attorney, Michael Hill, says things changed for the worse after a company called Empowering People took over operation of the home in 2023.
Staffing Cuts Alleged After Ownership Change
The lawsuit alleges that once Empowering People took over, the company reduced “the number, quality, qualifications, and training of the staff caring for residents like Brian,” per the same report. That decline in oversight, the family contends, created the conditions for what happened next: an assault that went unreported to them for months.
Hill says Taylor was physically abused and slapped in the face in November 2023, leaving him with a significant bruise. The family did not learn about the alleged assault until a prosecutor contacted them nine months later, according to Hill. The employee involved ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, according to Summit County court records cited in the report.
Restraint, a Hip Sore, and a Transfer That Made Things Worse
The lawsuit alleges the neglect toward Taylor did not stop there. Hill said staff were seen tying and restraining Taylor to a chair, and that the restraint led to him developing a large sore on his hip. As that wound worsened, it eventually required hospitalization, Hill said.
Taylor was then moved to Altercare in Cuyahoga Falls, a facility Hill said was expected to provide proper wound care. Instead, he said, Taylor received even less attention there than he had at the group home. The Medina County coroner determined that Taylor's death was ultimately caused by sepsis stemming from an infected pressure injury, or decubitus ulcer — a wound Hill says developed because of what happened at the group home.
Facilities Decline to Discuss Pending Case
The attorney representing Altercare told Cleveland 19 News the matter is in litigation and could not be commented on at this time. The attorney for Empowering People had not responded to the outlet's request for comment as of publication.
Sandy, Taylor's mother, described her son as someone who loved being active and whose face would light up whenever family came to see him. Those visits, and the bond they represented, are central to how his family remembers him as the lawsuit moves forward.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Ohio Care Facilities
Taylor's case echoes other lawsuits that have surfaced against long-term care operators in the region. A separate Cleveland 19 News investigation found that since January 1, 2024, at least 11 plaintiffs have filed lawsuits accusing Arbors facilities of negligence or medical errors that caused patients' deaths. That same reporting found Arbors facilities average 2.9 out of 5 stars on federal staffing assessments, and that regulators have fined Arbors facilities 18 times for more than $648,000 over a recent three-year period. One of those lawsuits, also handled by Hill, alleges a patient named Sam Frank Ray was left in the same position through 33 separate eight-hour shifts in September 2024; that case against the Arbors at Sylvania remains pending.
A similar case surfaced outside Ohio as well. According to Legal Newsline, Catherine Sue Cooper sued the operators of a Charleston, West Virginia group home over the care of her brother, Kenneth Edward Dunlap, who died on September 15, 2025. Dunlap, 54, had cerebral palsy and a profound intellectual disability, was nonverbal, used a wheelchair, and depended on others for daily care. That lawsuit alleges staff failed to provide water, prevent pressure injuries, reposition him, or follow physicians' wound-care orders.
What Ohio Law Says About These Claims
Under Ohio's wrongful-death statute, when a person's death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default that would have supported a damages claim had the person survived, the person who would have been liable — or the estate's administrator — may bring the action, according to the Ohio Revised Code. A separate provision defines a medical claim as a civil claim against medical providers, homes or residential facilities, or their employees, arising from a person's diagnosis, care or treatment.
