Children of a nursing home patient recently filed a
lawsuit against their mother's nursing home for banning them from the facility for their social media posts. The lawsuit claims that the nursing home sent a letter to the children offering to restore their visiting privileges if they “agree to immediately remove all pictures, videos, blogs, comments, articles, postings or other invasive and/or exploitive content depicting or relating to Ruby Peterson and/or any other resident of Silverado Senior Living – Sugar Land immediately.” The letter also required the children and their attorney to “further agree to refrain from creating any additional pictures, video, blogs, comments, articles, postings or any other exploitive content depicting or relating to Ruby Peterson and/or any other resident of Silverado Senior Living – Sugar Land, assisting or encouraging others to post such content and providing others such content until the conclusion of all legal issues between the parties by settlement agreement, judgment or otherwise” in a separate case where the children are fighting to remove their mother from the facility.
The lawsuit claims that the revocation of their visitation rights was an unconstitutional retaliation in violation of their First Amendment rights and the ADA. The children ask the court to award them compensatory damages up to $500,000 for "severe mental and emotional distress and anxiety and bodily pain and suffering" and punitive damages.
