BOCA RATON, FL — A Palm Beach County wrongful death lawsuit accuses a Boca Raton assisted living facility and a Delray Beach nursing home of neglecting an elderly resident who, the complaint alleges, developed multiple pressure ulcers, suffered severe weight loss, and was later assaulted by another resident before his death in 2024.
The complaint was filed June 25, 2026, in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County by the Estate of John W. Larsen, through its personal representative, Debra B. Schuman. The case is captioned Estate of John W. Larsen v. Sonata Boca Raton, LLC, et al., Case No. 502026CA007116XXXAMB, assigned to Division AN.
The lawsuit names three defendants. According to the complaint, Sonata Boca Raton, LLC and CREF3 FSLP Boca Raton Owner, LLC both do business as Sonata Boca Raton, an assisted living and memory care community at 9591 Yamato Road in Boca Raton. The complaint also names Lifespace Communities, Inc., doing business as Abbey Delray, which the filing identifies as a skilled nursing facility at 2105 SW 11th Court in Delray Beach.
The plaintiff is represented by Kenneth R. Segal of the Law Office of Kenneth R. Segal, P.A., in Coral Springs, court records show.
According to the complaint, John W. Larsen was admitted to Sonata Boca Raton Assisted Living and Memory Care in or about May 2022 with intact skin and no pressure ulcers. The filing states he had multiple known medical conditions at admission, including congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, progressive dementia, recurrent falls, and generalized weakness.
The lawsuit alleges that in April 2023, Larsen was transferred to the facility's Memory Care Unit. The complaint describes a series of falls during his residency, including incidents on September 19, 2023, September 21, 2023, and January 10, 2024. The September 21 fall, according to the filing, resulted in a 911 response and a transfer to West Boca Medical Center, where the complaint says he was diagnosed with a left hip contusion.
After a hospitalization in mid-January 2024 that the complaint describes as involving a chronic hand wound, cellulitis, and encephalopathy, the lawsuit alleges Larsen was admitted to Abbey Delray Health Center for skilled nursing care on or about January 26, 2024. The complaint claims that during his stay at Abbey Delray, Larsen lost approximately 28 pounds in 18 days and that his pressure-injury risk score declined significantly.
The complaint states that on March 8, 2024, Larsen was discharged back to Sonata Boca Raton and admitted to VITAS hospice the same day. The lawsuit alleges that a hospice nurse documented five separate pressure ulcers at that time on his heels, coccyx, and sacral spine. The filing also alleges that on June 11, 2024, while still residing at Sonata Boca Raton, Larsen was assaulted by another resident. According to the complaint, Larsen died on August 19, 2024, at the Boca Raton facility.
The lawsuit brings six counts. The complaint asserts Chapter 429 survival and wrongful death claims against Sonata and CREF3 under Florida's assisted living facility statutes, and Chapter 400 survival and wrongful death claims against Abbey Delray under Florida's nursing home statutes. According to the filing, the defendants allegedly violated resident rights including the right to live in a safe environment free from abuse and neglect, the right to adequate health care, and the right to be treated with dignity.
The complaint seeks damages in excess of $50,000, plus costs, and demands a jury trial.
The filing reviewed by Boca Post does not include a response from the defendants. The lawsuit states the plaintiff complied with conditions precedent through a presuit notice under Chapters 400 and 429 of the Florida Statutes. The complaint also alleges that during the presuit process, Sonata Boca Raton objected and refused to answer questions about facility management and corporate identity. The allegations have not been proven in court, and the case is newly filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.
Boca Post reviewed the complaint, Estate of John W. Larsen v. Sonata Boca Raton, LLC, et al., Case No. 502026CA007116XXXAMB, filed June 25, 2026, in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida.
Learn more about nursing home negligence cases. Boca Post reports regularly on civil complaints filed in Palm Beach County courts. Readers can browse recent filings in our Boca Raton lawsuits coverage.
