TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- In 2015, a 94-year-old woman who fell at her senior living apartment wasn't discovered by staff until for three days.
She was rushed to the hospital -- severely dehydrated and suffering from kidney and liver damage. She died eight days later.
In May 2016, her family sued Allegro Living Facility, claiming the staff's neglect led to her death.
Karma Gleason was 94, and her son says she was in good health and quite active in the Allegro community. She chose to live at Allegro in part because of their comprehensive emergency response system.
But when she fell in October 2015, no one was there to help her -- until it was too late.
"I don't know what to say. I mean, it was... it's something you don't want to see," said William Gleason, adding his mother, Karma Gleason, didn't have any severe medical issues.
But William said he was "shocked" when he saw her in the hospital days after she'd fallen.
"Her lips looked like craters were all over her lips because... she was dehydrated," he said. "I didn't know she was that dehydrated."
Karma was found conscious but disoriented and soiled on November 3, 2015. A housekeeper making her weekly rounds noticed the 94-year-old on the floor and called 911.
"If this situation wouldn't have happened, she would be here," he said.
Karma Gleason came to Allegro Senior Living in 2012. Her son says the facility advertised a strong system in case of emergency. Residents get a pendant with a button to push whenever they need help, a cord in the bathroom can also be used to alert staff of an emergency, and residents are suppose check in every morning to let staff know they're okay.
"All these folks are relying on all these systems and all these wonderful redundant systems," said family attorney Scott Gwartney. "How is it that they all broke down? Every one of them?"
In addition to the system, residents receive meals every day, either at the restaurant or at their apartment. Either way, staff is expected to check on what residents choose.
Gleason also had newspapers delivered to her every day. When the housekeeper found her, three days of papers were sitting outside her door.
"It goes all the way from the necklace, to the wall thing, to the newspapers, to even her not getting her meals," William Gleason said.
"All these systems have fallen and broken down, and it's a tragedy," Gwartney said. "This just shouldn't happen."
Just two days after Karma was found on the floor of her apartment, Allegro Living sent a letter to residents, reminding them of the emergency call system. William Gleason says that system failed his mother, and he's worried about others who live there.
"If it happens to her, it could happen to any of them there. And my thought is they need to be watched out for, too," he said.
WTXL reached out to Allegro for comment. The facility issued a statement, saying in part: "We at Allegro take great efforts in serving and protecting our residents and will do everything in our power to investigate this situation in a timely manner."
"She needed help. They weren't there. They just totally dropped the ball," William Gleason said, adding he hopes his family's lawsuit against Allegro will bring much needed change.
"Make sure that their technology is up to date, and their personnel are going to do the things that they're supposed to do," he said.
William says he knows the lawsuit won't bring his mother back, but he recalls spending his birthday with her at the hospital.
"I said, 'You gave me the best birthday present I could ever have, because I spent the whole day with you,'" he said. "And she gave me a smile that was priceless... and I'll never forget it."
William Gleason and his two sisters are suing Allegro for $15,000 for "wrongful death damages," claiming the facility breached its contract and violated a Florida statute.
Allegro's attorney says the facility cannot comment due to litigation matters.
