Father found dead in Boston assisted living home was ignored for 9 days, sons say in lawsuit

A man who died in an assisted living home in Boston went unnoticed for nine days and was decomposing when he was found, according to a lawsuit filed by his family in Massachusetts.

Felipe Dip was a resident of Chestnut Park at Cleveland Circle in Brighton when he was found dead on July 21, 2023. According to a lawsuit filed by his two sons Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court, his body was "badly decomposed" when employees discovered him.

Dip's sons are suing the facility's owner, Benchmark Senior Living, and an employee who is only identified as John Doe because the family does not know the worker's name.

WBZ-TV has reached out Benchmark Senior Living for comment but has not yet heard back.

A spokesperson for the family's attorney, Thomas Flaws, released a statement about the lawsuit on Wednesday.

"The family of Felipe Dip has filed this lawsuit to learn the truth about what happened to their father and to hold those responsible accountable," Flaws said. "Mr. Dip was entrusted to the care of an assisted living facility that families rely on to keep their loved ones safe. The allegations in this case raise serious questions about whether that trust was honored. Our focus now is on a thorough and transparent examination of the facts. The family deserves answers, and we intend to pursue them through the legal process."

According to the lawsuit, the John Doe "was specifically assigned the responsibility of monitoring Felipe Dip and conducting regular welfare checks to ensure his safety and well-being." Dip's sons said there was a motion-sensing camera system to detect any movement in his room. They claim the last time any motion was detected there was "on or about July 12, 2023."

The sons said over the next nine days their father would have been expected to show up for regular meals. They claim 27 meals went by and no one ever checked on their father in his room. According to the lawsuit, any missed meal "should have triggered a welfare check by staff."

Dip's sons, Ricardo Dip Calimano and Benjamin Dip Gerber, are suing for two counts of negligence, and one count of negligent infliction of emotional distress.

"The Defendants' negligent failure to monitor, check on, or otherwise attend to Felipe Dip for a period of approximately nine days … was conduct so far beyond the bounds of reasonable care as to foreseeably cause severe emotional distress to members of Felipe Dip's immediate family," the lawsuit reads.

The sons want a jury trial and are seeking judgement "for all damages available under Massachusetts law."