Legal News
Nursing Home Sued After Alzheimer’s Patient Was Found With More Than 1,000 Fire Ant Bites and Stings
A South Carolina family is suing a memory care facility after an unlocked door allegedly allowed their 83-year-old relative, who had advanced Alzheimer’s, to wander outside alone, where she was later found covered in fire ants.
NBC affiliate WCBD reported on August 19 that Shelba Catterton left Harmony at West Ashley in Charleston through a door that an employee had allegedly propped open to a secured courtyard on July 23.
According to the official complaint, Catterton was nonverbal and unable to call for help or remove the insects.
Staff allegedly found her hours later lying in a fire ant bed with upward of 1,000 bites and stings.
“By the time Harmony’s staff finally discovered her, she had been bitten and stung, upon information and belief, upward of 1,000 times. The bites covered her face, her eyes, her scalp, her back, her chest, her arms, her hands, her legs, and her feet,” the complaint reads.
Her family claims nursing home employees waited approximately 36 hours to report the incident to police. The complaint says Catterton was taken to a hospital after her daughter, Jan Buice, arrived for a visit and demanded medical care.
“I was horrified,” Buice told WCBD. “I just can’t tell you how horrified I was. Nobody should ever go through something like that.”
Catterton was treated for hypothermia and pneumonia before being admitted to intensive care. She died on August 7. Her family alleges the injuries and resulting complications contributed to her death.
The lawsuit accuses the facility of negligence, wrongful death, and violating South Carolina laws governing Alzheimer’s care. Charleston police are also investigating.
Harmony offered condolences to the family but declined to discuss the allegations. “Because this matter is currently in litigation, we are not in a position to comment on the details of the case,” a spokesperson told WCBD.
The company said it remains committed to treating residents with care, compassion and respect.
