On the early morning of February 12th, allegedly, a homeless man entered an unlocked door of Gentiva Health Services, a Mt. Pleasant hospice, walked across the hall, into an 86-year-old woman’s room, and sexually assaulted her. After hearing a scream, a nurse rushed to the room and found the homeless man atop the helpless hospice resident.
Since the attack, the victim’s daughter filed a suit in federal district court in Charleston, contending the hospice failed to provide “reasonable and necessary security.” The suit accuses the hospice’s operators of negligence after the aforementioned attacker gained unchallenged entry into the facility and eventually to the dying woman’s room. The suit seeks unspecified actual and punitive damages.
Charleston nursing home neglect attorneys know the residents and families of residents in hospice facilities are dependent on the caregivers in that setting to provide quality care. When nurses, nurses’ aids, doctors, or administrators in a nursing home fail to care for residents’ well-being in a manner consistent with standards applicable to that setting, the result may be pain and suffering, or even wrongful death.
The attorney representing the victim and her family said part of the motivation underlying the civil suit is an effort to make sure similar attacks never happen again. The Charleston nursing home abuse lawyer was quoted by the Post and Courier, saying, “It’s a shame that it took a tragedy such as this to make them sit up and take notice, if they have yet.”
The alleged attacker is 54-years-old and has an active criminal past. He is currently being held without bail at the Charleston County Jail on charges of first-degree burglary and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.