Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Personal Injury Law Blogs -> North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

Personal Injury Law

: North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

North Carolina Nursing Home Rampage Leaves Seven Patients and One Nurse Dead and A Visitor and Police Officer with Injuries

In Carthage, North Carolina, seven nursing home residents are dead following a mass shooting at the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center. According to police, an armed man entered the long-term care facility and began shooting at people.

The suspect, Robert Stewart, is the estranged husband of a nursing assistant who works at the North Carolina nursing home, and police believe he may have been targeting her. The alleged gunman was reportedly armed with several weapons when he entered the long-term care facility and began firing at people.

The victims that died were Jessie Musser, 88, Lillian Dunn, 89, Tessie Garner, 88, Louise Decker, 98, Margaret Johnson, 89, John Goldston, 78, Bessie Hendrick, 78, and registered nurse Jerry Avant, 38. The three people who were injured, including a nursing home visitor and a police officer, are expected to survive.

The shooting rampage stopped after Officer Joseph Garner entered the Carthage nursing home alone and shot Stewart in the upper torso area. Stewart, who is in police custody, has yet to issue a statement. He faces multiple counts of first-degree murder and a felony charge of assaulting a police officer.

The Carthage, North Carolina nursing home care facility had received a five-star rating from Medicaid officials.

Nursing Home Security
In addition to providing nursing home residents with the proper care, North Carolina long-term care facilities must ensure that the proper supervisory and security measures are in place so that none of its patients, nursing workers, or visitors are harmed. This means making sure that dangerous or unauthorized individuals cannot indiscriminately enter the home, as well implementing systems and procedures so that nursing home residents who need specialized supervision cannot leave the premises without permission or a companion.

Inadequate security and failure to provide the proper supervisory and safety measures at a North Carolina nursing home can be grounds for a nursing home neglect lawsuit or wrongful death case if someone gets hurt or dies.

Alleged gunman's wife worked at nursing home, police say, CNN.com, March 30, 2009

Marital discord suspected as motive in North Carolina nursing home rampage, Kansas City.com, March 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Inadequate Security News, Justia

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on March 31, 2009 (boomark / email).