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North Carolina Wrongful Death Lawsuit Accuses Harnett County Nursing Home of Negligence After 85-Year-Old Wanders Away and Falls into Ravine

The daughter of Carrie ?Christine? Evans is suing a North Carolina nursing home for her mother's wrongful death. Serita Cheryl Evans is accusing Millicent Boutchway Shylon, the owner of Primrose Retirement Villa IV, of nursing home negligence leading to Carrie Evans's fatal fall accident earlier this year.

According to the North Carolina wrongful death complaint, the 85-year-old, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and hypertension, wandered away from the facility, fell into a ravine, and died from the head injury she sustained when she fell.

The civil lawsuit contends that the Angier nursing home workers knew that the 85-year-old was at risk for wandering yet did not do anything to prevent her elopement. Not only did Evans's nursing care plan note that she could become disoriented and forgetful, but it also indicated that she was physically fit enough to walk at a fast pace for long distances without help. Evans also had a history of leaving the facility without help on several occasions. Despite having this information, the North Carolina nursing home did not make sure that she was constantly supervised.

The complaint claims that on February 1, the night the elderly resident wandered off, no one was available to give her the medication she needed for her nerves and sleep deprivation issues. Also, the security system used to prevent patients from wandering was not working. The system had not been inspected since 2005.

After Evans died, the Harnett County Department of Social Services fined the Angier nursing home for a number of safety violations, including failure to properly supervise residents so that they are protected from serious injury and not correcting certain care quality issues that the state of North Carolina had been asking the nursing home to fix for some time now. Inadequate training has also been an issue, say inspectors.

The state has inspected Primrose Retirement Villa IV 28 times in the past two years. Usually, it is standard for the state to investigate a North Carolina nursing home no more than four times a year.

Serita Cheryl Evans is seeking at least $10,000 from the Harnett County assisted living facility.

Daughter Of Resident Who Fell To Her Death Sues, DunnDailyRecord, June 15, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Harnett County Department of Social Services, Harnett County

Why Do Wandering Management Systems in Nursing Homes Fail?, EzineArticles.com,

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on June 29, 2009 (boomark / email).