Long-Term-Care Facilities Are Using The Pandemic As A Shield, Even In Lawsuits Unrelated To Covid-19
North Carolina’s broadly worded emergency liability exemptions are being tested in negligence lawsuits
August 20, 2021 at 11:12 a.m. EDT
Amanda Garrett recalls her first thought upon learning her father-in-law was violently attacked: “That doesn’t make any sense at all.” Garland Garrett Jr., 80, a former North Carolina state transportation secretary and onetime political figure in Wilmington, was an ailing man with dementia, known as “The Mayor” among staff in the secure memory unit of a local assisted-living facility.
Garrett died on Sept. 12, 2020, from what the county medical examiner ruled to be blunt force trauma, including two fractures to his neck. Another resident with dementia and a history of violent outbursts aimed at staff and other residents assaulted Garrett early in the morning six days earlier, while Garrett lay in his bed, according to court records. A joint inspection by state and county licensing authorities cited the assisted-living facility, Spring Arbor of Wilmington, with the state’s highest level violation for failing to properly supervise care.
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By
Kohn Law
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Posted on
August 25, 2021
