Nursing Home Resident Dies after Facility Allows Him to Wander Away from Mooresville, North Carolina Nursing Home
91 year-old Joseph Clay Johnston was suffering from the effects of late stage Alzheimer’s disease when he was placed in the secure wing of Summit Place, a nursing home facility right outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mr. Johnston’s disease had progressed to the point that when his daughters came to visit, he didn’t recognize them, preferring to stay in bed and sleep. He was also noted to be very weak and slow in his gait. So it came with great shock when his daughters received a call from Summit Place informing them that their father was missing.
On the day he disappeared, Mr. Johnston was last noticed at 1:45 p.m. Eight(!) hours later, Mr. Johnston’s body was found in a field about 400 feet from the facility. An autopsy was being performed to determine a cause of death, but his daughters want more than that. They want to know how their father, who could barely walk, who preferred to be in bed, and who was supposed to be secure in a locked ward, could just up and leave unnoticed and uncared for. These are the questions the police and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will be asking as they conduct their investigation.
When they can no longer care for themselves, elderly people still deserve good care. They deserve to be treated with dignity. Sadly, nursing home corporations frequently do not provide humane treatment to our loved ones. The controlling nursing home corporation is often just too cheap to give good care. These corporate executives are often more interested in padding their profits, than they are in the vulnerable human beings who rely upon them for care. It is a betrayal of our trust – pure and simple. Poor treatment causes painful (and even deadly) decubitus ulcers (bedsores), unsanitary conditions, repeated infections, dehydration, dramatic weight loss, falls, broken bones, and sometimes even death.
You can reach South Carolina personal injury lawyer Michael Jeffcoat by calling 1-800-827-7898.
