West Ashley assisted living facility faces wrongful death lawsuit

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - An assisted living facility in West Ashley is facing a wrongful death lawsuit that claims employees severely injured a patient there, ultimately causing her death.

According to the lawsuit filed on Friday, Beverly Hooks was a patient at Ashley River Plantation on March 24, 2018.

The lawsuit claims on that date, an employee at the facility "was unnecessarily rough and abusive towards Ms. Hooks, twisting and fracturing her tibia and fibula."

The injuries Hooks sustained from the incident required surgery and ultimately caused her death, according to the lawsuit.

Now a personal representative of Hooks’ estate is claiming the facility failed to properly train, monitor and supervise staff who were responsible for caring for Hooks.

“Upon information and belief, Beverly Hooks was dependent upon the care provided by employees and agents of the Defendants in order to live her life, and the Defendants were required to operate the facility in an appropriate manner, which they failed to do,” the lawsuit said.

Nathan Hughey, the attorney who filed the lawsuit, said the plaintiff is planning on moving forward with the lawsuit that was filed last Friday.

According to public records from the state's Department of Health and Environmental Control, at least 19 complaints have been filed against the Ashley River Plantation facility in the last five years.

11 of those complaints were listed under the category "care."

In 2017, a 62-year-old resident with Alzheimer's Disease went missing from Ashley River Plantation.

John Haddon was later found unharmed.

Officials from DHEC confirmed shortly after that the facility failed to properly report a previous incident where a resident went missing.

Officials Ashley River Plantation have not responded to a request for comment.

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