Wrongful death lawsuit against North Charleston nursing home follows years of complaints

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - A nursing home in North Charleston is facing a wrongful death lawsuit claiming a patient died after the facility failed to take care of her.

The lawsuit was filed last week and claims a woman was admitted to Riverside Health and Rehab in September 2015.

About a year later, employees at the facility allegedly found her on the floor of her room with a laceration above her right eyebrow.

The lawsuit goes on to say a couple days later, that woman got a fever and then was allegedly taken to the hospital and diagnosed with dehydration and severe malnutrition.

A couple days after that, the lawsuit says that woman died.

An affidavit in that lawsuit includes the testimony of a nurse from Louisiana.

That nurse said based on the medical records of the woman who died, it was documented the woman was at high risk for falls, but the facility’s employees failed to “properly implement fall prevention measures” to keep her safe.

Public records from the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control show this facility has a long history of complaints.

In the last five years, people have filed at least 43 complaints against Riverside. That’s more complaints than any other nursing home in Charleston County.

The center with the second-most number of complaints has less than half of what Riverside has.

Neither Riverside Health and Rehab nor the attorney who filed the lawsuit have responded to a request for comment.

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