After Woman Dies Due to Nursing Home Abuse, Family Offers Reward for Suspect
After a short 6-week stay in the Kingstree Nursing Home Facility, Margaret Parker experienced such serious nursing home abuse that she died in an area hospital.
Now, her family is posting a $5,000 reward for the perpetrator of the nursing home abuse.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Agency (SLED) is investigating the case as assault, but has not disclosed the names of any suspects or any other details of the investigation.
Parker’s family is looking for information that could put the perpetrator or perpetrators in jail.
“We just feel, if this is the step that we have to take to uncover this, that’s what we’re willing to do,” said Parker’s daughter Helen Still.
After years of caring for his aging mother, David Christmas, Helen Still’s brother, decided he needed extra help. After intensive research, Christmas decided on the Kingstree Nursing Home Facility, which federal investigators rated as “above average” on the last inspection.
Christmas thought he was making the best decision for his 90-year-old mother’s care. She was admitted on May 7th. On October 17th, she was admitted to a hospital due to severe trauma, where she died.
“She had bruises pretty much on every part of her body,” said Still. “She was absolutely scared to death. She had been traumatized. She did state in the emergency room that she had been hit.”
“We took pictures,” said Christmas. “She was just afraid and kind of a crying mode most all the time. Whatever happened to her, it really done a job on her.”
When asked, an administrator at the Kingstree Nursing Facility, Candy Slavinski, said that the skilled nursing facility had cooperated with SLED investigators.
“I can tell you that we have cooperated with the local authorities and we have completed our in-house investigation,” she said. However, she could not release details of the investigation.
Parkers children said they had heard nothing about the facility’s nursing home abuse investigation.
“We did go over to the nursing home and they assured us they were taking polygraphs,” said Still. “At one point, they did say they felt like they had it narrowed down, but we have had no further information from the nursing home whatsoever.”
If you know anything about the serious nursing home abuse that led to Margaret Parker’s death, you can contact Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
Criminal Nursing Home Abuse Charges in South Carolina
Some states provide criminal penalties for the abuse, neglect, or other mistreatment of nursing home residents. Historically, prosecution for crimes involving abuse, neglect and exploitation of the elderly were relatively infrequent. This was due in part to:
- the reluctance of older persons to report incidents or press charges;
- the fact that the immediate harm was removed through the intervention of adult protective services;
- the difficulty some older people have in participating in a criminal trial;
- physical frailty;
- the frequent lack of supporting evidence; and
- the concern of some prosecutors that elderly victims might not make credible witness due to physical limitations or loss of memory.
In some cases, the failure to provide residents with sufficient food, keep residents clean enough, or prevent bedsores from occurring, have supported convictions for criminal neglect. In other cases, the unjustified use of physical restraint or force against nursing home residents has resulted in convictions for nursing home abuse. In some states, the definition of abuse may require inappropriate physical contact that harms or threatens to harm the patient, and may not cover verbal threats.
The Strom Law Defends Victims of Nursing Home Abuse
If your loved one has faced nursing home abuse, you do not have to suffer in silence. Contact the attorneys at the Strom Law Firm for a free, confidential consultation. We are here to help. 803.252.4800.
