Family Sues Assisted Living Facility, Claims Neglect Led To Wrongful Death

The family of a 51 year old woman claims the assisted living facility she was in took her life.  A lawsuit has been filed in Walker County and the trial is set to begin on Monday.

The details of this suit and pictures of the deceased are both disturbing.  The family of Charlotte Pauline Dean says she was staying at a residential assisted living facility, but was abused by her caretakers.

The lawsuit claims they left Dean malnourished, didn't properly treat her wounds, and let her rot to death.

We do want to warn you that this case is very graphic.

Our investigation began when Newschannel 9 received a picture in an email from an anonymous viewer.  It was a disturbing photograph of a clearly malnourished woman.

That information led us to the Walker County Courthouse and a lawsuit, which divides the responsibility between Travis Thompson, owner of an assisted living facility and Hutcheson Home Health.

It claims that Charlotte Pauline Dean was 47 years old, suffering from cerebral palsy, and mental disabilities when a relative placed her in the Country Crossing Assisted Living facility at a home on Round Pond Road in Lafayette, Georgia.

That was back in 2001, under the care of facility's owner, Travis Thompson.  Wednesday, we found the home locked and deserted.

But the lawsuit says it was inside the building, that Dean died in 2006.  It says in effect she rotted to death as a result of the neglect of the two defendants.  It goes on to explain that Thompson and his employees actively hid Dean's physical condition, by wrapping her in blankets and a toboggan to cover her ears and face.

A nurse is also quoted in the suit, saying the staff failed to provide adequate and appropriate care, treatment and services, and also blames Hutcheson Medical Center, whose home health provided caregivers.

It says Dean developed pressure sores, was malnourished, and lived in a room smelling of urine, 2 new staff there in 2004 stated they had not been trained, and there were no records kept of any treatment.

At one point, a Hutcheson nurse stated Dean weighed only 45 pounds, and had a stage 3 pressure sore on her tailbone.

Wednesday, we talked by phone to the attorneys on both sides.  One of the family's lawyers, Arch Farrar, wouldn't comment on the pending case. Hutcheson's attorney, Bob Berry would only say, "We are defending Hutcheson Medical Center in the case. The hospital is fully prepared to defend itself in the trial."

We did try to contact the other defendant in this case, Travis Thompson, but none of the numbers listed for him were working.  We also left messages for his attorney.

We do want to point out again that there are two defendants in this case, Thompson, the owner of the home, and Hutcheson, which provided the nursing care.

It'll be up to the jury to decide which, if either, is responsible for Dean's death.  The trial begins Monday at 9 am.