CHARLESTON — A Charleston woman is suing Marmet Center and Genesis Healthcare alleging her family member died because the nursing home failed to properly care for him.
Anthony Mollica also was named as a defendant in the suit.
Sabrina Burke filed the lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Castor Darrell Gibson, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Gibson was a resident of Marmet Center from Dec. 21, 2017, until Nov. 3, 2018, and during his residency, the defendants failed to properly assess him and failed to implement appropriate safeguards to prevent him from suffering and developing pressure ulcers, according to the suit.
Burke claims the defendants allowed Gibson to develop a severe sacral pressure ulcer and a pressure wound on his right leg, which led to his death on Nov. 4, 2018.
The defendants owed Gibson, as well as all of their residents, a duty to provide adequate and appropriate healthcare, according to the suit.
Burke claims the defendants also owed a duty to provide protective and support services that were the standard of care and failed to do so.
The defendants breached the applicable standard of care owed to Gibson by a pattern of poor care and neglect by staff members, according to the suit. The defendants also failed to protect Gibson from harm by failing to prevent him from worsening pressure ulcers or developing new pressure ulcers.
Burke claims the defendants' actions caused Gibson to suffer serious and permanent injuries and, ultimately, his death. His wrongful death beneficiaries also sustained mental pain and suffering and the loss of companionship because of his death.
Mollica, the nursing home administrator, failed to provide sufficient staffing and failed to ensure that Gibson received the proper care he needed, the complaint states.
Burke is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is represented by Jonathan R. Mani and Damon Ellis of Mani, Ellis & Layne in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court Case number: 19-C-1097
