A Georgia jury awarded $2.5M this week to the family of a 92-year-old woman who claimed she spent the last week of her life in agony after being stung repeatedly by fire ants that had infested her room and body at an assisted living care facility.
Betty Perloe and her personal aide saw ants in Perloe's room at Somerby Senior Living of Sandy Springs in 2018. Her aide reported the infestation, but the facility ignored her complaints. Within days, the fire ants had crawled all over Perloe's body and stung her. Perloe, a retired nurse, died soon after, with painful, pus-filled stings on her body.
"Her last week was one of agonizing pain, and it was miserable," Perloe's family attorney Lance Lourie said during the trial.The Gwinnett County State Court jury verdict included $500,000 for wrongful death, $1 million for the suffering caused by the facility, and $1 million in punitive damages. The jury also awarded $300,000 to cover attorney fees and other court-related expenses.
Fire ants had been a problem at Somerby for at least two months prior to Perloe's death, but the facility failed to take adequate steps to get them under control. Fire ants are invasive insects that can be harmful to humans, especially elderly ones who are frail. They get their name from the painful burning sensation they cause when they sting. Each sting brings welts or pustules that can cause infections. Unlike other insects that sting only once, one fire ant can sting multiple times, which is why they are so dangerous to small children and seniors.
Somerby said in a statement that what happened to Perloe was an"unfortunate and unusual event" that took place when the facility was under previous ownership. Somerby said the current owners have established new training and protocols to make sure what happened to Perloe never happens again.Perloe's death was among dozens of cases of elder abuse and neglect found at upscale, private-pay senior care facilities around Georgia.
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