A nursing home is being sued after a 93-year-old woman was left in a nursing home infested with one of the worst cases of scabies. Rebecca Zeni died in June 2015 of 'septicemia due to crusted scabies at the Shepherds Hill Nursing Home in LaFayette.
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Shockingly, health officials at the nursing home knew she had scabies and yet did nothing to prevent the outbreak.
Scabies is an itchy skin condition caused by thousands of mites that burrow into your skin and cause a rash. Not only do you need to cover your body in a cream to kill all the bugs, but you also need to wash your bed linen and any clothes that you've worn since being infested to ensure no eggs hatch.
Sometimes people need to do this several times before the scabies are properly killed off. But Ms Zeni's case shows what happens when the condition goes untreated.
The family's lawyer Mike Prieto told 11 Alive: "I don't understand how you can allow a human being to suffer needlessly."
Staff were allegedly told not to touch the woman's hand over fears it would actually fall off.
According to Fox News, Georgian Public Health documents revealed that the nursing home was aware of the scabies outbreak in 2013 and 2015, with 35 residents being infected. It's not known whether those other sufferers endured similar circumstances as Ms Zeni.
Apparently, the Department of Health didn't even inspect Shepherds Hill and instead opted to send over information on how to treat the condition. While they're not mandated to inspect a facility when an outbreak happens, they are supposed to notify the Georgia Department of Community Health.
Records show that didn't happen.
Forensic Pathologist Dr. Kris Sperry was asked by 11 Alive to look over the 93-year-old's autopsy and he was horrified.
He told the network: "This is one of the most horrendous things I've ever seen in my career as a forensic pathologist. Having seen what I've seen with Ms. Zeni, I think that is frankly a good characterization.
"I would seriously consider calling this a homicide by neglect."
However, lawyers for the nursing home say staff aren't responsible for Ms Zeni's death, telling 11 Alive: "[Pruitt Health] denies that it is a medical or healthcare provider and it, therefore, owed no legal duty to Plaintiff or Ms. Rebecca Zeni for which it could be held liable in this litigation."
Featured Image Credit: 11 AliveTopics: America, News, Investigation, Feels, Health, Lawsuit