Elderly dementia patient dies after over 1,000 fire ant bites at US care home

An 83-year-old woman with advanced dementia died after a horrific attack by a swarm of fire ants, which left her with over a thousand bites. Shelba Catterton was a resident at Harmony at West Ashley in Charleston when the incident occurred.

According to the lawsuit filed by her family, Catterton, who was unable to speak due to her condition, left the facility unnoticed. The suit alleges that a staff member left a door open, allowing her to wander outside where she was attacked by the ants. The ants reportedly "swarmed her body," biting her face, scalp, back, arms, legs, and chest more than 1,000 times.

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Harmony odstupio od važećih i prihvatljivih profesionalnih standarda skrbi i liječenja Shelbe Catterton.

Found hours later, Catterton was discovered with "pustules all over her back, all over her face, it's pretty bad. They really ate her up," according to a staff member's call to emergency services. She was transported to Bon Secours Roper St. Francis Hospital, where she was treated for hypothermia and pneumonia in addition to the numerous ant bite pustules. Despite eight days of treatment with steroids and antibiotics, she passed away on August 7.

The family is suing Harmony Senior Services for wrongful death and negligence, claiming the facility "deviated from applicable and acceptable professional standards of care and treatment." The family's attorney described it as the worst case of elder abuse he has seen in 25 years. A spokesperson for Harmony Senior Services stated that the company is unable to comment on the details due to the ongoing legal proceedings.

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Naše misli i najdublje su sućuti idu obitelji i voljenima gospođe Catterton u ovom teškom trenutku. Kao obiteljska tvrtka posvećeni smo pružanju iste skrbi, suosjećanja i poštovanja koje bismo pružili vlastitoj obitelji. Budući da je predmet u sudskom postupku, nismo u mogućnosti komentirati detalje slučaja.