Columbia, SC personal injury attorney Mark D. Chappell talks about a memorable nursing home case he handled. He recalls a tragic case in the lower part of the state involving a former attorney in his 90s who managed to leave a memory care unit unnoticed. Despite staff searching for him, the man was not found for 10 days. When he was eventually discovered in a saltwater marsh less than half a mile from the facility, evidence showed that he had survived for nine of those 10 days.

For the family, the ordeal of searching for their loved one while imagining what he endured during that time was heartbreaking. He emphasizes that when families make the difficult decision to place a spouse or parent in a nursing facility, they do so with the expectation that their loved one will be properly supervised and cared for. Cases like this underscore the devastating consequences that can occur when that duty of care is breached.