Staff Arrested for Running a Dementia Fight Club in Assisted Living Facility

Earlier this month, three female employees of the Danby House, an assisted living facility in North Carolina, were arrested and accused of starting their own fight club using the facility’s dementia patients.

The patients were forced to punch each other while staff members recorded it on their cellphones. According to court documents, one of the recordings shows a patient shouting for help after being hit in the face. One of the staff members told this patient to stop screaming, according to a report in the Washington Post.

Following arrests earlier this month, authorities reported that all three women have been charged with assault on a person with a disability. An investigation into the assisted living and memory-care facility was implemented by police investigators and the North Carolina Department of Health after receiving a tip in June 2019.

Danby House Response

Affinity Living LLC, the parent company of the Danby House, reported that all three employees were fired after the initial allegations were first made known in June. According to their parent company, Danby House Administrators have fully cooperated with authorities throughout the investigation, including the Winston-Salem Police Department.

A representative of Affinity Living stated that, “Danby House has undergone leadership changes in recent months, and we look at situations like these as opportunities to improve upon the high standard of care we provide for our residents.”

For the time-being, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has suspended Danby House from accepting any new patients. Additionally, they sent the facility a report on August 21, 2019, containing details of a number of patient care violations.

Contact an Experienced Attorney if Your Loved One Suffered Abuse

If you suspect your loved one is being mistreated or has suffered any type of nursing home abuse or neglect, we encourage you to contact the Wisconsin nursing home abuse lawyers at PKSD. We offer a free, no-obligation consultation to review your claim, answer your questions and tell you what legal options you may have. We accept nursing home abuse cases on contingency, so if we do represent you, there are absolutely no upfront fees. If we are not successful in obtaining compensation on your behalf, we do not get paid.

Call us at 414-333-3333. Our phone lines are open anytime, day or night.