Woman Sues over Daughter’s Nursing Home Rape
December 29 , 2006
A woman whose daughter was raped by a nursing home staff member has filed a lawsuit against the owners of the nursing home her daughter was staying in, and three other nursing homes where the man was employed.
The lawsuit filed by D’Juana Dunn, claims that the owners of Camelot Nursing Home, Clairmont Nursing Home, Colonial Tyler Care Center and Pinecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center failed to perform an adequate background check on the rapist, and also failed to report his sexual misconduct and abusive behavior.
Jennifer Dunn suffered brain damage when she was hit by a car as a child. Her mother placed her in the facility after caring for her at home for years.
She was raped while she was living at Pinecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Home in 2001 at the age of 21. The rapist, Thomas Drake Wheeler Jr. was convicted and sentenced to 20 years for second-degree sexual assault.
Dunn seeks damages on behalf of her now-deceased daughter, Jennifer Dunn. Jennifer died Dec. 6.
Wheeler’s Background
Wheeler was a certified nursing assistant for just over three years. During that time, he worked at four different nursing homes where he raped two women, and molested seven others, the lawsuit said.
The suit claims that the nursing homes each failed to screen the employee properly. They should have called previous employers and checked the state’s Certified Nursing Assistant registry, said the attorney who represents Dunn, Blake Bailey.
Wheeler’s misconduct was recorded by his employers and he was fired, but they never reported what happened to the registry until a week after Jennifer Dunn was raped, the suit claimed.
The lawsuit contends that the homes should have alerted the proper authorities and notified the registry about Wheeler’s behavior so that other patients would not be subjected to the same treatment.
“The fact that all of these nursing homes failed to report sexual misconduct tells me there’s an epidemic of that, and this is where the most vulnerable of us end up,” Bailey said.
Have you or someone you love been a victim of nursing home abuse? Please contact us today for a free consultation with an experienced attorney who can help you plan the best course of action. You may be eligible to recover compensation for pain, suffering, treatment costs, and more.
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