Adam Neil Bennett spent the last three days of his 91 years with a punctured lung and broken ribs.
Landon Terrel admits he beat Bennett to death while caring for the man at Sunrise at East Cobb, an assisted living facility that cares for people with dementia.
Terrel weighed 369 pounds and stood 6 feet and 3 inches in August 2017 when he was booked in Cobb County jail on a felony murder charge.
Bennett’s family filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging Sunrise and its executive director were negligent and led to the man’s death.
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Sunrise boasts more than 300 facilities across North American and the United Kingdom.
When asked for comment, corporate spokeswoman Jenn Clark sent a statement.
“This was a terrible tragedy and we are still deeply saddened by this loss. Under no circumstances do we tolerate the alleged behavior, which goes against our high standards of care and service,” the statement reads in part.
Clark refused to answer any questions.
Bennett paid $227 a day to stay in the facility’s memory unit, according to the lawsuit.
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Terrel was caring for Bennett early on Aug. 15, but the elderly man resisted, the lawsuit says. Terrel admitted to police he hit Bennett around the torso.
The lawsuit, filed by Atlanta personal injury attorneys Stephen Chance and Lance Lourie, alleges Terrel and others weren't trained well enough, leaving the staff stressed.
Chance said on some nights Terrel was the only staff member for 20 patients.
“Sunrise put him in a hopeless situation, and he justifiably became frustrated with Mr. Bennett and unjustifiably got violent,” Chance said.
Court records show Terrel, who was indicted in November, has had a couple of attorneys and is now filing handwritten motions with spelling errors on his own behalf to the judge. The attorney listed for Terrel did not respond to a request for comment.
The attorneys who filed the lawsuit, which did not ask for a specific compensation amount, claim that Sunrise and its executive director knew Terrel had been violent with two other patients and threatened to kill an employee.
State records show there are 100 beds at the facility.
A review of inspection reports for Sunrise at East Cobb shows years without any issues. But an inspector in 2016 indicated that there was no paperwork showing a background check has been done on an employee.
A measure passed through the Georgia Legislature this past session that requires comprehensive criminal background checks for applicants at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. They also must enter the FBI’s background check database.
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Gov. Nathan Deal signed SB 406 into law on May 7.
Chance said the law wouldn’t have prevented Bennett’s death.
He said Terrel didn’t have a criminal background that would have set off red flags under the new law.
“It was very difficult for the family when this happened,” Chance said. “They’re very serious about wanting answers about why this happened. They don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
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