A family in Texas is suing a nursing home for negligence after they found out that their relative was allegedly ravaged by ants for weeks before she died.
Lisa Howard came forward and filed a lawsuit against Brush Country Nursing and Rehabilitation in Austin after her mother, Kathleen Laurel was allegedly attacked by ants inside the nursing home.
“It’s something out of a horror story,” Howard said.
Allegedly, her mom passed away “peacefully” in her sleep Sept. 26, 2021 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
However, the relatives found the claim false and it seemed like her mother’s final days may not have been peaceful after the relatives discovered that Laurel’s room had been infested with ants.
“I went there as soon as I found out that day, and I actually spoke to the nurse that found her the night before,” Howard recalled.
She also claimed that a pregnant nurse, tearfully told her how “she was the one taking the ants off my mother, and she was getting bitten as she was doing it.”
According to the reports, the family took pictures of Laurel’s body that was riddled with tiny red welts.
Although investigators have yet to identify the species of ant responsible for the attack, reports revealed that the bite marks appeared to be consistent with the stings of fire ants. These ants are aggressive invasive species that originally came from South America which now inhabits large swaths of the southern US, including Texas.
Reports also revealed that these ant bites can cause burning pain and its venom can induce potentially life-threatening anaphylactic reactions similar to bees and wasps.
“The red pests have been responsible for a spate of nursing home fatalities in the South over the years, including a 2020 incident in which a 56-year-old Arkansas nursing home resident died after fire ants were found swarming her body. Meanwhile, this past June, a Georgia court awarded $2.5 million to the family of a 92-year-old woman who died after getting stung repeatedly during an infestation at her assisted care center.” The New York Post revealed.
Following the horrible experience, the family said they hope that Laurel’s story will convince the state to impose staffing requirements to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.
“She was completely helpless. She couldn’t ask for help.” Howard lamented.
Moreover, in response to Howard’s allegations, the Brush Country administrators argued that the marks were a heat rash.
“Then, heat rash begs the question, ‘Well why — where was she in so much heat that she got a heat rash?’” Laurel’s distraught daughter added.
