NewsChannel 36
SHELBY The family of a woman who has not been seen since walking away from a Cleveland County nursing facility 2 1/2 years ago are suing the man and company who operated the facility.
A judge hearing the case on Monday asked the attorney representing the family of Mouy Tang to submit a claim for pain and suffering in the case.
Tang's family, represented by attorney Neal Rodgers of Charlotte, is asking at least $750,000 in compensatory damages from Gary Jacobs and Jacob Enterprises LLC, which operated Unique Living in Lawndale.
That center was closed by state officials a week after Tang disappeared, on Sept. 3, 2008.
Jacobs did not appear in the Cleveland County courtroom Monday.
Mouy Tang was a refugee from Cambodia who escaped violence and starvation along with her brother Tong, who lives in Hendersonville.
Mouy Tang, who battled severe schizophrenia and diabetes, went to live at Unique Living, where a fee of $1,000 a month was supposed to buy her healthcare and safety. But she walked away from the facility and hasn't been seen since.
Given her diabetic problem, her doctor says Tang would have gone into diabetic shock within hours after disappearing. Rodgers said he thinks Tang might have walked into the woods near Unique Living and died.
Rodgers said operators of the facility were negligent.
"They didn't care about supervision," he said. "They cared about earning the money, and once they earned the money, they allowed these mentally impaired patients to basically fend for themselves."
Rodgers acknowledged that Unique Living allowed residents some movement around the facility, but he added, "She should not have been leaving the facility, opening the doors and walking out without supervision."
The doors Rodgers refers to are doors that Jacobs had promised to repair, according to testimony Monday from Cleveland County DSS employees.
They say Rodgers promised a state-of-the-art facility. Instead, patients and employees got one problem after another. The water and electricity were shut off, and a refrigerator was repossessed.
"We were there at least a couple times a week," said Rebecca Johnson of Cleveland County DSS.
She says she pushed for the state to close the facility, but it didn't happen until after Tang disappeared.
Tang's family said Jacobs should pay for damages, emotional distress, and unfair trade practices.
No comments:
Post a Comment