Brent Adams & Associates Legal Blog

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Survivor Of Attack Files Suit Against Chatham Retirement Community

A woman who sustained personal injuries, but survived an attack at an upscale Chatham County retirement community three years ago has filed suit against the facility and its management.

In December of 2007, Rebecca Fisher was assaulted at Galloway Ridge at Fearrington Facility near Pittsboro. In the same attack, two other residents, 92-year-old Margaret Murta and her 82-year-old sister Mary Corcoran were killed.

In October 2008, the women’s housekeeper, Barbara Turrentine Clark, entered a plea of guilty after being accused of beating the women with a cane during a dispute over money. She is serving two life sentences in prison.

According to Fisher’s suit, Clark had a criminal history, but no one at Galloway Ridge conducted a background check on her. An attorney for Galloway Ridge argues that that the women never informed the community they’d hired Clark.

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Alleged Sexual Assault At Wake Forest Nursing Home

A man from Wake County has been accused of sexually assaulting a patient at a rest home in Wake Forest.

According to police, 42-year-old Michael Brodie, a nursing assistant, allegedly assaulted a female resident at the Wake Forest Adult Care Center.

The alleged incident took place in February, however, the victim has only recently come forward. The only comment Wake Forest Care Center Director Terri Allen would make about the incident was that "It was very inappropriate." She did not have further details to offer.

Allen said that she has only been an employee at the center for three months and was not the person who hired Brodie.

Laws regulate who is or isn't eligible to work at an adult care facility. The center was not in violation of the rules, but a criminal background check may not do much to protect residents.

According to Allen, they conducted a background check, however they did not find what an investigation team from ABC11 Eyewitness News discovered: This incident is not the first brush with the law Brodie has had.

Brodie's most recent offense was a traffic violation in 2008, but his record also includes charges of misdemeanor simple assault and assault with a deadly weapon dating back to 1986.

According to North Carolina state officials, rest homes are only required by law to conduct background checks. The state also maintains a registry of health care workers who have been accused of neglect and abuse.

In the case of Brodie, no red flags were discovered, according to the law, meaning that it is up to private centers such as Wake Forest Adult Care Center to determine who to hire.

Allen said that the victim is okay, but she fired Brodie after an internal investigation was conducted. She said that the decision was unexpected, much like the surprising allegation against an employee that had been considered to be one of the most trustworthy.

Brodie is currently in prison and is scheduled to appear in court later in May.

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