Assisted living facilities market themselves as a step between independent living and full nursing home care — a place where your loved one can maintain some independence while receiving help with daily activities. But when these facilities understaff, undertrain, or simply cut corners, residents suffer. Falls, medication errors, malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores, emotional abuse, and even physical and sexual assault happen in assisted living facilities across South Carolina every year.

Unlike nursing homes, assisted living facilities in South Carolina are licensed as Community Residential Care Facilities (CRCFs) and are subject to different regulatory standards. But the duty to provide competent, safe care is the same, and when that duty is breached, South Carolina law allows families to hold the facility and its ownership accountable.

Hughey Law Firm represents families in assisted living abuse and neglect cases throughout South Carolina, including in Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Greenville, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, and Spartanburg. We have recovered over $300 million in verdicts and settlements and have resolved multiple assisted living cases with recoveries exceeding $1 million. Call us today at (843) 881-8644 for a free, confidential consultation. We only get paid if you get paid.

Common Problems in Assisted Living Facilities

• Inadequate staffing: Many ALFs operate with fewer staff per resident than nursing homes. When staff is stretched thin, residents do not receive the supervision, medication management, or personal care they need.
• Falls and mobility injuries: Residents in ALFs are often more mobile than nursing home residents but still require assistance. Without proper fall-prevention protocols, hip fractures, head injuries, and other fall-related harm are common.
• Medication mismanagement: Staff at ALFs may not be licensed nurses, yet they are responsible for managing residents’ medications. Errors in dosage, timing, and drug interactions can have serious consequences.
• Failure to monitor health changes: Assisted living staff may miss or ignore changes in a resident’s condition that require medical attention, leading to preventable hospitalizations or death.
• Elopement and wandering: Residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s may leave the facility unsupervised, putting them at risk of injury, exposure, or death.
• Emotional abuse and isolation: Verbal intimidation, social isolation, and neglect of residents’ emotional needs are forms of abuse that can cause serious psychological harm.

Types of Assisted Living Abuse Cases We Handle

• Physical Abuse: Hitting, shoving, rough handling, and improper use of physical or chemical restraints
• Neglect: Failure to provide meals, hydration, hygiene assistance, medication management, or supervision
• Emotional and Psychological Abuse: Threats, ridicule, isolation, and verbal attacks
• Sexual Abuse: Any non-consensual sexual contact with a resident

Why Assisted Living Cases Require Specialized Legal Knowledge

Assisted living abuse cases differ from nursing home cases in important ways. The regulatory framework is different, the staffing requirements are different, and the standard of care expected of an ALF versus a skilled nursing facility is different. Insurance companies exploit these differences to argue that ALFs should be held to a lower standard. That argument is wrong, and our attorneys know how to defeat it.

Hughey Law Firm investigates assisted living abuse cases by reviewing DHEC inspection reports, facility staffing records, resident care agreements, incident reports, and medical records. We work with experts in geriatric care, nursing standards, and facility management to demonstrate exactly where the facility fell short and how that failure harmed your loved one.

Compensation Available in Assisted Living Abuse Lawsuits

South Carolina law allows families to pursue both economic and non-economic damages when a loved one has been harmed by abuse or neglect in an assisted living facility. Recoverable damages include:

• Medical bills for treating injuries sustained because of abuse or neglect
• Cost of transferring the patient to another care facility
• Therapy and physical rehabilitation
• Reimbursement for damaged or stolen belongings
• Pain and suffering the victim experienced
• Emotional distress experienced by the victim and their family
• Funeral expenses in wrongful death cases