KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Knox County woman said her spouse died because he had dementia, drank detergent and died of poisoning in a lawsuit filed against Prosperity Pointe.
The assisted living and memory care facility has a memory care floor, and Benny McDaniel lived on that floor, the complaint said. McDaniel had Alzheimer's disease and dementia, the lawsuit said.
On March 19, 2023, McDaniel's family said in the lawsuit he got access to the laundry room and drank laundry detergent. He died of poisoning on March 28, 2023, the complaint said.
The family argues in the complaint that Prosperity Pointe knew the door to the laundry room was broken. Prosperity Pointe "therefore, created the dangerous condition," which allowed McDaniel to "access and drink laundry detergent," the family said in the complaint.
AARP said the laundry room can pose dangers to dementia patients. A study by Consumer Reports showed between 2012 and 2017, eight people died from ingesting laundry pods. Six of them were adults. All six had dementia.
"A lot of cases with dementia and Alzheimer's, folks don't have the same sense of taste or smell as they did," said Robert Naylor, communications director for AARP Tennessee. "What looks like candy doesn't necessarily taste awful when ingesting it."
The lawsuit said Prosperity Pointe was negligent based on Tennessee law, and the assisted living facility showed "intentional and reckless disregard for safety." The McDaniel family has asked a jury to award them a sum of $9 million in the wrongful death case.
Tennessee's Health Facilities Commission regulates and licenses health facilities in Tennessee. Katie Thomas, a senior policy advisor, said the commission had not received a complaint about McDaniel's death.
Thomas said an investigation in 2022 reported deficiencies in the areas of documentation of vaccines, required signatures on reviews, hot water temperatures and resident records.
Prosperity Pointe was fined $10,000 in 2020 because someone died in their care. Records show a hospice patient with dementia was found in his room, dead, with his head stuck between the bed rail and the mattress.
Through their attorney, Prosperity Pointe did not want to comment on this story.