FAMILIES of two of the three aged care residents who were poisoned after they were injected with insulin are considering a negligence claim against SummitCare.
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Gwen Fowler, Ryan Kelly and Audrey Manuel were injected at SummitCare Wallsend aged care facility in October 2013, which caused all three residents to become hypoglycemic.
Ms Fowler, 83, died the following day, while Mr Kelly, 80, survived 10 days before he succumbed to the lethally low blood sugar levels. Ms Manuel was able to recover and passed away aged 92 in January, 2015.
Newcastle health litigation solicitor Catherine Henry of Catherine Henry Partners said she had been instructed by two of the families to investigate the viability of negligence claims against the aged care facility.
Ms Henry said any civil case against SummitCare would be based on it having breached its duty of care by not having safe medication management in place. She said the facility’s pre-employment screening procedures would also be assessed and may be part of a possible claim.
Former SummitCare employee Garry Steven Davis was formally arraigned on Friday in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney, where he appeared via video link to plead not guilty to murdering Ms Fowler and Mr Kelly.
Davis pleaded not guilty to a charge of administering a poison to Ms Manuel.
The court was told his four-week trial was expected to include expert evidence about the use and administration of insulin and that the prosecution brief runs to 9000 pages. Davis’s trial has been listed to commence in Newcastle on August 29.
