Resident died due to improper care at Horry Co. assisted living facility, lawsuit claims
A new medical malpractice lawsuit alleges an assisted living facility did not properly provide care for a resident after a fall, ultimately leading to her death.
Inlet Oaks Assisted Living, in Murrells Inlet, shut down abruptly in early 2025, and Capture Cares, the facility’s management company, are both named as defendants in the lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleges that after one of the facility’s residents, Kathryn Fudger, fell on March 16, 2023, and Inlet Oaks did not provide medical attention to Fudger despite knowing that she fell. The following day, Fudger was admitted to Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital after she expressed concerns about pain in her left hip.
Fudger was diagnosed with an impacted left hip fracture, and underwent a pinning of her left hip during her time at Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital. She spent five days at the hospital before being discharged on March 21, 2023.
Two months after her fall, Fudger was admitted to hospice through Angelic Health as she had never returned to the state of her health prior to the fall.
Fudger died in January 2024 as a result of the fall, the lawsuit alleges. Fudger was 75 when she died, according to her obituary.
An attorney representing Fudger’s estate did not respond to The Sun News’ request for comment before publication.
Previous violations, license issues
The lawsuit comes nearly a year and a half after Inlet Oaks shut down. The facility, as well as its sister facility Oaks of Loris Assisted Living, faced violations from the South Carolina Department of Public Health — then known as the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control — prior to closing.
Partners in Hope owned both Inlet Oaks and Oaks of Loris. After Partners in Hope’s board left in late 2022, Capture Cares assumed ownership of Partners in Hope and its facilities.
Inlet Oaks faced violations related to giving and organizing medicine between 2021 and 2023. In 2023, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control initially refused to renew the facility’s license after it missed the application deadline, but later agreed to renew the license after an appeal from Inlet Oaks.
Oaks of Loris, which has also since shut down but was owned by the same company, faced a longer list of violations during the same time period, including alive and dead insects throughout the facility, urine-like odors and soiled linens and clothing in residents’ rooms.
Inlet Oaks was listed for sale in September 2024, but after attempts to sell the facility were unsuccessful, it closed in early 2025. The facility announced the closure in early January, and residents had 30 days notice to relocate to different facilities.
Partners in Hope did not respond to The Sun News’ request for comment prior to publication.
This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Resident died due to improper care at Horry Co. assisted living facility, lawsuit claims."