Lawsuit: SC state agency responsible for ‘clinical neglect,’ death of elderly Longs woman
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A lawsuit filed Thursday alleges the S.C. Department of Social Services is responsible for the abuse and neglect of an elderly Horry County woman, who police said endured “long and painful suffering before death.”
Theresa Ortiz said the state agency failed to properly investigate the suspected abuse and neglect of her mother, Bobbie Jean Ortiz, who died from clinical neglect in 2020 in Longs, according to an arrest warrant.
Horry County police charged David Constantine, 45, with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.
Constantine was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center Nov. 2, 2021, according to jail records.
Constantine was the caretaker of Bobbie Jean Ortiz, 79, according to the lawsuit.
Theresa Ortiz, court-appointed representative of her mother’s estate, filed the lawsuit in Horry County court against the state agency.
When reached for comment via email, DSS spokesperson Danielle Jones said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
Bobbie Jean Ortiz was “not in good health” and was being care for by Constantine at her home on Della Road in Longs.
On Jan. 13, 2020, Theresa Ortiz reported to the DSS that her mother, a vulnerable adult, was being abused and neglected by her caregiver, according to the lawsuit.
The next day, Theresa Ortiz, who lives in New York, requested that the agency call her back and update her on the outcome of their investigation.
Theresa Ortiz never heard from DSS officials, she said in the suit.
In August 2020, she called the department again, according to court documents. She asked about her report and was “simply told that the case had been closed.”
Theresa Ortiz told the DSS employee she was still concerned that her mother was being abused and neglected, but the employee did not make a new report, according to the lawsuit.
On Dec. 23, 2020, Bobbie Jean Ortiz was taken to the emergency room at McLeod Seacoast in Little River, where she died, the lawsuit says.
Medical staff “noticed that she had been severely neglected” and called police.
An autopsy revealed evidence of clinical neglect with “extensive psoriaform rash with areas of ulceration which appeared to be totally unkempt” and not cared for.
The autopsy also noted evidence of “clinical nutritional neglect and ongoing hypothermia.”
Bobbie Jean Ortiz’s manner of death “caused her tremendous pain and suffering over a long period of time,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit alleges that DSS owed Bobbie Jean Ortiz a duty to assess the need for immediate protective measures to prevent further harm to her; to investigate the reports made by people concerned for her well-being; and to remove her from her home if she was in danger living there.
DSS failed its duty to Bobbie Jean Ortiz and was “grossly negligent” in failing to protect her, the suit says. It also alleges the agency’s conduct was a proximate cause of her death.
Because of DSS’s negligence, Bobbie Jean Ortiz experienced “extreme pain and suffering prior to her death,” the lawsuit alleges.
Theresa Ortiz asks the DSS to reimburse hospital and funeral expenses.
Heather Hite Stone, an attorney based in Abbeville, S.C., is representing Theresa Ortiz in court.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 3:37 PM.
