Nursing Home Abuse is defined as repeated actions or the lack of appropriate action that causes harm or distress to an older person when in an institution or health care facility. It can take the form of physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse, among others. Cases may involve residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities who have suffered physical and/or psychological harm due to negligent or intentional acts of their caregivers. A nursing home abuse attorney may seek to hold a care facility liable based on legal theories like negligent screening and supervision of employees, or improper facility maintenance.
Riegelwood is an unincorporated town in Columbus County, North Carolina. On November 16, 2006 at 6:29 am EST, a tornado warning had been issued for eastern Columbus County, and prior to that a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the same area at 6:21 am. At 6:37, an F3 tornado struck a mobile home park and killed eight people, including two children, Danny Jacobs, 6 and Miguel Martinez, 13. Twenty people were injured. The tornado was a part of a 3-day long tornado outbreak in the south where four other deaths were reported. Riegelwood was one of the hardest hit areas. On Friday, November 17, 2006 an NOAA National Weather Service storm survey team assessed the tornado damage in Riegelwood and rated it at F3 on the Fujita scale for nearly a mile in Riegelwood, with winds approaching 200 mph (320 km/h). The maximum width of the tornado was 300 yards where the F3 damage occurred. The rest of the 7 mile (11 km) damage path was narrow, less than a 100 yards wide, and rated at F1 with winds less than 100 mph extending north across Columbus County into western Pender County. The Columbus County sheriff reported thirty homes destroyed in the F3 damage area, and another three structures were damaged in Pender County just west of Currie.