A West Ashley memory care facility has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit filed over a resident who developed severe pressure sores before her death, according to court records. The terms of the settlement involving Harmony at West Ashley were not disclosed in public filings, leaving unanswered how much the facility or its insurer agreed to pay the family of Judy Black.
Black had been a resident of Harmony at West Ashley since April 19, 2024, admitted for a dementia-related illness, according to the Post and Courier. She died on September 20, 2024, according to her obituary. The lawsuit, filed in 2025, accused the facility of having insufficient staff and failing to plan Black's care, alleging that the lack of staffing led directly to her pressure sores.
Settlement Terms Remain Sealed
Court records do not disclose the payment or any other conditions attached to the settlement. The settlement petition says Harmony at West Ashley was insured for up to $1 million per claim and $3 million in the aggregate. Brad Banyas, an attorney representing Black's family, did not respond to a request for comment on the settlement.
The available court record does not establish that Harmony admitted fault in Black's case, nor does it independently verify the lawsuit's allegations about staffing or care planning. It shows that the case has closed, but the settlement terms are not public.
Separate Litigation and Regulatory Records
The Black settlement is separate from other legal and regulatory matters involving Harmony at West Ashley. The Post and Courier has reported on several wrongful-death lawsuits in recent years. In one separate case, the family of Shelba Catterton sued after she died following an incident involving fire ants at the facility. The family's lawsuit alleges that Harmony delayed medical care after she was bitten.
A complaint filed in Charleston County Court of Common Pleas alleges that Catterton was last seen uninjured at about 10:30 p.m. on July 23, 2026, and was not found until roughly 12:15 a.m. the next day. The complaint also alleges that staff did not place the first and only 911 call concerning her until July 25, about 36 hours after they found her in the ant bed. These are claims in the family's filing, not court findings.
State Findings and an Earlier Inspection
Separately, the South Carolina Department of Public Health investigated Catterton's case and found seven violations of state regulations connected to her care, the Post and Courier previously reported. The department's findings described inadequate supervision and a failure to follow health-care-provider orders, among violations tied to the harm she suffered.
The department also found that Harmony did not notify it of the incident until August 10, 17 days after Catterton was injured, and required the facility to submit a plan of correction, according to the reported findings. The Catterton matter concerns a different resident and different allegations from Black's lawsuit; the records should not be read as findings about Black's care.
What State Oversight Records Show
The South Carolina Department of Public Health defines a community residential care facility as one that provides room and board and coordinates some personal care for two or more unrelated adults for more than 24 consecutive hours. In Catterton's case, the reported state response included requiring Harmony to submit a plan of correction; the information described here does not establish a broader process for every facility or deficiency. The department's definition of community residential care facilities does not itself describe that enforcement process.
The Post and Courier also reported that an April 2024 inspection found Harmony at West Ashley had failed to maintain adequate staffing, medical records and general cleanliness. That inspection predates both the Black and Catterton cases and was not tied directly to either lawsuit.
