Statements of claim have been lodged against a Hunter Valley nursing home on behalf of the families of two residents, alleging negligence after they were murdered by a staff member in October 2013. Wallsend Summit Care nursing home worker Garry Steven Davis, 30, is currently serving a maximum 40 years jail after being found guilty in September 2016 of murdering Gwen Fowler, 83, and Ryan Kelly, 80 using lethal shots of insulin. He was also found guilty of attempted murder of another resident Audrey Manuel, 91, who was also given a lethal dose but survived, only to die later. Newcastle solicitor Lucy Wilk who is acting for the murdered residents’ families, filing statements of claim in the NSW District Court against Summit Care’s parent company Stelcom. “We act for two of the families who had family members murdered at the Summit Care facility at Wallsend and last week we filed statements of claim on behalf of those two families”, she said. “Once it is filed we are hoping to conclude within the next six or so months and give some closure to the families.” The trial of Davis heard that there was lax security on exit doors and medicine fridges at the nursing home. The Supreme Court was told insulin could be accessed by many staff members in an unlocked fridge. It was alleged that in one designated fridge, dips, milk and other food stuff were stored next to insulin.
