WINTER PARK, Fla. — The family of an Orange County woman is suing a retirement community in Winter Park. “What we feared most happened, it was devastating,” said Suzette Woten, daughter of 80-year-old Carol Webeking.
In 2017, Carol moved to Westminster Winter Park. At the time, she lived as an independent resident, which meant she could manage her life on her own, and even drive her own vehicle. But then her health started to deteriorate. “Initially, you notice things repeating the same story, things like that,” said Woten. “But over time, she wasn’t able to manage her medicine. She couldn’t use the phone.”
By 2023, Carol had been diagnosed with dementia. Medical records obtained by Channel 9 show the woman was hospitalized at AdventHealth in June of 2023; they also show she had “memory and judgment impairment.” Following doctors’ visits, the family claims they asked the facility to move the 80-year-old to assisted living, where she would be monitored and would not be allowed to drive.
Records from the retirement facility, signed by one of their nurses in May of 2023, confirm that Carol had cognitive issues at the time, only being aware of who she was but unaware of the time and place. “This facility knew that this was a patient who not only needed to be living in assisted living based on her cognitive decline, but certainly knew she never should have been driving,” said Scott Mitchell Fischer, Attorney at Gordon & Partners. “The issue of dementia patients operating motor vehicles is definitely an issue of public concern for all of us in the state of Florida, and I would like to hope that with a situation like this that hopefully can call attention to the problem and a disaster like this can be prevented in the future.”
The family says Carol was given her car keys, despite her medical condition. On July 28th, 2023, Carol was involved in a car crash at a plaza in Winter Park. Police records show that Carol sped up against the curb and hit a concrete wall. The woman was taken to the hospital in serious condition and died two days later. “You do you blame for this?”, Channel 9′s Geovany Dias asked Carol’s daughter. “The executive director who gave her keys back, knowing that she shouldn’t drive,” Woten said.
The family now wants the facility to be held responsible for the incident and says they hope her mother’s story doesn’t happen to other families. “I want them to be responsible and to change the practice so that this doesn’t happen to other you know, to other people.
Channel 9 reached out to Westminster Winter Park for comment. Via email, the company said, “Due to the pending litigation, we are unable to provide comments or a statement.”
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