A group home in Florida has been sued after a resident allegedly contracted “flesh-eating” bacteria from a bite wound and lost two of his fingers.
Kelly Gray, the mother of 34-year-old David Nolan-Hersey, is seeking $100,000 in damages in her lawsuit against Tampa’s All About Living Inc., claiming staff were negligent in their care of her son, who has autism and an intellectual disability, per local outlet WFLA.
Nolan-Hersey moved into the group home in July 2025, and in October of that year, he was bitten on his hand by another resident, WFLA reported Tuesday, citing the lawsuit.
Shortly after, on October 31, 2025, Nolan-Hersey woke up sick and was “violently” throwing up, the lawsuit reviewed by the outlet, states.
That day, Jessica Espinosa, who runs the group home with her husband Eduardo, took a video of Nolan-Hersey while he was in bed and said to him, “You not feeling good, David?” according to the lawsuit. Gray’s son allegedly said, “Owie,” and pointed to his arm.
Nolan-Hersey did not receive medical treatment until the next day, at which point he had a temperature of 101.2 degrees and swelling in his right hand and arm, according to the lawsuit.
The Independent has reached out to All About Living Inc. for comment.
At Tampa General Hospital, Nolan-Hersey was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, commonly referred to as “flesh-eating” bacteria, according to the family’s attorneys, WFLA reports.
Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare, but serious bacterial infection that can rapidly turn into a life-threatening emergency, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC warns that people infected with necrotizing fasciitis need immediate medical care and that it can cause lifelong complications due to surgical removal of infected tissue.
Dr. Fritz Brink, a general surgeon in South Florida who did not treat Nolan-Hersey, told the Tampa Bay Times, “This is a rapidly progressing infection.”
“And since the treatment is surgical, the further the infection travels, the more surgery needs to be done in order to control the infection.”
Nolan-Hersey had to have two of his fingers amputated, and he permanently lost function in his right hand, the family’s attorneys said.
“The failures described herein were not isolated errors in judgement, but rather the foreseeable result of systemic understaffing, inadequate training, deficient supervision, and operational policies, practices, and procedures,” the lawsuit said.
