LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Carlton Palms Educational Center is facing problems again, this time over the death of 14-year-old autistic girl Paige Lunsford.
Lunsford died in July of last year just two weeks after she was admitted to the Lake County facility.
In a 22-page report, Florida Department of Children and Families investigators blamed Lunsford's death on medical neglect and inadequate supervision at the hands of Dr. Robert Lynch and nurse Bonnie Clugston.
Channel 9's Mario Boone has learned the Lake County Sheriff's Office has turned over its criminal file on the incident to the state attorney, who is considering a charge of manslaughter against caregivers.
One Carlton Palms employee told Boone that the findings weren't a surprise.
"I feel, as a caregiver, the concerns are not being heard from the executive perspective," the employee, who did not want to be identified, said.
Carlton Palms receives millions of dollars in state funding to house and care for people with special needs.
Since 2001, state investigators have received nearly 150 complaints of abuse or neglect.
There's a pending recommendation by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to fine Carlton $10,000 and halt intake of new patients.
"I agree, and until they fix the problems that are going on now it's going to continue to happen," the employee told Boone.
"Can Carlton Palms be saved? Can the problems there be fixed?" Boone asked the employee.
"They can be saved," the employee said.
Channel 9 reported on the center in July when an employee was accused of intentionally dousing a student with hot water, causing second-degree burns and blisters.
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