Family sues department store after woman's body left in bathroom for 4 days

LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WACH) — The family of Bessie Durham, a woman found dead at a South Carolina Belk department store in 2022, announced a lawsuit against the store Tuesday.

Durham worked for a company that provided housekeeping services for the store and passed away in the restroom.

Officials said her body wasn't discovered until four days later.

The lawsuit claims that Belk failed to inspect the restrooms and failed to properly hire contractors to inspect and clean restrooms. Also claiming that the store failed to supervise the contractors made sure the cleaning and inspections were done properly.

The lawsuit seeks damages for the family's pain and suffering, as well as other costs the family experienced.

Durham's family could smell her body at the funeral due to the advanced decomposition of her body, according to the complaint.

The family alleges that they were not able to bury her properly.

Her family is represented by attorneys Chris Hart, Seth Rose and Justin Bamberg.