Nursing Homes Abuse Blog - By Jonathan Rosenfeld

AARP, filed a 'friend of the court' brief in a wrongful death lawsuit pending in New Mexico.  The brief is intended to provide supplement information to the court regarding an injured nursing home resident's ability to pursue a nursing home negligence lawsuit in court as opposed to binding arbitration as stipulated to in a nursing home admission agreement. 

Roswell Senior Living, the owner of a nursing home in New Mexico filed a motion to dismiss a nursing home negligence lawsuit filed by the family of a deceased nursing home resident.  Roswell claims any disputes involving nursing home injury or death, should be resolving via arbitration as stipulated by admission paperwork. AARP has taken a position, supportive of the family bringing the lawsuit that the arbitration clause should be held invalid because of the unequal bargaining position and an injured person's right to jury trial.

Many unsuspecting nursing home residents sign arbitration agreements when they are admitted to the facility.  Little do they know that should they become injured due to the negligence of the facility they could be forced to forgo their right to a jury trial and damages.  Arbitration's have generally been used to resolve business disputes, behind closed doors in a private forum.  Because no court actually hears the matter, many discovery, evidentary and procedural rights are curtailed.  The curtailment of rights usually adversely impacts the injured party.

Fortunately, many State Courts have recently held these binding arbitration agreements to be invalid, and allow injury nursing home residents to pursue claims for damages in court.  We will keep blog readers posted the outcome of this case.

Nursing Home Injury Laws: New Mexico

In situations where there has been a specific incident involving a serious injury or abuse, the nursing home resident themselves or their family will seek out the advice of a nursing home attorney for representation.

The majority of nursing home neglect cases are far more subtle and many people are hesitant to seek out an attorney.  The best rule of thumb is to trust your instinct.  If something doesn't seem right--it's probably not.  Because most cases of nursing home neglect involve ongoing mistreatment, it is important to contact an attorney when you begin to suspect the nursing home may be treating your loved one improperly. 

Pay attention to the physical signs.  Most elderly are hesitant to report situations involving nursing home abuse or neglect and may be scared to confront the people responsible for providing their care.  Patterns of injury should not be tolerated.  Repeated falls, bruising, cuts or infection deserve to to investigated as they are easily preventable situations that are indicative of staffing problems at a facility.

Statute of limitations, or specific time allotments, govern how much time one has to bring a lawsuit against the nursing home or long-term care facility.  Statute of limitations may provide years for pursuing a cause of action.  However, the sooner an attorney is contacted, the sooner an investigation can be started to determine what may have caused the injury or abuse.  Many cases involving nursing home abuse, neglect or injury require the review of extensive medical records and expert witness consultation--time consuming practices to say the least. 

Even in situations where there may seem to be a lack of evidence to prove neglect on the part of the nursing home, an experienced nursing home attorney will be able to sort through the evidence and determine if there is a case and how to proceed.  Most nursing home attorneys work on a contingency fee, meaning they only receive a fee if they are successful in obtaining compensation for the injured party.  No out of pocket expenses are required on behalf of the client. 

There has been a recent trend, in some situations involving severe injury, where the nursing home or hospital may seem to take responsibility for an injury.  Representations may be made by the staff at these facilities that they will 'do whats right' to remedy the situation.  Don't be lulled into believing this song.  Rarely --if ever -- do these individuals really have the interests of the injured party in mind.  Moreover, without the consult of an attorney well versed in what damages an injured person is entitled to receive, the nursing home or hospital will use its uneven bargaining position in its favor.

If you or a loved one suspect the nursing home, long-term care facility, home nurse or hospital may have caused or contributed to an injury or situation involving abuse, why not speak to an attorney who has your interests in mind without any charge to you?

Resource:

Nursing Home Injury Laws

The following is a recent article I authored for the Senior Home Care Blog.  Senior Home Care Blog is a valuable source of information for caregivers to people who suffer from Alzheimer's, stroke, MS and other brain impairing conditions.  I highly reccommend this blog as a great resource to all home care providers and nursing home staff.

At some point, most Alzheimer’s patients will spend time in a nursing home or assisted living facility.  Whether, the stay is a temporary or permanent in nature, the special needs of Alzheimer’s patients must be recognized and evaluated before the person is placed into a nursing home environment.  There are no specific nursing home regulations in place for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.  Consequently, the burden of selecting an appropriate facility falls squarely on the shoulders of the family or close friends.  The following is general ‘game plan’ that can be used by families of people with Alzheimer’s, dementia or traumatic brain injury to aid in the selection of a temporary or permanent nursing home.

Before any change in living arrangements is contemplated, a complete physical and mental assessment of you loved one should be completed.  A candid discussion of the individuals needs should be done in the presence of the family and caregivers.  Try to decide what the person is really capable of an in what areas the person needs assistance. Honesty is crucial.  An open and honest discussion will help with the selection of a facility, but will also help the staff at the facility a baseline get an idea of your loved one’s needs. 

 Initial selection of a nursing home or long-term care facility for an Alzheimer’s patient is no different from the selection of a nursing home for a non-Alzheimer’s patient.  The first step is to do some research about the facilities via friends or on the internet. I suggest the Medicare website (http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Include/DataSection/Questions/SearchCriteria.asp?version=default&browser=Safari%7C2%7CMacOSX&language=English&defaultstatus=0&pagelist=Home&CookiesEnabledStatus=True) as a starting point.  You can see on-line where the facilities are located and what services they offer.

 After conducting some initial fact gathering about the facilities, a visit to the facility is a must.  Do not risk the safety and happiness of your loved one at a facility without physically visiting the facility. Before deciding on a facility at least two visits are in order.  The first visit should be a scheduled visit to get a tour from the staff.  If the initial visit passes muster, a second unannounced visit should be made.  The second visit will likely be more telling than a carefully coordinately tour.  Do not hesitate to talk with the staff during your visits.  You can learn a lot about the facility depending on their attitude and demeanor.  Unhappy staff is usually indicative of unhappy residents.

 Unlike most nursing homes that care for the elderly, nursing homes that care for Alzheimer’s patients and those suffering from a brain injury needs to take precaution to reduce the risk of residents harming themselves and others.  Nursing homes for Alzheimer’s patients should have specialized design considerations to help ensure the individual’s safety and happiness.  Facilities should:

-       Place restrictions on in-and-out privileges for residents.  Safeguards to prevent elopement (http://www.nursinghomesabuseblog.com/2008/07/articles/elopement-wandering/elopement/) and wandering (http://www.nursinghomesabuseblog.com/2008/07/articles/elopement-wandering/wandering/)—common sources of injury to Alzheimer’s residents.

-       Require each visitor to sign in.  Mentally impaired residents are disproportionately physically and sexually abused compared with the general nursing home population.

-       Bracelets and alarms.  Does the facility have a tracking system or alarm for residents who have a tendency to wander?  Depending on the mobility of the individual, a surveillance bracelet should be used to keep track of the person.

-       The facility should have clearly marked walkways inside and outsides the facilities. The walkways should be well lit, have directional signage with diagrams as opposed to written diagrams.

-       Have a circular configuration. Alzheimer’s patients get particularly frustrated when encountered by dead-ends and right angles.

Staffing Is The #1 Consideration

‘Does the facility regularly handle people with Alzheimer’s?’  This is an important question to ask, because the most important factor in your loved ones happiness and safety will be dependent on how much experience the facility has in dealing with Alzheimer’s patients.  Seek out a facility that focuses exclusively on Alzheimer’s care or has a specialized unit for residents with Alzheimer’s. If the facility houses both Alzheimer’s and non-Alzheimer’s patients, precautions should be in place to control both groups access to the other.  Though it may seem segregationalist, depending on the level of functionality, most Alzheimer’s patients should be kept together for their own safety.

 Most incidents involving nursing home injury occur due to staffing problems.  Don’t be afraid to ask some or all of the following:

-       Does the facility require / provide any specialized Alzheimer’s training for the staff?

-       Does the facility do backgrounds checks on all employees?

-       What is the policy for alerting a family member to an incident?

-       What is the policy for physical and / or drug restraints?

-       What is the facilities toileting policy? Are diapers changed regularly or does the facility only change on a schedule?

-       How does the facility ensure that resident’s eat?  Do they have staff to monitor what is and is not eaten?

-       What is the resident / staff ratio?  A general rule is 1:6 for staffing during the day.

Jonathan Rosenfeld is a lawyer in Chicago that concentrates his practice in representation of victims of nursing home abuse and neglect throughout the country.  Jonathan author’s the Nursing Homes Abuse Blog.  The blog contains information useful to families of nursing home residents and attempts to answer many frequently encountered questions regarding nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Jonathan is available to discuss all aspects of nursing home care.  You may reach him at Jonathan@rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com or toll-free (888) 424-5757.

Glenwood Gardens, a California retirement community was fined $100,000 by the California Department of Public Health following the death a resident who choked to death on a ketchup packet in 2006.  The 84-year-old man lived at the facilities skilled nursing facility because he suffered from dementia and had breathing difficulties.  The ketchup packet was wedged in the back of the man's throat by a mortuary embalmer.  Investigators determined the staff at the facility were aware of the man's propensity to eat non-edible objects and failed to formulate a plan to prevent the man from ingesting the ketchup packet.  Read more about this incident involving nursing home neglect here.

What makes this incident particularly inexcusable is that it occurred at a facility that concentrates in providing skilled nursing care to Alzheimer's and dementia patients.  It is a common problem for Alzheimer's Had the facility taken the basic precaution of removing non-edible objects from the residents meal tray this incident would likely not have occurred.  Moreover, had the staff properly monitored this man as he ate, the choking should have been caught and the ketchup packet removed from the man's throat.

Glenwood Gardens is part of Brookdale Senior Living communities.  Brookdale is the largest owner and operator of senior living communities in the United States.  Brookdale owns more than 550 senior living and retirement communities and houses more than 50,000 residents.  There are many Brookdale facilities throughout Illinois.

A mentally and physically disabled woman walked out of an Maple Crest Manor, an assisted living facility in St. Louis, MO,  and unknown to the facility boarded a bus to Chicago, IL.  The woman left the assisted living facility for what the staff suspected would be 'a long walk'.  After several hours passed without sight of the woman, the facility contacted the woman's legal guardian who then alerted police.

Chicago police called local Missouri authorities after finding the woman's name on the national database for missing and endangered people.  The woman was brought by authorities safely back to the facility in St. Louis.  No charges were filed against the assisted living facility or the legal guardian.  

Authorities report the woman has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old.  This begs the question: Would you let your 7-year-old walk around unsupervised?  Clearly, this incident should have been prevented with the adoption of a more restrictive leave policy for residents.  

Read the full story regarding this incident involving elopement at an assisted living facility here.

In a new twist on the widely reported under-staffing in many nursing homes, some families of nursing home residents have chosen to provide supplemental care for their family members by hiring private sitters.  Similar to baby sitters, the senior sitters are intended to provide additional supervision and assistance for individual nursing home residents.  Because these senior sitters are not employees of the nursing homes, they are not regulated or subject to background checks.

The story of a senior sitter, who sexually assaulted several nursing home residents made headlines, recently.  The incident will hopefully increase public awareness about all visitors to nursing homes.  No matter how harmless or well intentioned a visitor may seem, nursing homes must take basic steps to safeguard the well being of their residents.  Nursing homes should not only keep an accurate record of visitors, but they should also keep track of the visitors whereabouts while they are in the facility.  Read more about this sad incident involving sexual assault in a nursing home here.

I have been getting some really good questions from blog readers.  Some are very unique, most are questions that consistently arise in cases involving nursing home abuse and neglect.  I have added a new 'Frequently Asked Questions' category to blog to hopefully provide an easy source to reference information.  

I will be periodically be posting more questions and responses.  No full names will be used to protect the identity of blog readers.  Further, I encourage you to contact me to discuss your specific situation. Many questions may seem similar, but as cliche as it sounds, every case is really unique.  

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"What are the legal aspects if a nurse treats a DNR as a Do Not Treat document? If a person has a correctable problem and fails to treat it or notify the doctor, because they have a DNR status? I am doing a research paper and I need documentation for at least an answer to this question. Please Email me soon if you can help. Thank You, Amie"

Amie-

As far as I am concerned, there really is no such thing as a 'do not treat order'.  A 'do not treat order' amounts to physicians and nurses withholding medical treatment for a treatable medical condition. A DNR applies the use of artificial, life-prolonging medical treatment when a person has a terminal disease or is in the end-stage of life. 

If a nurse fails to provide treatment or notify a doctor for a correctable problem because the patient has a DNR order in their chart, the facility is responsible for the fallout.  The nurse is clearly ignoring the intent of DNR orders.  (Because the nurses are employees of the nursing homes, the nursing home is responsible for the acts of their agents)

There have been situations recently that I am aware of in nursing homes where the facilities have been hit with huge verdicts / entered into large settlements for withholding medical treatment that resulted in death.  There was a recent Florida case where the nursing home settled a case for roughly 10 million when the staff let a woman bleed to death following a fall in the facility.  The nurses misinterpreted a DNR order as 'do not treat'.

Hope this helps.  Good luck on the paper.  Let me know if you have further questions.

Jonathan Rosenfeld

Does the government turn a blind eye to the large elderly and disabled population living in nursing homes?  Why does the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) specifically not reimburse hospitals for 10 'reasonably preventable' conditions related to improper care when nursing homes continue to provide the same inadequate care without reprocussion?

Steve Gold, at the JF Activist blog raises these issues in his recent post, 'Stop Paying Nursing Homes That Injure Elderly and Disabled People.'  Steve points out that as (CMS) has begun the crackdown on hospital safety, nursing homes continue to receive poor marks in national surveys.  In 1998, 81% of nursing homes were cited for at least one deficiency during CMS inspections.  By 2001, the number of nursing homes cited for deficiencies had risen to 89%.  In the most recent CMS survey, in 2007, the percentage of nursing homes receiving violations has increased to 91%.

Even more outrageous is the increase in 'immediate jeopardy' and 'actual harm' violations--the most serious-- handed to nursing homes by CMS.  The percentages of 'immediate jeopardy' violations has risen from 1.4% in 1998, 2.3% in 2001, to 17% in 2007.  To give people an idea of what these safety violations entail, Gold cites 2007 CMS OSCAR data:

• 19.1% of nursing facilities had residents with avoidable pressure sores, and the nursing facilities received deficiencies for failing to meet the federal standard.  Up from 17.2% in 2001.
• 11.8% of nursing facilities imposed physical restraints on residents for purposes of discipline or convenience and not required by the residents' medical symptoms, and they received deficiencies for this category.  Up from 11.0% in 2001.
• 19.2% of nursing facilities had failed to prevent incontinence in residents and to restore bladder functioning as much as possible to residents, and the nursing facilities received deficiencies. Up from 12.0% in 2001.
• 7.0% of nursing facilities failed to provide residents with acceptable nutrition to maintain their body weight, and the nursing facilities received deficiencies.  Down from 8.4% in 2001.
• 37.9% of nursing facilities failed to ensure residents with environments "free of accident hazards" to "prevent unexpected and unintended injury," and the facilities received deficiency citations.  Up from 22.1% in 2001.
• 6.6% of nursing facilities failed to provide residents with appropriate range of motion services to those people who required such services, and the nursing facilities received deficiencies.  Down from 8.1% in 2001.
• 16.6% of nursing facilities failed to promote residents' care in a manner and in an environment that maintains or enhances the residents' dignity and respect for the individual resident, and the nursing facilities received deficiencies for violating the federal standard.  Down from 17.3% in 2001.

Gold rightly feels that there is a double standard being applied to elderly and disabled nursing home residents.  Most of the safety problems would never be tolerated in a hospital setting, yet we continue to allow them to occur nursing homes.  Until our society puts a premium on helping the elderly, nursing home residents will not get the rights and safety they deserve.  It is unfortunate that our culture turns their head from the elderly and their living conditions.  If any of the above safety problems occurred in a nursery school people would be out in the streets in rage.  Until then, let watch the annual safety violations escalate. 

The JF Activist blog is published by The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD).  AAPD is the largest national nonprofit cross-disability member organization in the United States, dedicated to ensuring economic self-sufficiency and political empowerment for the more than 50 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD works in coalition with other disability organizations for the full implementation and enforcement of disability nondiscrimination laws, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

This week my office was contacted by the family of a man who had a stage IV bedsore on his head.  The man was a resident at a well-known Chicago nurising home for several years.  Bedsores are caused by unrelieved pressure or friction on a patients body.  If left untreated, the bedsores can develop from a minor skin irritation to a major would quickly.  Due to their 'open' nature, bedsores can easily become infected.  Bedsores are graded according to their severity, I, II, III and IV, with a stage IV being the most severe.

What makes this situation uniquely horrific is that bedsores generally develop in areas of the body where pressure relief is not always possible-- the buttocks, back or heels.  Because most nursing home residents lay in bed with pillows and and propped up for meals and washings, development of a bedsore on the head is a particularly frightening finding.

The development of a bedsore on the head essentially screams out the fact that this nursing home could care less about this person.  Even though this resident was bed-bound and fed through a feeding tube, the development of a pressure sore on his head should have been noticed if at no other time than when the staff changed the sheets?  This facility should be ashamed of itself and every person who works there.  I will keep you posted as to developments in this incident involving a new low in nursing home care.

Catheter related urinary tract infections are the most frequently encountered infection amongst people in nursing homes.  Generally, the longer a catheter is in place, the more likely an infection will develop.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infection rates range from 1% to 5% after a single brief catheterization to virtually 100% rate of infection for long-term catheter uses. 

The urinary tract is composed of the kidneys and urethra.  As a rule, the 'higher up' the infection, the more serious it is.  A lower urinary tract infection affects the urethra and bladder and can usually be treated easily with antibiotics.  An infection in the upper urinary tract is more severe and affects the kidneys (pyelonephritis) and requires extensive medical treatment.  Once a urinary tract infection reaches the kidneys, it must be closely monitored or it may spread to other areas of the body. An advanced urinary tract infection may result in kidney failure and death.

What are the symptoms of a catheter associated urinary tract infection?

• Painful urination
• Tenderness above the pubic bone
• Decreased appetite
• Inbalance, frequent falls
• Increased heartbeat

If there is such a high rate of infection, why is a catheter associated urinary tract infection on the 'never list'?

Most urinary tract infections are preventable with the implementation of basic sanitation.  Further, upper urinary tract infections are preventable with early detection and treatment.  Below are safeguards recommended by the CDC:

• Provide education to hospital and nursing home staff on proper catheter insertion technique
• Only catheterize when necessary
• Wash hands
• Use sterile equipment
• Use closed drainage bags
• Take regular urine samples
• Observe the color, clarity, and smell of draining urine
• Keep residents with urinary tract infections separate from other non-infected residents

As you can see, most of the prevention guidelines are extremely basic,  There is no excuse for facilities that fail to implement of urinary tract infection prevention techniques.  

 The second most frequently encountered 'never event' is an infection from a central venous catheter.  Infections due to improperly maintained and inplanted central venous catheters accounted for 29,536 cases in hospitals in 2007.  A central venous catheter is a tube usually inserted in an arm or chest and threaded through a vein until it reaches a large vein close to the heart.  Central venous catheters are used to administer medication, supply nutrition or blood products.  

There are three main types of central venous catheters:

• PICC Line: A 'peripherally inserted central catheter.'  PICC's are the most common type of central venous catheter accounting for more than 50% of the vascular catherizations because it may be inserted relatively easily.  PICC's are inserted into a vein in the arm as opposed to the neck or chest.
• Tunneled Catheter: A surgically inserted catheter in the neck or chest and is passed under the skin.  Only the end of the catheter is visible through the skin.  Passing the catheter under the skin allow people greater mobility and helps the catheter stay in place.
• Inplanted Port Catheter: Similar to the tunneled catheter, but the entire catheter is left under the skin.  Medication must be injected through the skin and into the catheter.

More than 40% of bloodstream infections are accounted for in people with central venous catheters. An estimated 1% to 5% of people with central venous catheters who get an infections die from them. In order to reduce the likelihood of infection, the following should be done:

• Use sterile technique when working with a person who has a central venous catheter.
• Clean the exposed area of the catheter on a regular basis.
• Dressings should be changed at a minimum of every week.
• The catheter should be flushed regularly.
• The exposed end of the catheter should be routinely check for inflammation and discoloration--the early signs of a potential infection.

Basic maintenance and observation should be part of all hospital and nursing home patients routine.  If you have acquired a blood infection during your hospital or nursing home stay, do not assume that your condition was inevitable.  For more information on infections of central vascular catheters this is a useful article.

As of October 1, 2008 Medicare is no longer reimbursing hospitals for reasonably preventable medical errors.  The medical facilities will similarly no longer be able to charge patients directly for medical care resulting in errors.  Called 'never events'--because the medical errors were never intended to occur, the below is a list of the never events and well as their reported frequency in 2007.  The below chart was published in The New York Times article on 'never events.'

We at The Chicago Nursing Home Law Blog applaud this important development towards improving patient safety.  We will soon be highlighting each of the ten 'never events' with individual posts. 

I just started going throug this infomative blog Nurisng Home & Hospital Surveyor Blog.  The blog is written by a nurse and nursing home investigator.  Just looking at the most recent post, I can tell that this site is going to have a ton of valuable information related to nursing home care.  I will report more info soon.

Four employees of the Medford Multicare Center for Living in Suffolk, NY have been charged with criminal neglect and falsifying business records.  New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced the charges following six weeks of video surveillance at the nursing home in 2007.  The nurses are accused of failing to move and turn over a patient for up to seven hours at a time, denying the patient water and left him sitting in his own waste.  Felony charges were also filed relating to falsifying medical records claiming they administered heart medication when the nursing home was actually had the medication out of stock.  The nurses were released without bail and are due back in court on March 20. Read more about this case involving alleged nursing home neglect here.

Failing to turn a patient and skipping a dosage of medication may seem like minor variations and have little impact on patient care.  The reality is that these seemingly minor deficiencies can have tragic results.  Failing to clean and turn a bed bound patient can lead to the rapid development pf pressure sores.  Similarly, failing to administer medication may result in other medical problems.  Once again, perhaps 'hidden cameras' should become the norm in nursing homes to both protect patients and vindicate wrongfully charged nursing home staff.

Eyes On Living had an interesting blog post recently 'Florida Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuits Increasing Thanks To Aggressive Lawyers.'  The article is a little tongue in cheek with respect to how attorneys want to help victims out of the kindness of their own heart, but the author does acknowledge that lawsuits filed in states with a substantial elderly population has actually improved the quality of nursing home care.

This got me thinking about the impact of nursing home litigation has on the overall care received by nursing home residents.  Do nursing home lawsuits have an impact on the quality of nursing home care?  The answer, in my eyes, is a resounding 'yes'. 

Sure, we all hear about juries awarding people with superficial injuries large awards and the recipients going out and spending their awards on lavish things.  The reality of the overriding majority of nursing home injury cases, it that many of these people have been downright neglected or abused and their lives have been forever changed by the acts of nursing homes for the worse.

For many victims of nursing home abuse and neglect their golden years have become anything but happy and satisfying.  Too often, the lives of seniors have been cut short or painfully altered by the acts of facilities that were intended to care for them.  

The purpose of the Nursing Home Care Act in Illinois is similar to laws in place in Florida and Texas--it is intended to help residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities from being taken advantage of and ultimately injured.  These laws also allows for attorneys to recover their legal fees if they are successful in their case against the nursing home.

Bad nursing homes are being forced to change their ways.  Many facilities that once cut corners with respect to patient safety can longer do so or they face claims and lawsuits for serious injury.  If improving patient safety and care means that some facilities are forced to close their doors, in the long run we all will be better off.  

Excuse me while I go look look for a billboard...

 "How long do I have to bring a case against a negligent nursing home?"

The answer depends on where the incident took place.  The time to bring a lawsuit against the a nursing home is governed by the statute of limitations where the incident occurred.  Most states have specific statute of limitations for personal injury and nursing home cases.  The statute of limitations can vary tremendously by jurisdiction.  Some states have statute of limitations as short as one year from the date of the injury and other states permit a cause of action to be brought up to eight years from the date of the injury.  Statute of limitations are strictly interpreted.  If you fail to bring a lawsuit within the statute of limitations you will be forever barred from recovery.

This underlies the importance of contacting an experienced nursing home attorney shortly after an incident occurs.  Further, in many situations it is important to file a lawsuit far earlier than the statute of limitations allow in order to determine all of potentially responsible parties.

Resource:

Nursing Home Injury Laws

A client emailed me this disturbing You Tube video on pressure sores.  The video is graphic, but demonstrates the horrific pressure sores that may develop without proper nursing care.  The video has photos of:

• Pressure sores on hips
• Pressure sores on buttocks
• Pressure sores on feet
• Pressure sores on heels
• Pressure sores on elbows
• Pressure sores on head
• Pressure sores on back
• Pressure sores on neck

As the narrator says, if you have a pressure sore, it is likely the result of neglect.  If this pressure sore developed in a nursing home, long-term care facility or hospital, you likely have a case against them for improper care and are entitled to damages for the resulting medical treatment and pain and suffering amongst other legal rights.

Bed Sore FAQ

Nursing Home Injury Laws: Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, Decubitus Ulcers, Pressure Ulcers

The Elder Law Prof Blog prepared by Professor Kim Dayton, Director of the Center for Elder Justice and Policy at the William Mitchell College of Law, recently reported on a new service on the Medicare website for elder caregivers.  The new Medicare website provides useful information to help home caregivers with questions such as:

• How to enroll in Medicare
• What doctors take Medicare?
• Are there alternatives to nursing homes?
• What billing forms need to be completed?
• How to choose a nursing home

Today there are more than 44 million Americans (one out of five) provide daily care for a chronically ill or aging loved one, friend, or neighbor.  The value of the care services is valued at $350 billion annually, according to AARP.

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The criminal case against two Portland nursing home employees gave me chills.  This case goes beyond nursing home neglect and enters the realm of nursing home cruelty. According to reports, a nursing director is being charged with two charges of criminal mistreatment and a certified nursing assistant (CNA) is being charged with reckless endangerment for their inaction following the fall-related injury to a resident at the Gateway Care and Rehabilitation Center.

The nursing home employees allegedly waited five days before sending a 59-year-old resident to the hospital for medical treatment for her broken legs sustained in a fall.  The nursing home resident apparently fell while being transferred from her wheelchair to her bed with a lift. 

The nursing home staff tried to hide the incident from the resident's family.  Federal and state nursing home regulations were ignored as no incident report was completed following the fall.  Despite the fact that the nursing home resident was screaming in pain and nurses could hear popping sounds coming from the badly broken legs, no medical treatment was provided.  After five days of living in pain the resident was taken to a hospital where she died.

These criminal charges against the individual nursing home employees are separate from a lawsuit for wrongful death that the estate of the deceased woman is entitled to bring.  If these claims of nursing home neglect prove to be true the nursing home and its owners should be held fully responsible for fostering an environment where nursing home employees hold a code of silence to protect each other.