Group Homes Plagued By Patterns Of Abuse & Lack Of Employee Accountability
The New York Times ran a troubling article "At State-Run Homes, Abuse and Impunity" recently chronicling the abusive care-- and lack of accountability-- encountered by residents in the more than 2,000 group homes scattered throughout New York. Of the more than 13,000 cases of alleged abuse reported in 2009, less than 5% of the cases were transferred to law enforcement for follow-up. Just a handful of the cases reported to law enforcement resulted in criminal prosecutions or employee discipline. Rather, a strong group home employee union consistently opposed any abuse charges brought against employees-- even when the evidence presented against...
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Is This An Attempt To 'Control' A Patient? Or Is This Simply Another Attempt To Cover Up Abuse In A Group Home?
Too often in my world as a lawyer for the injured in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, I see a disconnect between the type of injury a client sustained versus the explanation provided by a facility. In other words, I've seen many facilities claim an injury, such as a complex leg or arm fracture is due simply to a patients 'old age' when in reality such injuries rarely occur absent trauma. Sure, its nice to think that as a diligent lawyer, I may be able to dig through the rubble (or medical records as is usually the...
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At Fraud Trial Involving A Home Health Agency, The Real Losers Are The Patients Who Miss Out On Care
A fraud trial pending in Federal Court in Philadelphia is providing glimpse into the sad world of fraud amongst home health care agencies. The trial involved four employees of MultiEthnic Behavior Services, Inc., a now defunct home health care agency, who were billing for home nursing services that they never provided. The fraud was discovered following the death of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly, a girl suffering from cerebral palsy, that MultiEthnic was responsible for caring for. An investigation into her death revealed that Danieal's case worker-- a MultiEthnic employee-- failed to provide medical care to her that they were charging for. ...
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Family Claims Assisted Living Facilities Neglect Resulted In Death Of Mentally Disabled Woman
The family of a 51-year-old woman with cerebral palsy has brought a lawsuit against the assisted living facility where she was a patient. The lawsuit alleges that Country Crossing Assisted Living Facility (Georgia) failed to properly care for the mentally disabled woman during the course of her four year stay and intentionally hid her physical condition from her family. The wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the assisted living facilities neglect resulted in severe malnourishment and advanced pressure sores. Quoting a nurse who used to work at the facility, the lawsuit further alleges that the facility failed to train new...
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Mentally Disabled Patients Are Easy Targets For Abuse In Institutional Settings
People who suffer from mental impairments are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation including physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. A mental impairment is any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome (diseases that cause decreased mental functions), emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities. Caregiving can be very stressful because caring for a person with a mental impairment can require a lot of time, work, and money. Sometimes this stress can cause caregivers to provide inadequate care or even abuse the mentally impaired person. This can put the mentally impaired at increased risk for neglect...
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