Nursing Home Lawsuits: Do they represent isolated events or are they representative of poor care?
One of the most frequent claims I hear from nursing homes and hospitals concerning pending litigation is how the lawsuits are simply isolated events and are not really indicative of the type of care that they provide to their patients. While such claims may indeed be very true at some facilities, the reality remains that rarely do facilities have their inferior care targeted upon one patient. Rather, I tend to see patterns of poor care and mistakes scattered amongst multiple patients at a facility. I recently read an disturbing article concerning the history of dangerous care provided to patients...
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Second Choking Event At Illinois Nursing Home Results In Fine From State
Officials from the Illinois Department of Public Health have imposed a $2,200 fine against North Church Nursing & Rehab after the facility failed to properly supervise a patient at the facility at mealtime and the patient choked to death on her food. The State Journal-Register reported that the investigation into the choking death was triggered by the Morgan County Coroner who was conducting an examination of the patient's body. Nearly two years before this incident, the same facility (then known as Golden Moments Senior Care Center) a similar incident occurred at the facility when a patient who was to be...
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Blacks Receive Inferior Care At Most Nursing Homes
A very informative, and frankly disheartening, investigative article on race in Chicago Nursing Homes was recently published in The Chicago Reporter. The article's author, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, concluded that black nursing home residents received inferior care compared to their counterparts in predominately white facilities-- even when the facilities were owned by the same person. Lowenstein analyzed the care rendered to residents at Alden Nursing Home, a well known chain of Chicago facilities owned by Floyd Schlossberg. Lowenstein obviously did his homework, he analyzed data from: the Illinois Department of Public Health's website, staffing levels on the Centers for Medicare and...
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Who Benefits From Damage Caps In Nursing Home Lawsuits?
Not surprisingly an article supporting damage caps in nursing home lawsuits was written by nursing home administrator, Carrie Ermshar in the Tennesseean.com. In her piece, Ermshar equates damages awarded to an injured person as a penalty against a nursing home. "We must ask ourselves a tough question: At the end of a lawsuit, who is really being punished?" Now, before anyone accuses me of taking Ms. Ermshar's comments out of context, I suggest you read her entire piece. Nonetheless, Ermshar's understanding of the reasoning behind nursing home litigation is off-base. Nursing home lawsuits are intended to compensate the injured party...
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Coincidence? Two Lawsuits Recently Filed Against Same Nursing Home
Bad nursing homes generally have a pattern of poor care. There will always be isolated incidents at even the most well staffed facilities. However, when repeated incidents occur within a brief period of time there are usually deeper problem with the facility. Case in point, two recent lawsuits were filed against the Devon Gables Health Care Center. The first lawsuit involves, Elfriedel Sitzman, a female resident who was not give adequate care following a stroke. The lawsuit claims that Sitzman fell and broke her arm in a fall during her stay at the facility from November through December, 2007. The...
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Big Verdicts Against Nursing Homes
Nursing home owners take note: no longer can providing poor care to elderly nursing home residents be part of 'doing business.' Take a look at some recent jury verdicts involving nursing home abuse and neglect. Imagine the owner of a nursing home writing these types of checks.... $324,000,000 Texas, Over $300 million in punitive damages for the death of elderly patient due to malnourishment and infected decubitus ulcers. $90,000,000 Texas, For the death of 90-year-old nursing home resident. $79,000,000 Arkansas jury award $54,000,000 New Mexico, Nursing home resident died from internal bleeding without any assistance from the nursing home staff. ...
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Juries Sending A Message To Nursing Homes
No longer can nursing home owners look at potential lawsuit settlements and jury verdicts as a cost of doing business. Juries are sending a message to nursing home owners by handing down large awards to elders who may be victims of poor care or neglect. This article also demonstrates the importance of nursing homes having adequate insurance coverage to satisfy a large verdict or settlement. This article appearing in the Association of Trial Lawyer's magazine addresses the new message being sent to nursing home owners. Below are excerpts from the article. A growing number of civil lawsuits over elder abuse...
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Should You Give Up Your Right To Trial?
One word--'No' As a lawyer who makes a living representing plaintiffs in personal injury related matters, my suggestion to demand a right to a jury trial probably comes at no surprise. Self-serving issues aside, our jury system (in the Civil setting) a place for those who have been wronged to obtain fair compensation for their injuries. Juries are composed of people from the plaintiff's community who make the decision of who get what and how much they are getting. The jury's award must be unanimous. Does the jury always make the 'right' decision? No. Does a jury always make a...
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