As we age or develop certain health conditions, our dietary needs are likely to change. One of the most fundamental of these relates to the ability to safely swallow larger pieces of food. According to Injury Facts 2015, choking is the No. 4 cause of unintentional injury deaths in 2011,…
A consumer advocacy group is suing the state Health & Human Services Agency, alleging a systemic practice known as “patient dumping” – or illegally refusing to re-admit nursing home patients on the state subsidized healthcare program known as Medi-Cal after a hospital stay. The lawsuit, Anderson et al v. Dooley et…
The family of a Northeast Ohio woman who died while suffering infected pressure wounds – also known as “bedsores” – has prevailed in its $1 million lawsuit against the nursing home in which she resided at the time of her death. Plaintiffs had alleged the 71-year-old’s death was the result…
Trial of a $4 million nursing home negligence lawsuit has commenced, with representatives for the alleged victim asserting the people who were supposed to care for her were negligent in their duty, resulting in severe injury. According to court documents in Carmon-Rogers v. Sentara Life Care Corp., the patient, a…
Medicaid fraud is a widespread problem within the health care industry in Florida and nationwide. The issue is especially pervasive when it comes to elderly, and nursing home patients in particular. The reason is because these individuals often lack the ability to discern or report what is happening to them.…
A number of recent cases of falls in nursing homes across the country underscore the danger peril in which it places elderly residents, and also the wide scope of the problem. The first report follows a number of incidents at six nursing homes throughout Connecticut, where the state Department of…
A man from Delray Beach is suing a Boca Raton nursing home for negligence, alleging the staff contributed to the untimely death of his 72-year-old mother, who was staying at the facility while recuperating from pneumonia. According to a news report from the local ABC News affiliate, plaintiff asserts his…
Mandatory arbitration agreements have become a common staple in the nursing home admissions process. These documents are shoved in front of patients and/or their loved ones with little explanation of the fact that a signature amounts to the loss of significant civil rights in the event the patient is neglected…
Federal safety regulators have issued a reminder to the public regarding a previous recall of portable adult bed handles, which pose substantial risk of injury and death toward elderly and disabled individuals. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports at least four women have died using the L-shaped devices manufactured by…
Sepsis, which is also sometimes referred to as septicemia, is a life-threatening illness that occurs when bodily chemicals are released into the bloodstream to fight infection, and instead cause inflammation. Failure to deliver timely, appropriate treatment can result in septic shock, which leads to organ failure, brain damage and death.…