nursing home abuse

Published on: November 3, 2015

Nursing Home Worker Admits Sexual Abuse of Alzheimer’s Patient, Police Say

A nursing home worker in Missouri has allegedly admitted to police that he fondled a 92-year-old Alzheimer’s patient roughly 100 times before he was caught in her bed by other staffers earlier this year.

According to the probable cause statement, defendant was a nurse’s aid at the home. Victim, who is in the late states of Alzheimer’s disease, is described as “retracted,” usually curled up in a near fetal position. Her alleged attacker was immediately fired.

This kind of reprehensible violation against someone so vulnerable is difficult for many people to understand, let alone confront. Unfortunately, it’s more common than we’d like to believe. Sexual assault in general is a vastly under-reported and under-prosecuted crime. When the victim is aging, dependent and suffering from a disease like dementia, the reporting rate is even lower. The National Institute of Justice reported last year that sexual abuse is one of the most understudied aspects of elder mistreatment. Researchers discovered assailants were most likely to be charged with a crime when victims exhibited indications of physical trauma. That doesn’t describe the aftermath of many cases, though it doesn’t mean they were any less traumatic. Continue reading →

Published on: October 31, 2015

Advocacy Group to Feds: Stop Funding Predatory Nursing Homes

By Dean Freeman

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 or abused.

That means patients and their loved ones are denied justice, and the nursing homes can evade accountability.

Now, a legal advocacy group is pushing the federal government for forceful action on this issue. The group Public Justice has filed extensive comments with the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS), calling on the agency to cut funding to any nursing home that requires arbitration agreements. The agency is said to be seriously considering such action. Continue reading →

Published on: October 25, 2015

For-Profit Nursing Homes Jeopardize Patient Safety

By Dean Freeman

The patient was not yet 70. He’d had a stroke and was recovering at a Massachusetts for-profit nursing home. A week after he arrived, staffers dropped him while transferring him from a bed to a chair. Staffers called 911, but canceled the call when he seemed to stabilize. That night, though, he became unresponsive and he was rushed to a hospital. The fall had caused a brain bleed, and he died several days later.

His son hired a lawyer who thereafter discovered a pre-dispute arbitration agreement, as are forced in front of patients and loved ones upon admission, stripping them of the right to a civil trial if something goes wrong. Thankfully, the court found a provision in the agreement rendered it unenforceable.

But we are bound to see more cases like this, as a growing number of facilities are purchased by for-profit corporations, which then have almost complete control over our most fragile and vulnerable. These huge corporate entities amass major profits, and the business models are more geared toward making money than helping those who are gravely sick, physically disabled and cognitively impaired. Continue reading →

Published on: October 20, 2015

Report: Resident-on-Resident Abuse a Pervasive Problem in Nursing Homes

By Dean Freeman

Most families in search of a trustworthy nursing home in which to place loved ones are acutely aware of the possible dangers of abuse or mistreatment by staff. What they may be less attuned to is the danger posed by other residents.

They should know it is the duty of the nursing home to be aware of this potential, to guard against it and to address it immediately when it becomes known.

However, a new investigative report by the Buffalo News/ New America Media reveals one in every five residents experiences at least some form of aggression by another resident every month. Some of these conflicts involve stealing personal items. Some involve invading personal space. Others may escalate into verbal attacks or cursing. There may be sexually aggressive behavior, or advances toward individuals who are unwilling or are not capable of reciprocating. In some cases, residents may suffer slaps, shoves and even more violent actions. Continue reading →

Published on: September 30, 2015

Disturbing Video of Nursing Home Abuse Turned Over to Police by Administrators

By Dean Freeman

Usually, when we hear about an incidence of nursing home abuse being revealed after video evidence surfaces, it’s the result of a hidden camera or some investigation by the patient’s family.

But in a recent case out of Queens, NY, it was actually nursing home administrators who came forward to alert authorities. Video images show a man falling in front of a rehab center nurse, who is seen doing nothing to help him. He then lies on the ground writhing in pain, bleeding, while no staffer steps in to help. Then, a certified nurse assistant is seen dragging him across the hall to his room. He reemerges a few minutes later, now with both a head wound and a jaw wound. He is dragged by his open, backless gown, which is now around his neck, back into his room.

Administrators called authorities. On the one hand, such action is to be applauded. But on the other hand, it’s what we should all expect. Continue reading →

Published on: September 22, 2015

Electronic Monitoring in Nursing Homes Approved Now in 5 States

By Dean Freeman

When it comes to neglect and abuse in nursing homes, it can be difficult to confirm suspicions. Patients are often either afraid or unable to come forward about what is happening to them. This vulnerability is what makes them such easy targets in the first place.

This is why many family members seek to substantiate their concerns by installing an in-room electronic monitoring system, sometimes referred to as a hidden camera or “granny cam.” These clips can be useful in both criminal and civil liability cases, as it reveals the way staffers behave when they think no one is looking. Illinois has just passed a measure, effective Jan. 1, 2016, that will explicitly allow cameras in nursing homes. That will make it one of five states that has granted this allowance.

However, they are in some places illegal. Florida, for example, has a strict statute concerning recording third parties recording individuals who do not consent to such action. Continue reading →

Published on: August 30, 2015

Police: Nursing Home Abuse Recorded by Staff on Social Media

By Dean Freeman

Some of the most powerful evidence in a nursing home abuse lawsuit can be video or audio of the abuse actually occurring.

This is most often obtained by family members or sometimes residents who install hidden cameras. Sometimes they are looking to affirm suspicions. Sometimes they want proof of what they already know.

But rarely is the incriminating footage captured by the perpetrators. Continue reading →

Published on: August 4, 2015

Nursing Home Abuse Discovered With Hidden Camera, 2 Fired and Arrested, 9 Suspended

By Dean Freeman

Nursing home abuse at a center in Minnesota has reportedly been uncovered via hidden camera, resulting in the termination and arrest of two nursing assistance and the suspension of nine others.

Family members of numerous family residents collaborated to install cameras in the private rooms of their loved ones. They suspected wrongdoing when they began to notice bruising and cuts on the faces of their loved ones, but they couldn’t seem to get a straight answer. They were worried for the safety of their elderly relatives.

Now, they know those concerns were valid. Continue reading →

Published on: July 31, 2015

Report: South Florida Doctors Heavily Prescribe Tranquilizers to Seniors

By Dean Freeman

Excess prescription of powerful tranquilizers in nursing homes and among seniors in general has been identified as a major problem within elder care facilities.

A 2014 study by JAMA Psychiatry revealed almost 12 percent of women who are 80 are prescribed benzodiazepines, a class of sedatives and anti-anxiety medications that are generally supposed to be avoided by elderly patients, as they have been linked to dangerous side effects – particularly for patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

In nursing homes, these kinds of tranquilizing drugs have been used improperly as a way to suppress patients who might otherwise be seen as “troublesome” to staffers. But not only are powerful drugs dangerous with little benefit for those who consume them, there are other ways to deal with those behaviors.

Continue reading →

Published on: July 17, 2015

PA Attorney General Sues 14 Nursing Homes for Negligent Care

By Dean Freeman

The attorney general in Pennsylvania has filed legal action against a large, corporate nursing home provider with 36 locations in that state. Of those 36, Attorney General Kathleen Kain alleges 14 have engaged in deceptive and unlawful business practices, while making a substantial profit off the state.

The chain, which is based in California and has centers in Florida as well as in numerous other states throughout the country, is accused of failing to meet the most basic care needs of residents, despite accepting state dollars (primarily through Medicare) to do so.

In court documents, the attorney general cites dozens of confidential witnesses who allege they were misled to believe their elderly, frail, vulnerable loved ones were receiving excellent, quality care, when in fact facilities were understaffed and patients were at grave risk of harm.

Continue reading →