nursing home negligence

Published on: December 28, 2015

Nursing Home Choking Death Spurs Lawsuit

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, right after falls, motor vehicle crashes and poisonings. Although choking is a risk for people of all ages, the number of these deaths peaked at age 84.

Although there are many items that could be cited in choking incidents (for children, it’s often toys or other basic household items), for the elderly, it most often tends to be food items. The CDC reports there are more than 460 choking deaths related to food among people over the age of 65 in a single year. Continue reading →

Published on: December 21, 2015

Nursing Homes Accused of “Patient Dumping”

By Dean Freeman

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 al, asserts as many as half of the nursing homes are illegally refusing to readmit patients after they are discharged for temporary care out of the facility. The goal of these facilities, allege plaintiffs, is to shed these patients in favor of either private pay patients or those who receive Medicare. For care of the latter, these facilities would pocket more money.

Federal law would require that a nursing home refusing readmission following temporary care allow for an appeal hearing. Further, states re required to enforce the decisions made at that hearing. These legal obligations were reportedly explained to the state health department explicitly back in 2012. Continue reading →

Published on: December 16, 2015

Lang v. Beachwood Pointe Care Center – $1 Million Nursing Home Negligence Damage Award

By Dean Freeman

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 of negligent, reckless and/or intentional acts and omissions.

Specifically, decedent at the center of Lang v. Beachwood Pointe Care Center suffered serious, painful and ultimately fatal injuries when she developed severe pressure wounds that were not properly treated. As her condition continued to worsen, neither her doctor nor her family were notified of her rapid deterioration.

In fact, the family later learned that decisions about her health care were made by non-medical staffers. The failure of the nursing home to provide adequate staffing levels was a core cause of decedent’s injuries and subsequent death, the lawsuit alleged. Continue reading →

Published on: December 10, 2015

Carmon-Rogers v. Sentara Life Care Corp. – $4 Million Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit Goes to Trial

By Dean Freeman

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 widow, had resided in the nursing home since 2008, after suffering a stroke. She was a full-assist patient, meaning she depended on the nursing staff to meet all of her basic daily needs. As she was unable to get out of bed, she was not able to reposition herself regularly, as necessary to prevent pressure sores.

In March 2014, plaintiff alleges a licensed practical nurse was changing patient’s bed linens when patient was rolled onto her right side at the edge of the bed. The bed linens were then pulled out from underneath her, and the patient rolled out of bed, falling onto the floor. As a result, patient suffered fractures to her right shoulder, left leg, right foot, right ankle and right lower leg. The leg fractures were potentially life-threatening because the tibia became detached from her foot.

But it got worse. Continue reading →

Published on: December 4, 2015

Dentist Suspected of Medicaid Fraud Involving Nursing Home Patients

By Dean Freeman

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. This can involve patients undergoing procedures that are unnecessary or not in their best health interest, as well as their accounts being billed for services or medications that were never rendered. In any case, it is patients who suffer this harm.

Recently in Sunrise, a 48-year-old dentist became the subject of a search warrant in a Medicaid fraud case in which it was alleged he fraudulently billed Medicaid for dentures in patients who either never received them or didn’t need them. During the search of his computers, federal agents allegedly found evidence of child pornography as well. Continue reading →

Published on: November 17, 2015

Nursing Home Fall Dangers Highlighted in Several Recent Cases

By Dean Freeman

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 Public Health issued fines after two residents died and several others suffered broken bones as a result of falls. The Hartford Courant reports one facility was fined after two serious falls, one fatal. In the first, a resident fell after the clip on a mechanical sling broke. He suffered a broken bone at the base of his skull and died less than a week later. In the second incident, a resident suffered a broken risk after an aide wrongly left the the resident alone.

In a third case, a resident on two anticoagulant drugs underwent emergency surgery and died after suffering multiple bruises sustained in several falls that were not immediately reported by the staff nurse. A fourth case in that state involved a resident who fell eight times within three month span, the last time striking his head on a chair and suffering a broken neck. The department alleged nursing home staffers failed to notify a physician for five full days. At that same facility, another resident suffered 22 falls and broke his hip twice in the course of six months. In yet another case, a resident fell an astonishing 34 times, suffering two head injuries and a broken hand. Another resident who fell after an aide failed to use protective legwear when moving a resident from a wheelchair to a bed suffered a laceration that required 11 stitches. Continue reading →

Published on: November 9, 2015

Florida Nursing Home Choking Lawsuit Alleges Wrongful Death

By Dean Freeman

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 mother suffered from a condition that made it very difficult for her to eat solid foods and to swallow. While plaintiff was talking to his mother over the phone one afternoon, he heard her mumble something about “choking.” Then the line went dead.

He immediately called the nursing home staff to alert them his mother was in trouble. But no one answered the line. Fire and rescue records show there was eventually a phone call to emergency responders from the patient’s room. However, the caller hung up soon after. Dispatchers called back right away, but a front desk receptionist said she wasn’t aware there was any problem. Emergency Medical Responders decided to go anyway. When they got there, staffers weren’t taking any action, such as performance of CPR. Instead, they were “standing around” the patient’s bed. She had apparently not been breathing for approximately five minutes. 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 13, 2015

Portable Adult Bed Handle Recall Reannounced

By Dean Freeman

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 Bed Handles Inc., a Missouri company. Some 113,000 of the devices were recalled back in May 2014 due to serious risk of entrapment, strangulation and death.

Three cases were reported in the initial reannouncement, and then a fourth was recently added to the figure.

However, there has been less than a 1 percent response rate for the recall, which is why the CPSC decided to reannounce the recall – to make sure word was getting to those who purchased any devices that may still be in use. These devices are used in care facilities to assist patients in pulling themselves up, helping themselves out of bed or keeping them from falling out. Continue reading →

Published on: October 2, 2015

Diversicare Leasing Corp. v. Hubbard – Wrongful Death Following Sepsis of Disabled Man

By Dean Freeman

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.

Sepsis can occur in nursing home patients who contract it from bacterial infections from:

Urinary tract infections
Bed sores
Respiratory tract infections
Infections from IVs, catheters or other tubes
Pneumonia

Nursing homes that fail to secure proper treatment for nursing home patients who suffer from sepsis may be liable for wrongful death. This was the allegation in the case of Diversicare Leasing Corp. v. Hubbard, before the Alabama Supreme Court. Continue reading →