nursing home negligence

Published on: August 29, 2015

NC Leasing v. Junker – Nursing Home Fall and Arbitration Agreement

In NC Leasing LLC v. Junker, a state high court ruled it was erroneous in a nursing home negligence case to deny a motion to compel arbitration simply on the basis of forum unavailability. Instead, the trial court should have held a hearing to determine the agreement’s validity. The case was remanded to trial court to do just that.

This is one of a growing number of cases involving nursing home patients, their loved ones and arbitration agreements, which have become increasingly common in the nursing home admission process.

These agreements deprive residents of the right to bring action in a court of law, and instead route them to a forum of binding arbitration, which is generally confidential and often less favorable to plaintiffs. New nursing home residents or their loved ones often sign these agreements in the stack of admission documents, not quite realizing what they are signing. But the effect on their ability to seek compensation in the event of negligence, neglect or abuse is substantial. Continue reading →

Published on: August 25, 2015

Report: Dementia Care Lacking in Nursing Homes

By Dean Freeman

A recent in-depth analysis published by The Boston Globe shows that 6 in 10 nursing homes advertising care specifically for dementia patients may be sidestepping state rules intended to avoid false advertising.

A review by the Alzheimer’s Association of Massachusetts and New Hampshire echoes an earlier study conducted by Globe reporters this year, showing these centers may not be as equipped to handle the intensity of care advanced dementia patients need. But that hasn’t stopped them from accepting new patients suffering from advanced stages of dementia-related disease.

Although the research was focused on Massachusetts, this problem is not isolated to that state. But these snapshots of how nursing homes provide care for these estimated 40,000 elderly residents shows us where the shortcomings are throughout the rest of the country. Continue reading →

Published on: August 17, 2015

Feds Seek Higher Scrutiny of Blood Thinner Use in Nursing Homes

By Dean Freeman

Federal authorities have issued notice to health inspectors across the country to watch for medication errors in nursing homes related to a blood thinner known as Coumadin.

The announcement cited a recent investigation by ProPublica and The Washington Post in which it was revealed hundreds of patients had been hospitalized or even died in recent years after their nursing home caregivers failed to properly monitor administration of the drug.

Analysis of existing government data showed that between 2011 and 2014, more than 165 residents in nursing homes either had to be admitted to the hospital or suffered fatal illness as a result of medical errors that directly involved Coumadin and warfarin (the generic version of the drug.).

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Published on: July 25, 2015

Nursing Home Lawsuit Alleges Woman Died From Neglect

By Dean Freeman

An 85-year-old woman who died last year at a nursing home in Maryland reportedly suffered negligence and neglect by staffers who were charged with caring for her.

In a lawsuit filed by her family against a large nursing home chain (which has branches in Florida), the woman’s daughter-in-law reportedly shot video revealing the woman’s cries of pain were ignored for over an hour.

The litigation was filed in Baltimore against ManorCare Health Services, a for-profit chain with numerous locations across South Florida. Not only did nurses and other staffers neglect the decedent, the lawsuit alleges, but they falsified records in order to do so. Apparently, the records kept by nurses at the facility are in direct conflict with what the video footage depicts.

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Published on: July 10, 2015

Morrow v. Fundamental Long-Term Care – Nursing Home Shower Injury

By Dean Freeman

A lawsuit alleging nursing home injury sustained to a patient who was dropped while being assisted into the shower was weighed recently by the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Specifically at issue in Morrow v. Fundamental Long-Term Care was whether plaintiffs – patient and his wife – could appeal an order bifurcating the trial into two – one against the nursing home itself and one against the corporate entity that owns the nursing home.

The court determined an appeals court did err in finding the order was not appealable. That doesn’t mean plaintiffs win their case. It just means they can return to the appeals court to ask for reconsideration on that specific issue.

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Published on: July 3, 2015

Stayton v. Delaware Health Corporation – Nursing Home Burn Injuries Prompt Lawsuit

By Dean Freeman

Those in nursing home facilities and long-term care centers are at heightened risk of burn injuries for a number of reasons. The majority of those living in nursing homes have health and mobility issues, which means any attempted evacuation for a fire or other issue is fraught with going to be extremely problematic.

The U.S. Accountability Office estimates there were 2,300 nursing home fires between 1993 and 1999. That breaks down to nearly 400 fires annually. Most are minor, but sometimes, they do result in injury or death.

Common causes of nursing home fires and burns include:

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Published on: June 30, 2015

Lawsuit: Nursing Home Tried to Conceal Medication Error

By Dean Freeman

Medication errors in nursing homes are recognized as a common problem, and inspectors for the state will specifically analyze the rate of mistakes when grading a facility on its care.

All nursing homes are required by law to maintain a medication error rate of less than 5 percent, and there must not be any severe medication errors.

Still, problems continue to arise. Sometimes, the doctor fails to write the correct medication or to ensure new medications won’t negatively interact with existing prescriptions. Other times, pharmacies improperly fill the medication. Often, mistakes occur in administration of the drugs, in contradiction to the orders of doctor, pharmacy and drug manufacturer.

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Published on: May 9, 2015

Voorhees Road LLC et al. v. Mallard – Florida Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements

By Dean Freeman

More and more, people are learning that nursing homes are exploiting elderly residents and their loved ones through the process of forced arbitration clauses. Basically, these agreements require residents or their loved ones to sign away their right to sue in the event of negligent caregiving.

Instead, the only avenue most people have is through a privatized arbitration forum. Too often, these processes are biased and usually result in lesser awards for victims.

Although many long-term care facilities don’t actually require patients to sign these agreements as a term of admission, they won’t disclose this to patients either. And some places actually do require it, leaving family to wrestle with the impossible choice of signing away important rights or placing their loved one in a less desired facility or one farther away from family.

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Published on: April 26, 2015

Study: Nursing Home Fall Injuries Reduced With Special Flooring

By Dean Freeman

A special kind of impact-absorbing floor material was found to slash fall-related injuries by approximately 60 percent in Swedish nursing homes, according to a new study published in the journal Injury Prevention.

The lead author of the study noted the seriousness of falls for elderly in nursing homes, asserting they comprise nearly 70 percent of all falls among older people, who on average suffer three to four falls annually. Consequences can range from minor bruising and pain to hip fractures and head injuries.

Meanwhile in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports one of every three adults over the age of 65 will suffer a fall. Of those, about 25 percent will suffer a moderate-to-severe injury that will not only impair their mobility, but possibly put them at risk of serious infection or even death. The direct medical costs for these incidents pushes $35 billion a year.

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Published on: April 11, 2015

CFPB: Forced Arbitration Bad For Consumers; Elderly Advocates Urge Policy Change

By Dean Freeman

Anyone who has ever assisted an elderly relative likely endured the process of signing or reviewing stacks of admission paperwork. And most probably, somewhere in that stack, was an arbitration agreement.

These agreements have become standard in many areas of commerce, and nursing home care is apparently no exception. In fact, it’s the norm.

Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an Arbitration Study, reporting to Congress on the issue of mandatory arbitration agreements. Although the research focused primarily on mandatory arbitration agreements for things like checking accounts, credit cards, payday loans, cell phone contracts and student loans, the bottom line was that arbitration clauses – which require consumers settle disputes before an arbitrator, rather than a judge in court – were detrimental to consumers.

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