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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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In California, the non-profit Center for Investigative Reporting has been working hard to learn more about alleged abuse and maltreatment of developmentally disabled patient in the care of state-run centers.

After drawn-out litigation over public records that the state refused to turn over, the journalists finally prevailed. What those records ultimately revealed, according to a recent report, paints a deeply troubling picture.

Since 2002, the Department of Public Health  found state-run homes responsible for the deaths of 13 people. Even more deaths and serious injuries were cited as being the cause of administrators and staffers allowing highly dangerous living situations, even if that wasn’t the direct cause.

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The recent case of Community Care Center of Aberdeen v. Barrentine is, at its core, an employment dispute. But the matter, reviewed by the Mississippi Supreme Court recently, holds relevance for those who care about the well-being of elderly, vulnerable residents of nursing homes because it involves someone who reportedly was willing to speak up about abuse.

As we know all too well, that courage is rare, especially for someone who is employed by the facility potentially liable for such wrong-doing and the resulting injuries.

One study by the General Accounting Office revealed that physical and sexual abuse of nursing home residents is not promptly reported to local law enforcement authorities and state regulators. And even when it is, it’s rarely prosecuted. Not only are patients and sometimes even relatives reluctant to report abuse, but nursing home managers are reluctant because they fear adverse publicity and legal liability. Employees are fearful of losing their jobs.

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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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Usually when we discuss nursing abuse, we’re referring to staff members who take advantage of and victimize elderly patients.

However, there is an increasing amount of evidence to suggest another problem may in fact be the violence that occurs between residents. In fact, a recent study conducted by analysts at Cornell University indicated almost 1 in 5 nursing home residents is involved in an aggressive encounter each month. Most of these involve other residents.

While some of these incidents may be spontaneous, nursing home staff and administrators have a responsibility take action to prevent foreseeable dangers and to ensure residents have a safe place to live.

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A once-unlicensed nursing home facility that allegedly confined an aging, once-prominent judge in an unheated room, allowing him to freeze to death in the winter, has agreed to settle the wrongful death lawsuit for $750,000.

It’s the last chapter for a popular Brooklyn, NY man once called the “kung fu judge” for his black belt in karate. The settlement was announced seven years to the day of his death.

However, a complaint filed by his family members is still pending with the local district attorney’s office. They say the center needs to be investigated for ongoing violations – including continuing to keep aging patients without heat or other basic necessities.

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A newly-filed nursing home neglect lawsuit accuses a facility of failing to properly care for an 88-year-old woman who subsequently died of respiratory failure, pneumonia, sepsis and cardiac arrest.

The lawsuit, brought by the woman’s daughter, alleges that not only was there not enough staff at the facility at any given time, the staff who were there did not provide proper care and did not maintain accurate and complete records of the woman’s treatment.

This same facility was accused of misconduct by other patients. Jurors previously ordered the same facility – and its owner – to pay $677 million in damages to residents and/or their surviving family members for jeopardizing the health care of elderly wards and breaking state law by maintaining bare bones staff with the primary goal of lining administrators’ pockets. A county judge in 2010 later approved a reduced settlement amount of $63 million.

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State inspectors of nursing homes have an important job: Ensuring that facilities are doing all they should be to protect and provide adequate care for our elderly, vulnerable loved ones.

Some might argue inspections don’t occur frequently enough and may not be as thorough as they should be.

But we would not expect regulators, bound to uphold the laws and guidelines set forth by the people, to be influenced in their work by nursing home industry lobbyists. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what one news team in Pennsylvania discovered when it requested a series of emails.

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For the abuse and wrongful death of a 96-year-old woman in a nursing home facility three years ago, a facility will have to pay $1.2 million to her surviving daughters.

The abuse came to light after the victim’s family installed a hidden camera to catch an apparent thief who was stealing their mother’s belongings. What they discovered instead was far more horrifying.

Footage revealed on one occasion, a nurse aide stuffed a rubber glove into the elderly woman’s mouth. She was also slapped in the head and face as another aide looked on, without voicing concern or complaint. Other images showed the woman being thrown onto the bed, poked in the chest and yelled at.

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Most states, including Florida, have established a list of rights to which nursing home residents are entitled. Violation of these provisions may result in state or federal sanctions or the right of the resident and/or surviving family member to pursue civil action against the facility or staffers.

For example, F.S. 400.022 states residents have the right to be treated with dignity, respect and fairness, be free from any form of abuse, receive necessary services to maintain and preserve health and well-being, receive written and oral information regarding medical care and nursing services and maintain private communication with family members and loved ones. These are just a few of the rights outlined in the statute.

A similar law exists in California, where the recent case of Lemaire v. Covenant Care Cal., LLC was reviewed by the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Six. In that state, each violation of the statute entitles a plaintiff to receive $500. And based on that statute, a plaintiff suing for the wrongful death of her mother at a nursing home facility (due to what she alleged was inadequate care), received $1.1 million, which included $270,000 in statutory damage.

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