Florida Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

There has been increased media coverage and attention given to the rise in nursing home abuse and neglect, and for good reason. According to a recent report, one in five nursing home patients suffers abuse by another resident. The study found that 19.8 percent of residents at 10 nursing home suffered some kind of abuse within the period of review. During the four-week period of investigation 16 percent of residents suffered from verbal abuse, while 5.7 suffered from a physical attack, such as hitting or kicking. The reports indicated that 1.3 suffered from sexual incidents and 10.5 percent suffered from invasive behavior.

These cases involved resident-on-resident mistreatment involve only a fraction of the abuse that may also occur involving nursing home aids or other employees. Commonly we hear of abuse committed by overworked health aids, but a new category of abuse is also putting residents at risk—resident-on-resident abuse and injury. These injuries are inflicted by a roommate or another resident in the nursing home. According to the research one in five residents were involved in such incidences within the four-week period.

The abuses can range from aggressive and abusive language to physical attacks. Not only are they invasive and disruptive for other residents, but resident-on-resident abuses can also cause serious physical harm. According to the report, the incidences are so common that many of the workers are unaware or do not choose to get involved. The results of this investigation were made public at the Gerontological Society of America, providing a harrowing account of life inside the facilities for the 1.4 million nursing home residents in the United States. Of the total number of nursing home residents in the country, more than 72,000 of them reside in the state of Florida.

Making the decision to put your elderly loved one in 24-hour-care can be emotional and difficult. In Florida, families should be concerned with the quality of care being provided, as well as the potential for negligence and abuse. In a recent case, a nursing home resident who suffered from Alzheimer’s and dementia was abused by his caretakers. According to local reports, the nursing home aides were caught after the victim’s son installed hidden cameras in his room. He decided to install the cameras after he noticed unexplained bruising on his father.

The certified nursing assistants were 28 and 35-years-old, working at Palm Garden. Since the discovery of the abuse, the aids have been charged criminally, for the battery of a person over the age of 65. The two nursing assistants as well as several other staff members were suspended without pay, according to the chief operating officer of Palm Healthcare Management. Palm Healthcare Management is responsible for the hiring and oversight at the Winter Haven nursing home facility. The case is still under investigation and the aids as well as the nursing home management company could also face civil lawsuits.

According to reports, the 76-year-old nursing home patient was diagnosed with dementia and psychosis. His son installed hidden cameras in his room to help identify where the bruises were coming from. The video cameras captured the aids physically harassing the patient when they repositioned him in bed. More footage documented one of the defendants and a second employee trying to move the patient from his wheelchair to bed and the aids appeared to stomp on his feet or legs. On a separate occasion, other employees were changing the victims’ clothes when they grabbed his wrists and struggled. They pinned down the man’s legs, grabbed his wrists, and slapped him on the head. When he tried to sit up, the employees ran out of the room. Both defendants are being held without bond.