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Every year, thousands of nursing homes are the subject of lawsuits and litigation throughout the country. Rarely do those cases make national headlines. A private equity firm has been the target of a long-awaited trial that is being held in a Tampa bankruptcy court. According to Huffington Post, the case has been brought on behalf of six elderly victims who suffered from abuse, neglect, and inadequate care while under the care of nursing homes owned by Trans Healthcare, INC (“THI”).

There is no dispute in this case about whether elderly victims suffered abuse at the hands of their caretakers, and the operators of the many nursing homes. State courts have already awarded damages in excess of $1 billion in these cases. The issue is where the monetary awards should come from. Even though the families have been awarded these damages in previous state cases, none of the victims’ families have been able to collect due to an alleged unlawful abuse of bankruptcy laws.

The judge in this case stated that it has, “all the makings of a legal thriller.” The case has been the subject of wide dispute as victims suffered abuse in nursing homes acquired by GTCR in 1998. Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for governor of Illinois, was also the chairman of the Chicago based company during the time that the company became the subject of litigation. The company bought over 200 nursing homes throughout the country.

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It is becoming standard in many nursing home abuse and negligence cases to find defendants pushing to have claims settled in arbitration.

Often when nursing home patients are admitted, they and/or their relatives are bombarded with stacks of paperwork, which often include an “arbitration agreement,” binding parties who sign to resolve any disputes that arise from care before an arbitrator, rather than a judge.

What this paperwork often doesn’t clearly spell out is that by signing you are in effect signing away rights and protections and the ability to hold the company accountable for poor standards of care. It is possible – though not as likely – for plaintiffs to succeed in arbitration. Even so, damages tend to be more modest and settlements are often confidential, meaning there is no opportunity to warn others of the potential danger they may face when taking their loved ones to that facility.

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Two nurses who brought qui tam claims on behalf of the government allege their nursing home employer knowingly submitted thousands of false claims to the Medicare and Medicaid programs have had judgments in their favor reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Although a jury awarded the government $3 million in compensatory damages, imposed $19 million in fines and awarded the nurses a total of $412,000 for retaliation, the appellate court found the verdict was not supported by the evidence.

It’s unclear whether the government will seek review of that verdict, but we do know that these kinds of accusations arise from situations that occur routinely in nursing homes across the country. Aside from submitting invoices for payment of services never given, nursing home providers sometimes render services to patients that aren’t necessary and, in some situations, could even be harmful. They know patients may not be able to speak on their own behalf, and they also know providing these “services” is lucrative.

In some cases, claims may be submitted for government reimbursement even though the care standard is lacking. That was the basis for the underlying claim in Absher v. Momence Meadows Nursing Ctr., Inc. before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

If the nursing home provider where your loved one is staying is investigated for Medicaid fraud, it’s worth exploring whether your loved one may have been receiving harmful treatments, medication or therapies he or she did not need. Even absent an investigation, family members have the right to question medications and procedures administered to their loved ones, and it’s especially important if the patient is the recipient of costly medical procedures or expensive medications.
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For years, the government has warned nursing homes and hospices about requesting or providing illegal compensation to influence where nursing homes refer patients for hospice care. Such action is in direct violation of both the federal False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute.

Now, in a series of prosecutions, the government is actively going after hospices and nursing homes that are violating these statutes by offering and accepting incentives deemed improper.

Some of the actions targeted have included:
–Requests by nursing homes that hospice providers offer services not technically considered hospice services. Some examples are around-the-clock, non-skilled companion services.
–Hospices found offering or giving free services or goods to staffers at nursing homes, including gift cards and baked goods.
–Hospices offering staff services at its own expense to the nursing home, when such services would normally be performed by the nursing home staff.
–Hospice providers giving services at the request of the nursing home facility, rather than in strict accordance to what the patient actually requires from a medical standpoint.
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The personal representative of a Florida woman who died last year in a Lakeland nursing home alleges medical complications leading to her death were preventable, the result of systematic neglect and mismanagement of the facility.

According to the lawsuit, the elderly woman suffered from a host of painful conditions she developed only after she was admitted as a resident at the facility in April 2011. She died almost exactly two years later. Among conditions she suffered at the time of her death:

  • Bedsores;
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While a civil lawsuit is one remedy for families who have been victimized by nursing home abuse, some cases are so egregious that abusers can be held criminally liable. According to a recent report of nursing home abuse, a 99-year-old man was abused by hired home health aides. Children of the elderly man claim that eventually, the abuse led to the patient’s death. The family caught the horrific abuse on surveillance videos and will be using the tapes as evidence in a civil lawsuit.

Family members of the victim say home health aides hired to provide around the clock care for the elderly man were negligent and abusive. According to the lawsuit, they left the man unattended and unable to fend for himself after he suffered a fall that left him with fractures and serious head injuries. Our Fort Lauderdale nursing home attorneys are dedicated to protecting the rights and interests of victims and their families. In the event of nursing home negligence or abuse, we will take a strategic approach to collect just compensation and file necessary claims against offenders.
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During summer months, caretakers must be more wary of the potential dangers of high temperatures. Babies and young children as well as elderly adults are more vulnerable and should never be left unattended in a vehicle or out in the sun.

Caretakers should also make sure air conditioning is functional and that proper precautions are taken to prevent heat stroke. In another instance of nursing home abuse and neglect, a Florida nursing home is being investigated and could face criminal and civil penalties for leaving a 90-year-old resident outside in the heat and unattended for hours. According to reports, the patient nearly died from the heat-related injuries.

Throughout the state of Florida, families turn to nursing care facilities to assistant and provide necessary medical attention to elderly loved ones who are no longer able to care for themselves. Unfortunately, instances of abuse and neglect run rampant, as for-profit homes cut back on staffing, fail to screen employees, and are generally negligent in caring for residents. In the most severe cases, nursing home patients have suffered abuse at the hands of caretakers.

Our Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse attorneys are dedicated to raising awareness to protect the rights of victims and their families. In addition to advocating for our clients, we are committed to raising awareness to prevent future abuse.
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Extreme cases of abuse and neglect will often result in an investigation and legal action. Despite the number of complaints filed, thousands of instances of abuse and neglect go unreported every year. According to the U.S. Department of Health Human Services, nursing homes in South Florida and throughout the U.S. are failing to report accusations of abuse or neglect as well.

The agency recently published a report after surveying nursing home facilities about how well their homes complied with federal rules of reporting allegations of injury, negligence and misconduct. According to the study, out of 209 nursing homes, 85% failed to report at least one accusation of abuse or neglect.

 

Those who have suffered nursing home neglect or who have a loved one who has been injured while under nursing home care should file a complaint and take legal action when necessary. Our Fort Lauderdale nursing home injury attorneys are dedicated to protecting the rights of clients and to raising awareness to prevent future abuse and neglect. In addition to advocating for victims and their families, our firm is also committed to raising awareness to prevent future abuse.
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In 2008, a man working as an in-home caregiver for an elderly couple in their early 80s suffered a psychotic break.

Three months into his assignment, the 6-foot-6-inch, 220-pound aide went ballistic. He threw food all over the kitchen. There were smatterings all over the wall, the appliances, the counter tops. When the husband went in to see what was going on, the caregiver attacked him. He threw liquid hand sanitizer all over the man’s head. He then urinated on the wife’s head. She had Parkinson’s disease, and was unable to care for herself. The aide then doused the couple’s carpet, furniture and family pictures with liquid soap.

The aide was later arrested and convicted for felony first-degree abuse of a vulnerable adult and sentenced to one year in jail. His name recently resurfaced again in the case of Carl v. Muskegon Cnty., in which the former aide is suing the doctor who treated him in jail, arguing the physician’s assertion he was not psychotic delayed treatment critical to his well-being.
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When nursing home administrators accept patients with mobility issues, there is an inherent understanding the facility will be equipped to handle lifting and moving these patients in accordance with delivering proper physical care.

Unfortunately, our Fort Lauderdale nursing home negligence lawyers have come across far too many cases where facilities failed to draft a clear plan for safe lifting and transport of patients. In other cases, plans weren’t followed either because the facility lacked the appropriate equipment or didn’t have enough staff on hand to safely complete the task.

In the recent case of State of Mississippi v. Hawkins, it’s unclear from the Mississippi Supreme Court records whether the latter was the case. What we do know is the facility in question had a policy of requiring at least two staffers to move a patient with mobility impairment. The worker in question did not follow this policy, and it resulted in severe injuries to the patient – and criminal charges for the aide. It is likely a civil lawsuit will follow as well.
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