Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Palm Beach

Published on: July 24, 2016

Nursing Home Policies on Sexual Relationships

Most people don’t like to think about their parents or grandparents engaged in sexual contact. It may be an especially uneasy topic when that loved one is residing in a nursing home. But as a recent New York Times article reported, some nursing homes are setting policies that establish guidelines for residents and staffers on this very subject. The purpose is to ensure those who are aging in an institution don’t lose the opportunity for a comforting touch, but also aren’t victimized by unwanted advances.

The difference between a healthy relationship and a potentially abusive one comes down to one thing: Consent.

Although it seems a fairly straightforward issue, it’s the one area where clarification is most needed. For example, can an Alzheimer’s patient give consent? Some nursing homes posit that they can, but only in certain circumstances. Continue reading →

Published on: June 22, 2015

Ex parte Fairfield Nursing & Rehabilitation Ctr. – Dropped Nursing Home Patient

By Dean Freeman

Many nursing home residents are unable to walk or unable to walk any significant differences. Often, they use wheelchairs and require assistance to perform basic tasks, such as going to the restroom, bathing and getting in and out of bed.

Although there are accepted industry protocols for the best and safest way to move patients, these procedures aren’t always followed. When facilities are understaffed, caregivers are often inexperienced, rushed or simply careless when it comes to moving patients. This results in nursing home patients being dropped, most often during routine transfers.

When a nursing home resident is dropped, it can lead to serious health complications, including:

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Published on: May 24, 2015

Florida Lawmakers Pass New Law to Protect Assisted Living Facility Patients

By Dean Freeman

It’s been four years since a Miami Herald investigation revealed systemic problems leading to abuse, neglect and death of residents at some of the state’s more than 3,000 assisted living facilities, which serve approximately 86,00 elderly patients.

That investigation prompted Florida Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, to draft bill after bill to address lapses in state oversight and enforcement of laws to protect these residents. Each year, the measure failed.

Until now.

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Published on: November 15, 2014

Rising Hepatitis C in Nursing Homes Prompt Litigation, Fears

By Dean Freeman

Additional confirmed cases of Hepatitis C have been linked to a nursing home in North Dakota that is currently the subject of a federal lawsuit alleging negligent care that led to exposure.

The new cases bring the total associated with this single nursing home to 47. This means the possible list of plaintiffs on the pending litigation, filed last year, could grow. The lawsuit started with two residents who say they contracted the disease as a result of poor care from facility staffers.

Hepatitis C is a contagious disease of the liver. Severity can range from mild to life-threatening and can be either acute or chronic. It is primarily spread through blood contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In nursing home settings, staffers who aren’t careful when placing IVs or sterilizing needles or other equipment could pass the disease from one patient to another.

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