Our Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys recently wrote a blog about a series of violent elder abuse incidents that occurred in Veterans nursing homes in the state of Texas, as published in the Dallas Morning News.
The Dallas newspaper has recently reported that after publishing the articles last month, legislators in the Senate have now taken notice, and raised questions about the safety and management of the state-owned veterans nursing home facilities this week, with two Senate committee hearings.
Last month, the Dallas Morning Star found that the criminal investigation of two former nursing home workers, accused of nursing home abuse, were stalled for two years because of conflicts between the state inspectors, police, and nursing home administrators.
When the police reportedly looked into the nursing home abuse allegations in 2007, police officers defaulted to the state inspectors. In March, felony charges were finally filed against the former nursing home employees, accusing them of harming two residents in the separate 2007 incidents.
According to Chris Traylor, commissioner of the Department of Aging and Disability Services, police officers need to have an accurate picture of what agency officials do when responding to nursing home abuse and neglect allegations—to work together in the investigations.
Three state agencies reportedly pledged this week to improve their responses to nursing home abuse allegations at the homes, and to offer annual training to law enforcement officers on how to investigate accusations of elderly abuse properly.
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a Marine and veteran from the Vietnam War, wrote the law creating the veterans nursing home program in 1997 as state senator. Patterson claimed that steps can be taken to make sure that law enforcement officers work with nursing home administrators on investigations of nursing home or elder abuse.
Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represents victims nursing home abuse and negligence in Maryland and the Washington D.C. area. Contact our attorneys today at 1-800-654-1949 for a free consultation.
3 Texas Agencies Vow to Reform Following Report on Alleged Abuse at Veterans Nursing Homes, The Dallas Morning News, May 12, 2010
Elder Abuse Investigations Linger in Incidents at State Veterans Home, The Dallas Morning News, April 4, 2010
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