Nursing Home Abuse

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Maryland’s Largest Nursing Home Raises Unsettling Questions

October 30, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The statistics speak for themselves: Elder abuse in nursing homes is much too commonplace across Maryland… and the nation. Sadly, too, the trend is not only limited to second- and third-tier nursing facilities. As personal injury specialists, the attorneys at Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC, are very familiar with the uncomfortable fact that seniors living in elder care facilities may be at greater risk of abuse, injury or death than their loved ones may know.

It’s so very unfortunate that a large segment of our aging population residing in nursing homes, elder care facilities and long-term care operations are likely to experience some kind of physical or mental abuse, or simply poor care or neglect at the hands of nursing home employees — and even medical professionals charged with their well-being. Again, this is not surprising to those who follow the elder care industry; studies by the National Council on Aging indicate that one in 10 American citizens 60 years and older have experienced some form of elder abuse — shockingly, more than 95 percent of incidents involving abused residents of assisted living facilities, long-term care operations and nursing homes typically go unreported.

Not long ago, a news story revealed some terrible facts surrounding the apparent abuse and ultimately the death of an elderly resident at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, located in Rockville, MD. The information came to light as part of a multiple-count wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of Sara McAlpin, who died at the age of 96 from complications related to a Stage 4 pressure ulcer (also known as a bed sore). Bed sores in patients who reside at elder care facilities are considered evidence of neglect and Ms. McAlpin’s medical condition featured one of the worst kinds of decubitus ulcers — a large open wound greater than “the diameter of a teacup” exhibiting exposed bone and damage to the tissues underneath.

Holding Nursing Homes Accountable for Abuse and Neglect in Maryland

October 25, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Recent reports from a North Durham nursing home highlight alarming cases of abuse and neglect, underscoring the importance of holding long-term care facilities accountable for the treatment of their residents. The claims made by residents include instances of inadequate hygiene care, staff neglect, unsanitary living conditions, and even theft of personal belongings. These issues are not unique to one location. Nursing home abuse and neglect can happen anywhere and residents and their families must be aware of the legal protections in place to address such mistreatment.

In Maryland, nursing homes are legally required to meet certain standards of care. When they fail, residents and their families have the right to take legal action to protect their loved ones and hold the facility accountable for any harm caused.

What Are the Signs of Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Homes?

The troubling allegations from residents of the Durham facility include claims of staff sleeping on the job, inadequate medical care, and unsanitary living conditions, such as mold and poor hygiene. Unfortunately, these incidents are far too common in underfunded or poorly managed nursing homes.

Suspected Fraud in Nursing Home Filings Raises Concerns About Resident Care

August 31, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Fraud in nursing home operations is not just a financial issue—it can have profound implications for residents’ quality of care. When nursing homes prioritize profits over patient care, it often leads to understaffing, inadequate medical attention, and neglect, all of which can cause significant harm to vulnerable residents. Understanding how fraud in these facilities may contribute to injuries is crucial for families seeking to protect their loved ones and for legal professionals advocating.

Fraudulent Filings at Seashore Point Nursing Home: Hidden Profits and Resident Neglect

Recent reports have surfaced alleging that the owners of a nursing home in Seashore Point have been using a complex network of companies to conceal profits while cutting back on essential nursing staff. This fraudulent practice, which involves misleading financial filings submitted to Medicare and Medicaid, has potentially allowed the owners to pocket over $1 million while compromising the care provided to residents.

Medication Errors and Resident Abuse Complaints Lead to Investigation of a Nursing Home

June 21, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent case, a nursing home came under scrutiny following multiple reports of medication errors and resident abuse. This investigation highlights the serious consequences of neglect and abuse in nursing facilities and underscores the importance of legal intervention to protect vulnerable residents. Seeking the help of an attorney can be crucial in such situations, ensuring that the rights of the residents are upheld and those responsible are held accountable.

Nursing Facility Receives Complaints About Medication Errors and Quality of Care

A nursing facility was recently investigated by the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) after several complaints were filed. The violations cited on the department’s website relate to medication errors, quality of resident care, inadequate staff training, and the abuse of residents.

Nursing Home Aide Arrested On Charges of Elderly Abuse

May 31, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to a recent local news article, a nursing aide is under arrest on charges she abused a patient in Springfield Township, Hamilton County court records show. The aide is accused of assaulting a Burlington House Healthcare Center patient, according to her arrest report from Springfield Township police. Burlington House Healthcare Center is a memory care community that specializes in Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, according to its website. The aide hit the victim with multiple items and even “forcibly restrained” the patient by “pushing down on the victim’s chest and face,” her arrest report states. She was arrested Tuesday on charges of patient abuse or neglect, assault, and failing to provide for a functionally impaired person. The week before, someone at Burlington House Healthcare Center alerted Springfield Township police that they were investigating possible patient abuse. An incident report also was filed. The aide that was arrested and another nurse aide, the report says, “may have abused” the patient early in the morning on April 24. The report states that “Burlington House head nurse advised there were no signs of any injury. There was no visible injury.”

Selecting a good nursing home or care facility for your loved ones is a difficult and trying process. Trusting an elder or group home to help our loved ones and family members following hospitalizations or for long-term care is a stressful and complicated decision. That choice can be even more nerve-wracking when widespread practices of elder abuse, medication errors, and financial abuse are uncovered. When nursing homes and care facilities fail to meet the basic requirements of care for residents, they must be held accountable.

Why Does Nursing Home Abuse Go Largely Unreported?

There is an inherent power balance between residents and staff in nursing homes. Staff members are in charge of feeding, treating, and caring for residents, often making residents fully or largely reliant on staff members. That imbalance can result in a hesitation to report or take action when abuses are occurring. Additionally, many residents may have trouble directly or clearly communicating their experiences. As a result, it often falls to visitors and loved ones to advocate for them when things go wrong. It is extremely important to take a resident seriously if they disclose or report instances of nursing home neglect or abuse.

Nursing Home Aide Arrested On Charges of Elderly Abuse

April 28, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Selecting a good nursing home or care facility for your loved ones is a difficult and trying process. Trusting an elder or group home to help our loved ones and family members following hospitalizations or for long-term care is a stressful and complicated decision. That choice can be even more nerve-wracking when widespread practices of elder abuse, medication errors, and financial abuse are uncovered. When nursing homes and care facilities fail to meet the basic requirements of care for residents, they must be held accountable. A recent local news article discussed the arrest of a nursing home aide after he allegedly assaulted an elderly patient.

According to the article, police say a Waterford man was arrested for assaulting his elderly patient at a nursing home facility in East Lyme. According to law enforcement officials, the 44-year-old John Blaise turned himself in on Friday at the East Lyme police department for an active arrest warrant. The warrant stemmed from a report that was made last November. The report came from the daughter of an elderly patient at Crescent Point in Niantic. She alleged that her mother had suffered multiple injuries while she was staying at the facility.

According to the police, the woman put a camera in her mother’s room to monitor the situation. She told police she notified Crescent Point staff of the camera. According to the arrest warrant the woman showed video footage of the aide hitting the victim to East Lyme police. Earlier this month the victim died from an unrelated incident when she fell. An autopsy was performed by the office of the chief medical examiner who determined the cause of death was complications of blunt trauma of right and lower extremity with femur fracture. Blaise was charged with second-degree abuse of persons and assault 3 of an elderly victim.

Nursing Home Charged with Patient Death and Abuse After Four-Week Inspection

February 29, 2024 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It can be an incredibly difficult decision to trust the care of your loved ones in a care facility. Entering into the process is always easier when you know you can trust the staff members at a facility. As people age, it can sometimes be necessary to consider nursing homes and other care facilities as an option. An unfortunate reality in the nursing home business is that understaffing has led to a string of elder abuse throughout the nation. A recent news article detailed the culmination of a four-week inspection of a nursing home following allegations of abuse and one death.

What Should I Do if I Suspect Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect?

In Maryland, the appropriate program to contact if you suspect your family member or loved one is suffering from abuse is the Maryland Adult Protective Services (APS). APS investigates the exploitation and abuse of adults and elderly individuals throughout the state, including physical, mental, emotional, and financial abuse. Common signs of abuse include unexplained bruising, burning, scarring, depression, confusion, or dramatic changes in spending habits. Simply staying in close contact with your family member or loved one can tip you off to these common symptoms and could potentially save lives. It is important to remember that abuse can be perpetrated by a loved one, caregivers, or staff at a nursing home facility.

According to a recent news piece, an eastern Iowa nursing home has been cited for numerous instances of resident abuse and for contributing to the death of a resident. The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL) recently completed a four-week inspection of Parkview Manor in Wellman and cited the nursing home facility for 24 state and federal regulatory violations, an extremely high number. The state agency proposed $35,750 in fines but is holding those fines in suspension while the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determine whether to impose federal penalties for the violations. State records indicate that at the time of the inspection, DIAL had a backlog of 16 uninvestigated complaints involving the nursing home. Of the 24 violations, issues range from allegations of medication errors to failure to manage residents’ pain, and failure to provide sufficient nursing staff. One of the incidents investigated by inspectors was regarding a death in the facility that occurred in September.

Nursing Home Employee Charged with Patient Abuse, Alleged to Have Verbally and Physically Abused Patients

December 22, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It can be an incredibly difficult decision to trust the care of your loved ones in a care facility. Entering into the process is always easier when you know you can trust the staff members at a facility. As people age, it can sometimes be necessary to consider nursing homes and other care facilities as an option. An unfortunate reality in the nursing home business is that understaffing has led to a string of elder abuse throughout the nation. A recent news article detailed an elder abuse event.

According to a recent news piece, an employee at a Youngstown nursing home is charged with patient abuse after accusations that he verbally abused multiple patients and splashed one of them with a water hose. According to the police report, officers were dispatched to the Gateways to Better Living nursing home on August 31 regarding a staff member who was being “aggressive” with patients. Police spoke to the overseeing director at Gateway who told the officers that the staff member was acting “verbally aggressive” towards two patients. The director then told the officers that the employee had splashed the patients with a water hose while they were in the shower. The police report described all the patients as bedridden and disabled, in need of constant care.

Who Can You Contact in Maryland if You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse?

In Maryland, the appropriate program to contact if you suspect your family member or loved one is suffering from abuse is the Maryland Adult Protective Services (APS). APS investigates the exploitation and abuse of adults and elderly individuals throughout the state, including physical, mental, emotional, and financial abuse. Common signs of abuse include unexplained bruising, burning, scarring, depression, confusion, or dramatic changes in spending habits. Simply staying in close contact with your family member or loved one can tip you off to these common symptoms and could potentially save lives. It is important to remember that abuse can be perpetrated by a loved one, caregivers, or staff at a nursing home facility.

New Report “They Make You Pay” Details Fears of Retaliation by Nursing Home Residents

October 30, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Why Does Nursing Home Abuse Go Largely Unreported?

There is an inherent power balance between residents and staff in nursing homes. Staff members are in charge of feeding, treating, and caring for residents, often making residents fully or largely reliant on staff members. That imbalance can result in a hesitation to report or take action when abuses are occurring. Additionally, many residents may have trouble directly or clearly communicating their experiences. As a result, it often falls to visitors and loved ones to advocate for them when things go wrong. It is extremely important to take a resident seriously if they disclose or report instances of nursing home neglect or abuse.

A new report by the Long Term Care Community Coalition, titled “They Make You Pay,” the coalition details the pervasive impact the fear of retaliation has on the entire nursing home resident community. The report detailed instances of residents being denied medicine, food, and even physical abuse such as beatings. The title of the project was inspired by a survey report that detailed how the residents of a nursing home in Florida chose not to report or file grievances related to poor care by staff due to fears of retaliation. During an interview with a surveyor for the report, a resident said she did not file a grievance regarding her poor treatment “because they get back at you . . . They are watching even now to see which rooms you go to and listen to what you ask.” The resident then asked the surveyor to leave and return at a later time because staff members were lingering at her door.

Nursing Home Residents Allege Shocking Abuse

October 10, 2023 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Choosing the right care facility or nursing home for a family member is a stressful and complicated process. It is vital to know that our most vulnerable loved ones are being placed in a caring, comfortable, and safe environment. Unfortunately, recent events have left many nursing and care homes with staffing shortages, training deficiencies, and a lack of supplies. When nursing homes fail to meet the basic requirements of care for residents or worse, they must be held accountable.

How Many Nursing Home Complaints Are There Each Year in the US?

In 2020, Nursing Home Abuse Justice, an advocacy organization for nursing home abuse, found that over 15,000 complaints filed with nursing home ombudsmen were about abuse or neglect. Maryland is sadly no exception to this trend. If you have a loved one or family member in a nursing or long-term care facility, you must recognize the signs of neglect or abuse and report them promptly to the relevant authorities in order to hold the perpetrators accountable. Signs of abuse range from unexplained bruising to the sudden onset of depression and confusion, or dramatic changes in spending habits. It is important to remember that abuse can be perpetrated by a loved one, caregivers, and staff at a nursing home facility.

According to recent local news reporting, a Charlotte nursing home is under investigation after a family claims their loved one was neglected, abused, and later died. The patient was rushed to a hospital from the nursing home suffering from malnutrition and neglect. Several days later, the patient died from pneumonia, septic shock, and aggressive dementia. According to the hospital, he should not have been in his condition of health coming from a care facility. The hospital also noted that there were very clear signs of abuse and neglect, and the hospital reported the facility to Mecklenburg County.