Nursing Home Abuse

Former Nursing Home Employee Faces Criminal Charges for Alleged Abuse

February 6, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, a young man faced criminal charges for the alleged abuse of a nursing home resident back in October of last year. According to one local news report, the young man was seen holding the door shut while an elderly patient was trying to get out of her room.

Evidently, the young man was also seen dragging the victim by her arms and wrists. According to court documents, the woman had the bruises to prove such abuse occurred.

The alleged abuser’s defense attorney claims that his client, who is 24 years old, was only listening to older, more experienced employees at the time and should not be held criminally responsible for the event. However, the prosecution has subpoenaed the video tape that supposedly caught the entire interaction on film. The videotape, prosecutors claim, clearly shows that he is not merely a loyal employee listening to supervisors, but was engaging in the intentional abuse of the resident.

Alabama Nursing Home Employee Indicted for Abusing 96-Year-Old Resident

January 23, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier last month, a former health care provider at an elderly care facility was charged for the abuse of a 96-year-old patient under her care. According to one local news report, the Alabama nursing home resident suffered injuries after the nurse was caught “grabbing or twisting her arm [and] hitting and thumping her on the head.” The 27-year-old nurse responsible was indicted for second-degree elderly abuse and neglect.

Evidently, back in August of last year, the nursing home employee got frustrated with the resident for some unknown reason and started physically abusing her. The police issued an arrest warrant for the nurse shortly after the incident was reported. However, it took them several months to locate her. Finally, in December, she was brought into custody and charged for her abusive acts.

The nursing home that employed the nurse told reporters that it has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to the abuse of residents. Its policy—which is standard in the industry—is to immediately suspend or terminate any employee who has a credible threat of abuse made against him or her.

Another Report of an Abusive Nursing Home Aide

January 9, 2015 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Nursing homes are hardly known for the diligent and caring staff members they choose to hire. In fact, the opposite is often true. It seems that lately there have been countless news reports of abusive aides getting into physical altercations with elderly residents.

In the most recent of these reports, an elderly Guatemalan woman was mistreated and abused in a Culver City, California nursing home facility. According to one local news report, the elderly woman had a colostomy bag that collected her feces. As a part of the care that was to be provided to her, her nurses and nurse’s aides were to periodically empty the bag. However, one of the nurse’s aides used the opportunity to assault the woman with a hook that held the bag at the woman’s side when the woman asked for the aide to be less rough with her.

Aide Arrested After Resident Dies in Nursing Home Fight

December 26, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in the Bronx, New York, a 77-year-old man died after he was involved in a fight with a nursing aide in a local nursing home. According to a report by one local news source, the two got involved in an intense fight that eventually required witnesses to physically separate the two.

Evidently, the fight broke out when the resident wanted to get out of bed but the aide wasn’t allowing him to do so. At some point during the fracas, the nursing home resident fell on a broken table and was impaled by a piece of metal. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he passed away from his injuries just a few hours later.

The nurse—who had been employed with the nursing home for 14 years—told police and reporters that the resident attacked her first. However, that has yet to be verified. For her involvement in the death of the resident, the aide has been charged with criminally negligent homicide, felony assault, and endangering the welfare of an adult. She was released on bail after pleading not guilty to all charges.

Nursing Home Video Catches Employees Abusing Elderly Patients

December 5, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier last month in Winter Park, Florida, two nursing home employees were caught on camera abusing a 76-year-old resident. According to one local news source, the two employees were seen on camera pretending to punch the man, stopping only inches from his face.

They were also seen holding the man down as they would grab his wrists and hit him with his own hands. When he tried to get away, they grabbed his wrists and prevented him from moving away. The employees also would pretend to hit the man with one hand, and then as he reacted they would hit him with their other hand.

The employees were caught engaging in this awful behavior by the man’s family, who had placed a “nanny cam” in the man’s room prior to the abuse. Both employees will face criminal charges for their role in the abuse of the nursing home resident.

Colorado Man Found Guilty of Sexually Molesting Two Nursing Home Patients

November 20, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Denver, Colorado, a man was convicted by a jury of sexually molesting two elderly female nursing home residents. According to a report by one local news source, the 42-year-old man was found guilty of two counts of the felony charge of sexual assault on an at-risk adult and one count of unlawful sexual conduct on an at-risk adult.

Evidently, the first instance of abuse took place at the Broomfield Skilled Nursing Center during the week of July 10, and then again with another patient on August 14. During the trial, the jury heard a tape of the man speaking to his fiancée, where he admitted to her what he had done and told her that he felt he deserved to be punished for it. In addition, both of the victims testified against him at trial.

The man, while found guilty earlier this month, will not be sentenced until January 2015.

Two Nurses Arrested for Patient Abuse in Florida Nursing Home

November 6, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this week in Winter Haven, Florida, two Certified Nurse Assistants were arrested and charged with battery after they were caught on video beating a 76-year-old nursing home patient. According to a report by one local news source, the man is an Alzheimer’s patient and could not effectively communicate what was happening to his family. However, after his family noticed that he had unexplained bruises on his body, they decided to place a “nanny cam” in the man’s room to see what was going on.After 30 days of monitoring the camera, the man’s family were shocked to learn that two of the CNAs charged with caring for their loved one were actually threatening him and physically abusing him. As it turns out, the elderly man has had several other roommates who were moved out by family members, citing staffing problems in the room. One fellow resident’s wife told reporters that the man had actually complained that he was being treated roughly by the weekend staff.

Two Connecticut Nursing Homes Fined for Falling Below Acceptable Standards

October 1, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Connecticut, two nursing homes were fined by the State’s Department of Public Health in connection with various reports of substandard care. According to a report by one local news source, the allegations involved verbal abuse, unmonitored bedsores, and the care of a patient who fell 15 times in just four months.

Evidently, one nursing home was fined $1,650 after it was discovered that residents repeatedly fell while they were unsupervised and alone. In the case of one man who fell 15 times between January 5 and May 18, he was discovered several times on his own in the meal area, lost, at times when meals were not being served.

Nursing home employees had to undergo additional training earlier this year, but that training seemed to have little impact on the quality of care that was being provided to residents. Residents continued to fall off the toilet, in the shower, and in common areas while unsupervised.

Nurse Arrested for the Abuse of a 92-Year-Old Nursing Home Patient

September 5, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier last week in Syracuse, New York, a female nurse was arrested and charged with several crimes related to the alleged abuse of a 92-year-old patient. According to a report by one local news source, the nurse was not only charged with the abuse-related crimes but also with falsifying business records to cover up the abuse.

Evidently, back in March of this year, the nurse was assigned to care for the 92-year-old victim. On March 25, the patient did not want to move from her bed to a wheelchair, despite being asked to do so. The nurse grabbed the patient by her upper arms and forcefully placed her in the wheelchair.

The elderly patient then developed significant bruising. Other nursing home employees noticed the bruising and reported it to management, who assigned the nurse in question to investigate. Of course, rather than admit to abusing the patient, the nurse reported that the elderly woman was suffering from senile pupura, which is the purpling of the skin, a common condition in the elderly.

Arkansas Nursing Home Cited for Abuse and Neglect

August 25, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Earlier this month in Arkansas, a local nursing home and care facility was cited for abuse and neglect of patients by the Department of Health and Human Services. According to a report by one local news source, the nursing home was cited for several failures, including:

Failure to provide proper supervision during patient transfers, resulting in a high instance of patient injuries. In one instance, a patient fell off a mechanical lift and hit her head on the ground.
Inadequate nurse training regarding the equipment that is used to move patients to and from their beds. Employees reported not being instructed at all on how to use this equipment that is crucial to their job.

The Department of Health and Human Services interviewed several employees about the level of training they received to use the mechanical lifts used to move residents. Not one employee told the Department that he or she had been adequately trained to use the lifts. In fact, the only employees who reported receiving any training told the Department that they only received the training after the woman fell off the lift.