Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing Home Worker Steals Resident’s Pain Patch for Pleasure

June 30, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to recent nursing home neglect news that our Charles County, Maryland nursing home attorneys have been following, a worker in a Saint Louis nursing home was found last week to have removed the Fentanyl drug pain patch from an 87-year-old resident, in order to take the drug herself.

Kathleen Lung, the 41-year-old nursing home worker, reportedly took the patch to ingest the pain medication for personal use. Fetanyl is an opioid pain relieving medication, often administered with patches, that as our nursing home abuse attorneys discussed in a recent Baltimore medication error blog is over 100 times stronger than morphine and should only be administered to opioid-tolerant people who have long-term and chronic pain, like cancer patients. The drug reportedly has effects on the body that are similar to heroin.

The other staff members reportedly noticed the removal of the nursing home resident’s patch and quickly replaced it. Lung was charged with criminal abuse and neglect of an elderly person, along with unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Our Maryland nursing home attorneys reported on a similar case of nursing home abuse and neglect recently after a nurse’s assistant was found to have removed medication from a fentanyl medication pain patch on a 92-year-old nursing home resident—also for personal drug use. The nurse’s aide poked holes with a pin in the resident’s fentanyl patch, and reportedly squeezed the drug out of the patch, stealing the drug by licking his fingers.

“Granny Cam” Footage Documents Nursing Home Abuse of Alzheimer Resident

June 28, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent Maryland nursing home lawyer blog, our attorneys discussed the prevalence of nursing home abuse in facilities across the country, and how families are fighting back by installing hidden cameras to ensure the safe and proper treatment of their loved ones.

In a recent nursing home abuse incident, the son of a 78-year-old resident installed a hidden camera in April of this year, after he feared that his mother was being mistreated at MetroHealth Medical Center’s nursing home care facilities in Ohio.

According to WKYC- Channel 3 News, Steve Piskor felt that his mother, who suffers from advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, was being abused by the staff. Piskor contacted administrators to discuss marks on her face, and the fact that when he approached her, she would raise her hands to protect her face in a fearful manner. He also reported incidents of negligence, after he found the heat off and the window open in his mother’s room in the middle of winter.

After MetroHealth reportedly ignored his complaints of abuse, Piskor installed the camera to prove that his mother was experiencing nursing home abuse and mistreatment. Although the camera was hidden inside a fan, Piskor put up a sign warning workers that a camera had been installed in the room.

Piskor said that it took only a few days to capture abuse—showing a nursing aide striking his mother’s face, violently shoving her into bed and the wheelchair, and pushing her face into the wall. Other footage reportedly showed another nurse’s aide hitting his mother, while another nursing home employee turned a blind eye to the abuse. Piskor kept the hidden camera rolling for two months to ensure that MetroHealth wouldn’t dismiss the nursing home abuse.

Florida Nursing Homes Investigated for Severe Abuse and Negligence

June 3, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to a shocking Miami Herald expose that our Hartford County, Maryland nursing home abuse attorneys have been following, nursing homes throughout Florida are being accused of horrific cases of elder abuse and neglect. The series of articles in the Herald highlight an alleged breakdown in the state’s nursing home enforcement system—leaving thousands of residents in conditions that are both dangerous and decrepit.

The Herald spent a year examining assisted living facilities and found that as the number of homes have increased to accommodate the state’s major elderly population increase, Florida has failed to protect the very people it was meant to safeguard. Although the number of new nursing homes has totaled 550 in the last five years, the state has reportedly dropped necessary home inspections by 33%, allowing homes with the worst abuse and neglect offenses to remain open.

Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration oversees 2,850 facilities, and has allegedly neglected to monitor nursing home operators for abuse or neglect, investigate nursing home reports citing dangerous practices, and shut down the homes with the worst offenders—many of which lack necessary staffing, disregard nursing home regulations and deprive their residents of the most basic needs, like food, water and safety.

The investigation found that nearly once every month, residents die from nursing home abuse and neglect. In one incident, a 75-year-old dementia resident, who was at high risk for nursing home wandering, walked away from the Pinellas County nursing home, and reportedly had his body torn apart by alligators. In another home, a 71-year-old resident with a mental illness was burned so severely from being left in a bathtub that was carelessly filled with scalding hot water, that he died from a result of the burns.

Many nursing homes, according to the article, are also regularly caught using restraints that are against the law, including ropes and powerful tranquilizers. In one assisted living home a 74-year-old woman was bound for over six hours, with restraints allegedly wrapped so painfully tight that the device her tore into her flesh, causing her death.

Nursing Home Aide Receives Prison Sentence for Sexual Abuse

May 31, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to recent nursing home abuse news that our Frederick County, Maryland nursing home attorneys have been following, a New York nursing home aide will reportedly spend up to seven years in prison, after being charged the with sexual abuse of a nursing home resident.

The resident, a 61-year old stroke victim, reportedly entered the home after becoming partially paralyzed and unable to speak—due to the stroke. The home considered the resident ‘completely dependent’ and assigned a male nurse to tend to her in the midnight shift.

The nurse, Jose Ramos, was reportedly in the resident’s room when another nurse noticed that the call light came on three different times. The nurse entered the room, and discovered Ramos sexually abusing the resident.

Although the nursing home abuse victim was not able to speak, she testified at the trial by pointing to letters that an interpreter read, in order to spell the words that she could not articulate.

Ramos was sentenced to seven years in state prison for sex abuse, endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person and endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person. According to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Sex Crimes and Elder Abuse Units are committed to seeking justice for victims of elder abuse and sexual violence—especially when nursing home trust is violated with vulnerable elders.

French Family Plans Lawsuit in Quadrangle ‘Nanny Cam’ Nursing Home Abuse Case

May 26, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent Baltimore, Maryland nursing home lawyer blog, our attorneys discussed a shocking case of nursing home abuse, that was only discovered after a family installed a hidden camera after witnessing their terrified mother speak of abuse. What they found was harrowing evidence that their mother, a dementia patient, was being physically and emotionally abused by the nursing facility staff, and even made to stand topless during the assault and harassment.

In related news, the nursing home abuse victim, 78-year-old Lois McCallister is now living with her daughter Mary French and her husband. French has recently come forward, speaking for the first time about the abuse case, and how devastating it was to see her beloved mother be abused and beaten.

Last month, as our Prince George’s County nursing home attorneys reported, three nursing home employees from the home, Quadrangle in Haverford, were arrested, on charges ranging from assault, to negligence and misconduct. Mark Ordan, the Chief Operating Officer of Sunrise Senior Living, Inc., who operates Quadrangle, claims that this nursing home abuse was an isolated incident, and that he has been cooperative with the authorities.

French claims that if Ordan would have been cooperative, the home would have reported the early abuse complaints to the Department of Public Welfare in Pennsylvania. But instead, Sunrise ignored McCallister’s initial complaints of abuse, citing her Alzheimer’s disease as the issue. French plans to file a nursing home abuse lawsuit to change how Sunrise treats future nursing home abuse complaints. French hopes that when the next family reports abuse, Sunrise won’t blame it on dementia.

Nanny Cam Catches Nursing Home Abuse—Dementia Patient Forced to Stand Topless

April 8, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Maryland nursing home abuse attorneys have been watching the shocking news development this week of yet another nursing home abuse incident, where 22-year old nursing home worker Samirah Traynham and two co-workers from Delaware County were arrested after being caught abusing a 78-year old patient on a hidden camera.

According to Philly.com, Lois McCallister, a dementia patient of Quadrangle Assisted Living Facility in Haverford, repeatedly told her family that she was being slapped, punched and picked on by the nursing facility staff. The family discussed the nursing home abuse with the home administration, and the home reportedly blamed the claims on McCallister’s dementia, calling the allegations unfounded.

After discovering bruises on McCallister’s hand and wrist on a later visit, the family secretly installed a hidden camera or ‘nanny cam” in a clock, to record McCallister’s treatment at the home.

The video reportedly showed McCallister being hit in the face and head while being dressed, along with other abuse. In another reported video, Traynham and two other workers laughed and mocked the victim’s dementia for 12 minutes while McCallister stood in front of them, with no clothes from the waist up, trying to leave the room. Another employee reportedly danced on McCallister’s bed post like a stripper, or pole-dancer, while one of the other employees tried to pull on McCallister’s ears, knowing they were sensitive from previously having hearing aids.

Traynham was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment, neglect of a person who is care-dependent, recklessly endangering another person, and criminal conspiracy, and according to the assistant district attorney, addition arrests at the home are expected.

Nursing Home Staff Tries to Initiate Sexual Behavior Between Two Dementia Residents for Amusement

April 6, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As our attorneys discussed in a recent Baltimore nursing home abuse blog, elder abuse is a huge and growing problem in the United States, with more than one in ten elders experiencing abuse and only one in five reported every year. According to the U.S. Government, approximately 700,000 to 3.5 million elderly Americans are abused, exploited and neglected in this country every year.

The New York State Department of Health released new documents last week detailing a disturbing nursing home abuse case where employees in Wheatfield nursing home harassed and abused two elderly residents suffering from dementia by placing them in the same bed together and trying to convince them that they were husband and wife—to allegedly spur inappropriate interaction for their own amusement.

According to the report, Gloria Maxwell, an employee of the home, and Alicia Clemens, a certified nursing assistant, placed an elderly female resident who suffers from schizophrenia and mild retardation, into a room occupied by an elderly resident and his actual wife. The elderly man, who suffers from dementia and is reported to be legally blind, is described in the documents as being occasionally prone to sexually inappropriate behavior. By placing the female resident in his bed, Clemens and Maxwell reportedly engaged in nursing home abuse by attempting to convince the two residents that they were married in order to solicit physical interaction—providing sexually provocative commentary, and taking cell phone photographs of the two.

According to the 10-month investigation conducted by the health department, the evidence of the case did not rise to the level of criminal activity, but was considered inappropriate interaction with residents, and the nurses aides were immediately fired and fined after the incident, and are not eligible to work at any other nursing home in the state.

Nursing Home Fall leads to Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Motion Picture & Television Fund

April 4, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In recent news, that our nursing home injury attorneys based in Baltimore, Maryland have been following, the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s nursing home is being sued for negligence by the family of a nursing home resident who reportedly died after suffering from a nursing home fall.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the family claims that the nursing staff failed to properly care for and monitor Carrie Delay, an 89-year old patient at the home who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and was bound to a wheelchair. Delay reportedly fell in the stairwell between the first and second floors of the nursing home, fracturing her spine, along with sustaining other critical nursing home injures that her family allege caused her death the following week.

The nursing home is being accused of nursing home neglect, elderly abuse, and wrongful death, and the family’s suit is seeking unspecified punitive damages.

The Carrie Delay incident was reportedly the most serious to date at the facility, which has faced repeated complaints from family members that the quality of elder care has diminished since the fund announced that the nursing home and hospital would shut down. The home has also received two fines from the Department of Public Health for failure to prevent resident falls and serious injuries.

The Importance of Reporting Nursing Home and Elder Abuse

April 2, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Maryland elder abuse lawyers recently discussed the vastly under reported problem of elder financial abuse among vulnerable seniors across the country, that according to a recent study estimated financial losses of at least $2.6 billion per year.

Under the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, it is a violation of Federal and State law for any person, including nursing home facility staff, visitors, facility volunteers, guardians or other residents to engage in nursing home abuse or neglect.

Experts are stressing the importance of public awareness of elder abuse and neglect in communities, as our related Baltimore nursing home neglect blog recently discussed and how important it is for healthcare providers, families, bankers, or even church members—anyone who might be privy to information that could indicate that a senior is being abused physically, emotionally or financially–to come forward and report the abuse.

According to the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (NCCNHR) anyone can and should report abuse and neglect. If a nursing home resident tells you they are being abused:

• Always believe the resident and report the allegations immediately to prevent any other suffering by the resident.

• Many state laws require the reporting of nursing home abuse and neglect–find out what your state laws.

When filing a report, make sure to put your report in writing, date it and keep a copy of it. Include as much evidence as possible about the abuse and remember to include:

• The name, age and address of the victim. Also include the name of nursing home facility and the name of the people responsible for the care, along with the person who you believe is responsible for abuse or neglect.
• Include the nature of the abuse, and the extent of harm as well as any physical signs of elder abuse. If there were any previous incidents of abuse, write down every detail of what happened.
• Remember to add the location of the place that the incident happened, and the time and date of the incident.
• Always include as much background information as possible to help an investigator to address the incident and situation quickly.

Elder Abuse—the Financial Exploitation of Seniors and Nursing Home Residents

April 1, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent Baltimore nursing home abuse and neglect blog post, our lawyers discussed the Mickey Rooney’s recent role as elder abuse advocate, in his passionate testimonial before Congress last month, sharing his own experiences of elder abuse, and how the 90-year old was left without food, medication and had $400,000 of his life savings embezzled by a stepson and stepdaughter.

As Rooney told the Senate subcommittee, elderly financial abuse is a huge problem that happens to 3.5 million Americans every year, including him. According to MSNBC, a 2009 study performed by MetLife Mature Market Institute estimated that financial losses from elder abuses across the country are around $2.6 billion annually at the least. The study found that financial abuse of seniors is a hugely under reported problem with only one in six cases ever reported.

Elder financial abuse can take place anywhere—at a nursing home or healthcare facility, where a nurse or staff member abuses a resident by gaining money, jewelry, personal possessions or even power of attorney, or within families, where certain members feel they have entitlement to their parents, or grandparents’ money and estate and find opportunities to take control of it. Older and vulnerable people are also often taken advantage of financially by complete strangers, or con artists who befriend older people through random contacts, the Internet, or even over the phone.

According to Paul Greenwood, the head of San Diego County District Attorney’s Office-elder abuse prosecutions unit, elder abuse takes place in every community and could get worse in the next five to ten years as the baby boomer generation ages. Greenwood claims that in order to find out about abusers in the community, it requires important people like bankers, healthcare providers and church members to step up and report any suspected abuse that might indicate the financial exploitation of an elderly person or nursing home resident.