Nursing Home Abuse

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.

Hollywood Legend Mickey Rooney Testifies in Congress About Elder Abuse

March 30, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Maryland nursing home abuse attorneys recently discussed different types of elder abuse, plaguing aging victims in nursing homes across the country. According to the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, all nursing home residents are entitled to freedom of abuse, neglect and misappropriation of funds. Elder neglect and abuse are also considered criminal acts regardless of whether they occur inside or outside of a nursing home.

Earlier this month, legendary Hollywood actor Mickey Rooney gave a passionate testimonial in Congress about the problem of elder abuse, affecting 3.5 million victims in this country every year—including movie stars like Rooney.

Rooney, who is now 90-years old, testified before a special Senate committee considering legislation to curb senior abuse, telling the committee about the main forms of elder abuse and neglect–physical and emotional abuse, where elders don’t get the help or treatment they pay for at nursing homes, and financial abuse, where an elder’s life savings can be stolen or swindled, often by people who are closest to them.

In Rooney’s case, he made shocking allegations against his stepson and stepdaughter, claiming that while they were in charge of providing care of their mother and Rooney, they embezzled $400,000 of his life savings, took his Oscar and Emmys, put a lock on his refrigerator and left him with one pair of shoes.

In February, a Los Angeles judge extended a restraining order against his Rooney’s stepson, alleging that he threatened, harassed and intimidated him into signing his assets over to him, and that he prevented him from leaving his home. Last week, a settlement was reached between Rooney and his stepson and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz approved the provisions of Rooney’s voluntary agreement to make his attorney permanent conservator of the actor and Rooney’s estate.

Types of Elder Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Homes

March 8, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Baltimore, Maryland nursing home injury attorneys we have recently discussed the topic of elder abuse in a nursing home abuse blog, and the prevalence of abuse in health care facilities and communities across the country, unlawfully causing harm, personal injury, and even death to older and vulnerable adults.

According to the NCEA and the NCCNHR, types of elder abuse include emotional, physical, verbal, sexual, and psychological abuse, as well as neglect, intimidation, abandonment, and exploitation.

• Physical abuse includes inflicting physical pain or injury on an elder, or the threat of inflicting pain. Physical abuse also includes hitting, pinching, slapping, shoving, and force-feeding, along with rough handling during nursing home care and treatment, when being moved, cared for, fed or given medicine. Physical abuse can also result from a nursing home staff member or an outside intruder or visitor.

• Emotional or psychological abuse inflicts mental pain, anguish, or distress on an elderly person or nursing home resident through verbal and non-verbal acts, which includes ridiculing or cursing a resident, threats of punishment or deprivation, rejection or isolation.

• Sexual abuse is non-consensual sexual contact where a resident is tricked, forced, threatened or coerced into performing acts of a sexual nature.

• Neglect is the failure to provide elderly adults with basic needs, such as proper health care and medical treatment, shelter, protection or food, which can result in conditions like dehydration, malnourishment, incontinence, pressure sores, incontinence, depression and immobilization.

Elder Abuse—a Rampant Problem in Nursing Homes

March 2, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Elder abuse, as our Baltimore nursing home abuse attorneys have reported in a related Maryland elder abuse blog, is a term used to refer to any treatment by nursing home staff, a health care provider, or any other person that is negligent, intentionally causing harm or a great risk of harm to an elderly adult who is vulnerable.

According to the NCEA, research indicates that more than one in ten elders experience abuse, with only one in five reported every year. The White House reports that every year approximately 700,000 to 3.5 million elderly Americans are abused, exploited and neglected. Studies show that elders are often abused by the very people that they trust the most, like spouses, family members, personal acquaintances or professionals in a position of trust.

According to the NCEA and the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (NCCNHR), types of elder abuse include physical, emotional, verbal, mental, psychological, and sexual abuse, as wall as exploitation, neglect, abandonment, or intimidation.

Elder abuse can happen anywhere, in nursing homes, healthcare facilities or in the community, and is a problem that remains to be under recognized, causing elders to experience consequences that can lead to personal injury or even wrongful death.

“Granny Cam” Footage Captures Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect—Shuts Down Home

February 3, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent Maryland nursing home lawyer blog, our attorneys discussed the use of hidden cameras or “Granny cams” in nursing homes, and how one hidden camera investigation led to the arrest of twenty-two healthcare workers, after the video showed rampant nursing home neglect and abuse.

A residential care home in California has recently been shut down after the grandson of an elderly resident captured footage on his small “granny cam” that reportedly showed his grandmother being abused by the staff, treatment that according to the resident’s family led to her wrongful death while she received care in the elderly home.

Shortly after Kyong Hui Duncan moved into Fair Oaks elderly care, her grandson installed a camera by the bed to ensure that his grandmother did not experience any nursing home abuse or negligence. But when he visited his grandmother, Seah Suh would often find the camera unplugged.

After Duncan died, Suh reportedly discovered footage that captured Duncan being moved to and from her wheelchair in a violent manner, with abusive shaking by a staffer. The staff members are also being accused of improperly restraining Duncan, and failing to care for her in a fast enough manner after she had fallen. After seeing the footage from the “Granny Cam” the California Department of Social Services investigated the home, ordering that the home’s operators close their doors. The state is also reportedly moving to permanently revoke the home’s nursing home license.

Nursing Assistants Sentenced to 2 Years For Taking Derogatory Photos Of Helpless Residents

January 27, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Baltimore County nursing home attorneys were stunned to see the recent details revealed in a nursing home abuse sentence from this month, where two women working at a Tennessee nursing facility were given a two-year prison sentence for engaging in the abuse of elders by taking video and photos of severely disabled residents on a cell phone in degrading and helpless positions.

According to the Knox News Sentinel, two Pigeon Forge Care and Rehabilitation Center nursing assistants, Mary Ann Burgess and April Longmire, 52 and 37, were indicted after the TBI, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found that the two certified nursing assistants took photos at the center from 2007-2009 that were, according to Judge Richard Vance, the Sevier County Circuit Court Judge, shocking, offensive and reprehensible.

The duties of the two women included changing, dressing and feeding adults in the home who were severely disabled, from mild dementia to severe Alzheimer’s disease. According to the TBI, the photos were discovered after a cell phone was turned in and administrators tried to figure out who the missing phone belonged to. After TBI interviews, it was determined that Longmire was the owner of the phone, who is also stated to be one who instigated taking the photos.

Photos that were taken by Burgess and Longmire reportedly include images of naked elderly residents in helpless positions lying on the floor, in the bathroom, or in their beds, as well as abusive and degrading shots of some residents attempting to eat while food fell from their mouths.

Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Nursing Home Rape of Elderly CA Resident

January 26, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In recent news, a 43-year-old man was sentenced to 17 years in California state prison for the 2002 assault and rape of a woman residing in a Palo Alto, California nursing home.

As our Baltimore, Maryland employment attorneys previously reported on this case in a blog, Roberto Recendes pleaded guilty in October of last year to one count of sexual penetration by force, one count of elder abuse, and also pleased guilty to a penalty enhancement for inflicting bodily injury on the elderly woman.

Recendes was only linked to the 2002 crime when a DNA sample was taken from him after he was convicted of domestic violence in 2004. Two years after the conviction, his DNA was matched to the sample taken at the nursing home rape crime scene. In 2002, the case drew national attention, after a high school student was arrested by the Palo Alto police, and reportedly forced to confess to the nursing home abuse and rape crimes. The student was later exonerated of the crimes due to the DNA evidence.

As our Prince George’s County nursing home attorneys have stated in a previous blog, under the federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, residents have the right to live in a nursing home environment that is safe, and provides quality care and attention that improves and maintains their highest mental and physical well being, and is free from nursing home abuse and negligence.

Nursing Home Owner Pays Family $3.5M For Neglecting Resident’s Penile Cancer

January 25, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A 3.5 million nursing home negligence settlement has been reached in the lawsuit against Washington-based Everett Care & Rehabilitation, that our Prince George’s County nursing home injury lawyers discussed in a recent blog, where the family of 97-year-old nursing home resident Charles Bradley sued the home for abuse and negligence after the resident tragically suffered from penile cancer that allegedly led to his wrongful death.

According to the lawsuit, in 2007, a nurse told the home’s care manager that Bradley was experiencing skin breakdown on his penis that needed treatment. The care manager allegedly neglected to tell the doctor about Bradley, who had been a resident since 2004. Four months after the initial report, Bradley started to lose weight due to an infection of the wound, yet allegedly continued to receive no care and remained untreated.

By the time Bradley reached the emergency room in March 2008, the doctors reportedly discovered a gaping skin wound and a severe infection that had led to the total disintegration of his genitalia. The court documents claim that Bradley’s skin wound was neglected and went untreated for months in the nursing facility, developing into life threatening penile cancer. Bradley died just over two weeks after entering hospital.

Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) reportedly began investigating Bradley’s case before his death, and cited the center for failure to provide a federal standard of care for Bradley as required by law.

The owner of Everett nursing home reportedly agreed to pay Bradley’s family $3.5 million, after the family sued Everett Care & Rehabilitation in 2009 for nursing home abuse and neglect for failing to protect and care for the elderly and for failing to provide Bradley with his lawful right to great nursing home care as well as his daily basic nursing home needs—causing serious harm to Bradley that allegedly resulted in his wrongful death.