Nursing Home Abuse

Children of Hollywood Actor Gene Barry Sue Nursing Home for Elder Abuse and Negligence

December 15, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Baltimore nursing home injury attorneys have been following a recent lawsuit filed by the children of well-known Hollywood film and television actor Gene Barry, who allege that a nursing home neglected to monitor the actor’s health after he suffered a tragic nursing home fall, which led to his death.

Barry was reportedly admitted to Sunrise of Woodland Hills nursing home in stable condition in June of 2009 at the age of 90, even though the home was not equipped to properly care for the actor’s health needs, as he suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Barry’s children allege that their father suffered a devastating nursing home fall at the facility in December of 2009, that left him with major head injuries, brain damage, broken ribs, and an injury to his hip. The lawsuit claims that after Barry’s fall, the nursing home failed to notify a doctor and Barry’s children, and for four days he was neglected while he suffered in great pain. According to Barry’s family, this nursing home fall caused his wrongful death.

Barry’s children state that the nursing home staff, management and corporate officers are liable for nursing home negligence, elder abuse, wrongful death and nursing home fraud, in relation to the tragic incidents that led to Barry’s death. The suit claims that Barry was not properly assessed during the pre-admission process in the home, and the facility staff and management reportedly falsely represented the home to Barry’s children—as Barry was promised a nursing home environment filled with a proper standard of care that he was legally entitled to. The complaint alleges that the facility fell short of this promise, and was not equipped to handle Barry’s needs.

Federal Nursing Home Reform Act Compliance

December 6, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent blog, our nursing home lawyers based in Baltimore, Maryland discussed the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, (NHRA) and the standards and services legally available to residents under the act, to prevent nursing home negligence, abuse, or substandard care.

The main objective of the NHRA is to make sure all nursing home residents are entitled to receive quality care and attention in a nursing home environment that improves and maintains their highest mental and physical health and psychosocial well being. To secure that quality care is provided in homes, the NHRA requires that homes provide each resident with certain services, and a Bill of Rights.

As our Baltimore nursing home attorneys reported previously in a blog, nursing homes receive Medicare and Medicaid payments for long-term resident care only if they receive state certification to be in compliance with the NHRA requirements. To monitor whether or not nursing homes meet the requirements, the act established a certification process that requires each state to conduct surveys in the home that are unannounced and poised at irregular intervals, at least once every 15 months.

The surveys reportedly focus on the residents’ quality of care, rights, quality of life, and the home’s provision of resident services. Targeted surveys are also performed, with resident interviews, and any nursing home negligence or other resident complaints against the home are required to be investigated.

Residents’ Rights under the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987

November 30, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As our Baltimore, Maryland nursing home injury attorneys discussed in a recent blog, under the federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, (NHRA), all residents living in nursing homes are entitled to receive quality care and attention in an environment that improves and maintains their highest physical, mental health and psychosocial well being.

According to AARP, in 1986, Congress ordered a nursing home study to be performed by the Institute of Medicine, IOM. The study reportedly revealed widespread nursing home negligence, abuse, and substandard care. The IOM proposed massive reforms, a large majority of which became law in the passing of the NHRA, which is part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation act of 1987, (OBRA).

The NHRA secures quality care by requiring certain nursing home services to every resident and by establishing standards for these services. Required services include, periodic assessments of each resident, pharmaceutical, rehabilitation, and social services, a care plan for each resident that is comprehensive, and the services of a full-time social worker if there are more than 120 beds in a nursing home.

A Bill of Rights was also established under the NHRA to secure quality care for each resident. Under the Resident’s Bill of Rights, a resident has the right to freedom of nursing home neglect, abuse and mistreatment, and the right to treatment that is free from physical restraints. Under the act, residents and patients also have the right to privacy, the right to be treated with dignity, the right communicate freely, the right to have medical, social, physical and psychological needs accommodated, the right to exercise self determination, and the right to participate in reviewing their own plan, with full disclosure in advance about any changes in treatment, care, or status change within the nursing home. Nursing home residents are also entitled to communicate any problems without experiencing any discrimination or retaliation.

Estate of Sexually Assaulted Resident Sues for Negligence and Abuse

November 26, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Baltimore, Maryland nursing home injury attorneys, we have been following the news of a recent tragedy, where the estate of nursing home resident Mary Speigl, who was living in the Franciscan Villa nursing home, is suing the home for nursing home negligence and abuse, after Speigl was reportedly raped by a male resident last year, and died less than one month later.

According to the lawsuit, Mary Speigl, a 90-year-old nursing home resident in South Milwaukee, was sexually assaulted by a male resident who was well known for being sexually aggressive in the home, and reportedly allowed to wander the nursing home halls unsupervised. The lawsuit alleges the nursing home neglected to monitor the resident, and as a result, the resident allegedly wandered into the elderly woman’s room and sexually assaulted her. Speigl’s estate is suing the nursing home for punitive damages, among other fees.

Nursing home negligence and abuse is a serious problem in nursing homes today, often resulting in patient injury or wrongful death. Our attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers believe that elderly nursing home patients should be given their lawful right to special care, attention and supervision that provides a safe, secure, and protected environment, where they are kept safe from unstable or aggressive residents.

If a nursing home resident becomes injured or dies because the home failed to protect the resident’s health and safety, the nursing home could be held liable for wrongful death or Maryland nursing home negligence. In Baltimore, Maryland, contact our attorneys today.

Family Brings New Charges in ‘Kung Fu judge’ John Phillips’ Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit

November 15, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a blog from earlier this year, our Baltimore nursing home injury attorneys reported on a $10 million nursing home negligence lawsuit filed by the family of a well known Brooklyn judge John Phillips, otherwise known as the “Kung Fu Judge,” for famously making martial arts moves over this 17-year career as a Civil Court Judge in Brooklyn. Prospect Park Residence was accused of treating Phillips with substandard care, neglecting to give Phillips meals that adhered to his diabetic restrictions, and often missing his necessary insulin shots, that allegedly led to his wrongful death.

The Park Slope nursing home has now reportedly been hit with new charges by the family of the Kung Fu Judge, alleging that the nursing home held the frail judge prisoner while he was in their care, by blocking his rights to visitors and receiving mail, and failing to provide proper healthcare to the judge.

According to John O’Hara, a longtime friend of Phillips, and the Phillips’ family attorney, the judge was held against his will by the home for eight months, where he was denied proper medical care and treatment for his diabetes. Judge Phillips reportedly entered the home in good physical shape in 2008, but his health quickly deteriorated, as he was unable to leave, have any guests, or receive mail or phone calls. O’Hara stated that the home originally looked like a nice place for Phillips to reside in, but turned out to be a “death house,” that allegedly led Phillips to his wrongful death at the age of 83.

Civil Jury Finds Nursing Home Negligent for Resident’s Bedsores

November 1, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In recent news that our nursing home abuse attorneys in Baltimore, Maryland have been following, a civil jury has found a nursing home in San Antonio, Texas, negligent, for the death of a resident who developed huge bedsores that became severely infected under the home’s care.

According to My San Antonio news, Mary Koenig filed the lawsuit on behalf of her father, Emilio Gonzalez, who was a resident of Retama Manor Nursing Center from 2001 until 2007, when he died at the age of 76. Gonzalez was reportedly taken to the hospital in August of 2007, after two bedsores became infected, rotting down to the bone. His stay was then extended at a hospital that specialized in wound treatment before his death.

In the trial, Koening’s attorneys alleged that the nursing home was understaffed intentionally to make profits, which would often leave nurses with over 60 nursing home residents to oversee and care for at a time.

Retama Manor Nursing Center was ordered by jurors to pay the estate of Emilio Gonzalez $250,000 for his suffering and physical pan, $150,000 for mental anguish and pain and over $190,000 in medical bills. The nursing home neglect verdict is expected to be reduced, however, due to Texas tort reform caps put into place in 2003.

NY Nursing Home Faces Class Action Lawsuit for Negligence and Abuse

October 29, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A class action lawsuit has been filed this week against four New York State nursing homes and the company that operates them, Legacy Health Care, for depriving patients of their legal nursing home rights.

As our Baltimore-based attorneys reported in a blog, in March of this year, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) engaged in an investigation into nursing home neglect and abuse using surveillance cameras in nursing homes in the state of New York, to ensure that residents were receiving proper nursing home care that was free from abuse and neglect.

After the Attorney General’s seven-week investigation, eight workers who were employed by Williamsville Suburban Nursing Home were arrested for charges regarding the quality of patient care. The investigation revealed that the nursing home staff neglected to properly transfer residents to and from the bed with a mechanical lift, increasing the chances for nursing home injury and falls. The footage also showed that the staff neglected to treat patients for wounds, check for vital signs, or administer insulin. The resident’s medical records were also reportedly falsified to cover up the home’s consistent neglect.

According to the class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of all residents who have lived at Legacy Health Care from the year 2007 until now, Legacy is being accused of endangering the welfare of nursing home residents through failure to provide residents with their legally entitled nursing home right to quality healthcare, proper staffing, and an existence that is dignified.

Man Pleads Guilty to Nursing Home Rape of Elderly California Resident

October 22, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland nursing home abuse attorneys, we recently read about the developments in a nearly decade-old case involving the abuse and rape of a 94-year-old female resident at a Palo Alto, California nursing home in 2002.

According to the Mercury News, 43-year-old Roberto Recendes recently pleaded guilty to one count of elder abuse, one count of sexual penetration by force, and also pleased guilty to an enhancement of inflicting bodily injury. Recendes is expected to be sentenced to 17 years in prison in December.

This 2002 California nursing home abuse case reportedly received national attention, when high school student Jorge Hernandez was arrested by the police in Palo Alto, and made to confess to the crimes. Hernandez was later cleared, due to DNA evidence.

In 2004, when Recendes was convicted of domestic violence charges, his DNA sample was taken. It was then later matched to the DNA found at the nursing home rape crime scene.

At the preliminary hearing for Recendes, an old girlfriend identified jewelry belonging to Recendes that was discovered at the crime scene of the rape, and a crime laboratory expert stated that two hairs found on the nursing home abuse victim’s blankets matched with Recendes’ DNA.

Legislature Aims to Eliminate Arbitration Clauses in Nursing Homes to Protect Seniors

October 18, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As our Baltimore nursing home attorneys reported in a recent blog, fighting forced arbitration in nursing homes has long been a problem, as many residents and families unknowingly sign away their right to seek justice when filling out complicated contracts for long-term resident care.

According to a recent report by the American Association for Justice (AAJ), systemic nursing home abuse and neglect is not revealed in many homes due to nursing home arbitration clauses found in the fine print of admission contracts—that residents and their families rarely see, not realizing that they are signing away their rights to access court.

The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009 was introduced last year by Representative Linda Sanchez of California, and would eliminate forced arbitration clauses in nursing home and long-term care contracts. The act would reportedly provide that a pre-dispute arbitration agreement between a long-term care facility or nursing home and a resident or family member acting on the resident’s behalf, would not be valid or specifically enforceable.

Abuse of Elders in Nursing Homes Revealed by Civil Justice System

October 13, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a new study released recently by the American Association for Justice (AAJ), the civil justice system was found to be the most effective method for revealing nursing home abuse by corporate-run homes, as well as uncovering insurance companies who take advantage and even target elderly residents.

Our Baltimore, Maryland nursing home abuse attorneys have been following the report, entitled, “Standing up For Seniors: How the Civil Justice System Protects Elderly Americans.” The study claims that there are 1.5 million seniors living in nursing facilities, many of which are run by large corporation chains as investments, focusing on profit and not care. The AAJ report also reveals that many nursing home residents have experienced severe nursing home abuse and neglect, leading to wrongful death from infections or dehydration, caused by improper resident care. The report on seniors reportedly reveals how litigation has helped residents and families ensure that corporations are held accountable for this neglect and abuse, and reveal the systemic problem in homes today.

The AAJ’s report also finds insurance companies accountable for taking advantage of elderly residents and senior citizens. In one case, a former farmer from South Dakota, reportedly enlisted long-term health care insurance in the 1990’s. After moving into a nursing facility, his benefits were reportedly severely reduced, even thought he paid his premium every month. The insurance company reportedly declared that his healthcare was no longer medically necessary.

Thousands of elderly individuals have reportedly experienced similar treatment as insurance companies have wrongly estimated rates of mortality, and found ways to deny seniors’ claims and terminate benefits.

According to the report, while litigation has helped to stop these corporate practices, and systemic nursing home abuse and neglect, many offenses are still not reportedly revealed due to the nursing home arbitration clauses embedded in contracts, that residents and families of the residents rarely see, not realizing that their rights to access court are being taken away from them. Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA) introduced legislation last year aiming to eliminate forced arbitration in nursing home contracts.