Nursing Home Abuse

Family Sues Nursing Home for Neglecting Resident’s Penile Cancer

October 27, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a tragic case that our Maryland-based Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawyers have been following, Everett Care & Rehabilitation Center, a Washington state nursing home, is being sued for abuse and negligence, for failing to care for 97-year old resident Charles Bradley—who suffered from an untreated penile infection that allegedly caused his death.

Bradley entered Everett Care & Rehabilitation when he was 93, in the winter of 2004. He lived in the nursing home until two weeks before his death, in March 2008, when Bradley was suddenly taken to the emergency room. Upon admittance to the hospital, doctors discovered a life threatening penile infection that caused his genitals to disintegrate, leaving nothing but a gaping wound. The court documents claim that Bradley’s wound went untreated for months in the nursing facility, and developed into severe penile cancer. Bradley died 18 days after entering hospital.

The lawsuit, filed this month by Bradley’s son in Snohomish County Superior Court, claims that the nursing home allowed the injury to continue to develop for months, without properly caring for Bradley, or reporting the wound to the doctors or family—violating the center’s promise to care and protect for elderly residents. Bradley’s family trusted that the center would provide him with the best care as promised, but they claim the nursing home neglected Bradley’s basic daily needs.

According to the suit, in November 2007, the staff at the nursing home noticed skin breakdown while changing Bradley’s diaper and reported the problem to a care manager, who failed to alert his doctor. Four months after this report, Bradley’s skin continued to break down in his genital region, and he started to lose large amounts of weight. Two weeks before he was taken to the hospital, the staff allegedly reported the skin breakdown one more time, but the managers again ignored the problem. By the time he reached the hospital on March 13, 2008, he was diagnosed with an infected wound, that doctors later diagnosed as severe penile cancer.

Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) began investigating Bradley’s case before his death, and issued a citation to the center for failure to follow the quality of care standards required by law. The DSHS claimed that there was no evidence that the home had ever reported Bradley’s condition to the family, the facility’s doctor, or their social services department—necessary for a life-saving intervention. The center was cited and forced to take corrective action.

Repeat Offender—Nursing Home Charged With Third Wrongful Death Lawsuit This Year

October 16, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Maryland Nursing Home Injury Lawyers have been following a recent case in which Ruxton Health, a local nursing facility in Virginia, has been charged with another wrongful death lawsuit—the third nursing home injury lawsuit from this year.

Bob Wiggins filed the civil lawsuit last week on behalf of his mother, Lorina Wiggins, who had been under Ruxton Heath’s care for a year when she was brought to the emergency room in March 2008 with deeply infected bedsores. Wiggins, who was 84 at the time, died a week later from complications of these wounds.

This nursing home injury lawsuit claims that one of the seven bedsores that Wiggins developed over the year that she was cared for at Ruxton Health, had become so deeply infected that in the course of three months it exposed her ankle bone.

Bob Wiggins claims in the suit that he was never informed about his mother’s infected bedsores that advanced to a deadly degree during final few months of her life. When he was unable to visit the facility in person, he claims that when we could call to check on her, he was incorrectly reassured by the Ruxton staff that she was doing “fine” and had “no problems”.

When Lorina Wiggins entered the nursing home, she was at high risk for skin breakdown, and according to the suit needed specific nursing home care to prevent any sores or lesions from developing, which included being physically moved every few hours.

The lawsuit is seeking $35 million from Ruxton Health and former nursing home administrator Sue Myatt.

The Wiggins case is the third nursing home wrongful death lawsuit brought against Ruxton Health this year. The first wrongful death lawsuit was filed on behalf of Lillian Funn—who died from skin ulcers and multiple nursing home bedsores in 2008.

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Violations

October 12, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawyers, we support the rights for Maryland residents to receive quality care, and be protected with treatment that is free from criminal acts, abuse, and the kind neglect that often results in injury or wrongful death. Under the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, all residents living in nursing homes or long-term care living facilities are entitled to receive this quality of care and attention in an environment that improves and maintains their mental and physical health.

Nursing home abuse and neglect occurs when a facility fails to protect and care for the residents, by paying proper attention to situations that could cause harm or pain. In an effort to educate families and consumers, and protect residents’ rights, the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (NCCNHR) publishes a consumer fact sheet aimed to prevent future nursing home abuse and neglect violations. The NCCNHR reports these common violations:

• Poor positioning of the body, which can lead to bedsores and frozen joints.

• Lack of cleanliness, hygiene, and proper toileting—causing incontinence, falls, bedsores.

• Resident malnutrition and dehydration
• Not assisting residents with walking, which can lead to immobility, and falls
• Abuse from a staff member, visitor, or intruder—which can involve using physical force in feeding, while administering medicine, or while moving a resident

• Ignoring, antagonizing, or depriving a resident of adequate needs, which can lead to emotional and psychological abuse.

• Inappropriate sexual touching or forcing residents into performing sexual acts
Other common nursing home injury violations to be aware of include failure to supervise residents adequately, administer proper medication to each resident, and provide patients who are mentally ill or who have dementia with special attention and care.