Articles Posted in Nursing Home Abuse

Maryland nursing homes typically include an arbitration agreement requirement amongst hundreds of papers that residents and their families review and sign upon admission. These agreements purport to reduce the likelihood that the parties need to be embroiled in lengthy legal disputes. However, the crux of these documents stands to protect the nursing home in cases of allegations of abuse or neglect. In many cases, Maryland nursing home abuse victims and their families will try and invalidate an arbitration clause in order to proceed with a civil legal claim. However, these cases present two-fold challenges; first, the plaintiff must establish that the arbitration clause is invalid, and then they must still prove negligence in the courts. A skilled nursing home abuse attorney can help families successfully work their way through these daunting claims.

Families of nursing home residents continue to fight against the deceptive admissions process that many nursing and assisted living facilities to engage in. For instance, a recent article described a situation where a woman’s mother passed away following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. The woman discovered that her mother had suffered a broken shoulder without any x-rays or treatment. Further, medical documentation revealed that her mother fell at least nine times and suffered multiple urinary tract infections. These injuries led to her mother losing nearly 20 pounds. In response, the woman attempted to file a nursing home negligence lawsuit against the facility, but she was met with a pre-dispute binding arbitration agreement document. She is now encouraging families to assert their rights to decline to sign these agreements.

Are Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements Enforceable?

Lawsuits asking the court to compel arbitration are generally viewed as “favored actions.” As such, courts will lean towards enforcing arbitration agreements. Generally, the court will look to whether there is a valid agreement to compel arbitration. If so, the parties are bound by the terms of the agreement. However, despite these challenges, an attorney can help families overcome these inherently unfair and often deceptive agreements.

Trusting the care of our loved ones to a nursing home is always easier when you have faith in the facilities and staff members. As family members and loved ones in Maryland age, they can sometimes require more care than is available at home, making nursing homes a necessary step to allow them to age gracefully. Unfortunately, due to recent events and hiring levels, many nursing homes are understaffed and or under-resourced. Any location that your loved ones go to must be fully prepared to take care of their physical, emotional, and mental health.

According to a recent news article, nearly a third of all nursing homes are rated as below average. Reasons for below-average ratings can range from overcrowding to substandard care or worse. It is important to research and look out for certain common issues that can be found in nursing homes throughout Maryland. Here are three issues to consider before selecting a nursing home for your family member or loved one:

Staff availability. Not only is it vital to verify that the nursing home you select is staffed at an appropriate level, but nursing homes offer a variety of staff availability levels throughout the day, ranging from around-the-clock care to less hands-on shift times. Additionally, good long-term care locations will offer registered nurses on duty and licensed practical nurses available on request.

As Americans age, the instances of mental and psychological illnesses and adverse events tend to increase. Mental health care can be a delicate challenge in any case, but may be even more problematic in nursing homes. Residents with certain psychological or behavioral issues may be diagnosed and treated for a more severe mental illness without medical justification. Although the reasons for these misdiagnoses may vary, the U.S. The Federal Government, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recently released guidelines to prevent this misdiagnosis and treatment in facilities that accept federal money.

What Leads to Misdiagnoses in Maryland Nursing Homes?

The reasons that nursing home residents may be misdiagnosed with a severe mental illness vary, but the most concerning reasons are based on behavior control. Anecdotal evidence from nursing home employees has suggested that a difficult resident could be more easily controlled by diagnosing them with schizophrenia and administering them strong antipsychotic medications. This method of behavior management is unethical and illegal, but many nursing home residents and their families are not aware of the misdiagnoses that are occurring. In the past two decades, the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia among nursing home residents has drastically increased. This appears to be the result of a pattern of misdiagnosis and overmedication of patients.

When we send our loved ones to a nursing home or they choose to head to one on their own, we trust that the staff at these facilities will take care of them as we would. This, however, is not always the case. Unfortunately, some nursing home facilities can often be abusive toward its residents—and create situations dangerous for the physical, mental, emotional, and financial health our loved ones.

According to a recent news report, more than a dozen residents had to be relocated amid allegations of abuse at an assisted living facility. Based on an investigation, reports from as far back as 2018 showed previous rule violations such as strong urine odors at the facility, a failure of the facility’s staff to store perishable foods properly, and a failure to properly supervise a resident with dementia. Following recent allegations of elder abuse at the facility, state regulators shut the nursing home down. According to local authorities, criminal charges are possible, but nothing has been filed yet. Details into the allegations and the health of the residents who had to be transferred to other facilities remains under investigation.

What Are the Signs of Elder Abuse?

Because abuse takes many different forms, the signs of abuse can also vary. Some things to look out for include your loved one suddenly becoming isolated from friends and family, unexplained burns, scars, or bruises, new signs of depression and confusion, preventable conditions such as bed sores, or recent changes in spending patterns.