Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
Earlier this year in Washington State, a nursing home was fined after it was discovered that the home failed to report resident-on-resident sexual abuse that was occurring in the facility. According to one local news report, the allegations are that one resident in particular sexually abused several other residents on more than one occasion. However, despite mandatory reporting laws, the employees failed to notify the authorities.Evidently, one of the abused residents is a bed-bound dementia patient who has a difficult time speaking, standing, and communicating with others. On one of the days in question, investigators discovered that another resident had snuck into her room, dropped his pants around his ankles, and forced the woman to touch his genitals. When an employee caught the man in the act, she yelled out for him to stop, but no one outside of the nursing home walls knew of the abuse.
The woman’s sister summed up what she believed the nursing home’s duty was to their patients: “You are responsible for this adult. People are paying and they expect you to take good care of their family.”