Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
In a recent Maryland nursing home lawyer blog, our attorneys discussed the prevalence of nursing home abuse in facilities across the country, and how families are fighting back by installing hidden cameras to ensure the safe and proper treatment of their loved ones.
In a recent nursing home abuse incident, the son of a 78-year-old resident installed a hidden camera in April of this year, after he feared that his mother was being mistreated at MetroHealth Medical Center’s nursing home care facilities in Ohio.
According to WKYC- Channel 3 News, Steve Piskor felt that his mother, who suffers from advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, was being abused by the staff. Piskor contacted administrators to discuss marks on her face, and the fact that when he approached her, she would raise her hands to protect her face in a fearful manner. He also reported incidents of negligence, after he found the heat off and the window open in his mother’s room in the middle of winter.
After MetroHealth reportedly ignored his complaints of abuse, Piskor installed the camera to prove that his mother was experiencing nursing home abuse and mistreatment. Although the camera was hidden inside a fan, Piskor put up a sign warning workers that a camera had been installed in the room.
Piskor said that it took only a few days to capture abuse—showing a nursing aide striking his mother’s face, violently shoving her into bed and the wheelchair, and pushing her face into the wall. Other footage reportedly showed another nurse’s aide hitting his mother, while another nursing home employee turned a blind eye to the abuse. Piskor kept the hidden camera rolling for two months to ensure that MetroHealth wouldn’t dismiss the nursing home abuse.
After reviewing the video, MetroHealth fired two nurse’s aides for nursing home abuse, and disciplined another employee for failing to report the abuse that she witnessed. One nursing home aide was charged with felony assault, and the Department of Health cited the nursing home for failing to prevent abuse and mistreatment from occurring in the home.
Under the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, all residents of nursing homes and healthcare facilities are legally entitled to receive quality care and attention in a protected environment that improves and maintains the quality of their mental and physical health. If a Maryland nursing home resident is being abused or neglected in the home, the facility could be held liable for Maryland nursing home negligence or abuse. Contact Lebowitz & Mzhen today for a free consultation about your nursing home rights.
Investigator: Hidden camera catches nursing home abuse, WKYC- Channel 3 News, June 28, 2011
Related Web Resources:
What is Abuse: Why Should I Care About Elder Abuse?, National Center on Elder Abuse, NCEA
What is Elder Abuse?, Department of Health & Human Services: Administration on Aging
Frequently Asked Questions, National Center on Elder Abuse, NCEA
Related Blog Posts:
Nanny Cam Catches Nursing Home Abuse—Dementia Patient Forced to Stand Topless, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, April 8, 2011
Nursing Home Staff Tries to Initiate Sexual Behavior Between Two Dementia Residents for Amusement, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, April 6, 2011