Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog
Earlier this month in Connecticut, two nursing homes were fined by the State’s Department of Public Health in connection with various reports of substandard care. According to a report by one local news source, the allegations involved verbal abuse, unmonitored bedsores, and the care of a patient who fell 15 times in just four months.
Evidently, one nursing home was fined $1,650 after it was discovered that residents repeatedly fell while they were unsupervised and alone. In the case of one man who fell 15 times between January 5 and May 18, he was discovered several times on his own in the meal area, lost, at times when meals were not being served.
Nursing home employees had to undergo additional training earlier this year, but that training seemed to have little impact on the quality of care that was being provided to residents. Residents continued to fall off the toilet, in the shower, and in common areas while unsupervised.
Other nursing home violations included providing a patient with dementia a sleep aid without a doctor’s orders and verbal abuse of other patients. In one instance, a frustrated nurse exclaimed “Stop that. What are you crazy?” when a resident was attempting to walk backwards with a walker. There was also another report of the same nurse putting a resident in “time out,” which consisted of putting the resident in the medication room with the lights turned off.
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Maryland Nursing Homes
The sad truth is that this kind of inadequate care occurs all over Maryland as a matter of course in many nursing homes. While nursing home employees have a duty to provide a certain level of care to all residents, this duty is too often neglected or pushed aside due to the stresses of the job.
When a resident is injured either by some action or inaction of a nursing home employee, the nursing home can often be held liable by either the victim of the negligence or abuse or by the family of the victim. In most cases, however, the nursing home refuses to admit fault, even when it seems clear-cut to anyone on the outside. That is why it is advisable to have an experienced attorney on your side throughout the process.
Have You Lost a Loved One in a Maryland Nursing Home?
If you have recently lost a loved one in a Maryland nursing home, or you have a loved one who was injured while staying in a Maryland nursing home, you may be entitled to monetary damages to help compensate you for your loss. In many cases, nursing home injuries and deaths are preventable, had proper care been given by the employees. To learn more about the laws in Maryland that permit the victims of nursing home abuse and neglect to recover for their losses, contact a dedicated nursing home abuse attorney today by calling 410-654-3600. You will be able to schedule a free initial consultation with no obligation to continue afterwards.
See More Blog Posts:
New York Nursing Home Questioned After Another Patient Death, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published August 18, 2014.
Nurse Arrested for the Abuse of a 92-Year-Old Nursing Home Patient, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published September 5, 2014.