Articles Posted in nursing home abuse

In 2008, a man working as an in-home caregiver for an elderly couple in their early 80s suffered a psychotic break.

Three months into his assignment, the 6-foot-6-inch, 220-pound aide went ballistic. He threw food all over the kitchen. There were smatterings all over the wall, the appliances, the counter tops. When the husband went in to see what was going on, the caregiver attacked him. He threw liquid hand sanitizer all over the man’s head. He then urinated on the wife’s head. She had Parkinson’s disease, and was unable to care for herself. The aide then doused the couple’s carpet, furniture and family pictures with liquid soap.

The aide was later arrested and convicted for felony first-degree abuse of a vulnerable adult and sentenced to one year in jail. His name recently resurfaced again in the case of Carl v. Muskegon Cnty., in which the former aide is suing the doctor who treated him in jail, arguing the physician’s assertion he was not psychotic delayed treatment critical to his well-being.
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When police in Daytona Beach received credible information regarding the alleged sexual abuse of an elderly nursing home resident, authorities sought information directly from facility staff.

Detectives expected the nursing home administrators would be eager to find the source of the alleged abuse, not only to discover who may have abused the victim, but also to prevent further potential incidents of abuse. They would soon learn, however, that administrators were seemingly more concerned with shielding their employer from liability than in protecting patients.

Pompano Beach nursing home abuse lawyers are not shocked by this revelation, given the growing tendency of for-profit facilities to adopt internal policies that preserve their bottom line, regardless of the negative effect it has on vulnerable wards.
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Putting an end to elderly abuse and neglect requires identifying individual and systematic cases of abuse and neglect and in taking action against individuals and entities. There are many different forms of elderly abuse, including financial abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect and exploitation. While some forms are visible and may come with warning signs, other types of abuse are more difficult to identify and report.

According to recent reports, 5 million older Americans will suffer some kind of abuse each year. Unfortunately for many of these individual patients, the abuse will come in more than one form.

Nursing home care facilities in Florida are constantly under investigation for allegations of nursing home abuse and neglect. Our Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse attorneys are committed to providing advocacy and support to individuals and families who have suffered. We will take the time to review your case, identify responsible parties, and explore every opportunity, including legal action, to hold individuals and entities accountable. Here are some of the many forms of elderly abuse.
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In the wake of a recently-passed bill that allows Florida nursing home investors to evade liability for wrongdoing, the attorney general of Ohio has announced an uptick of complaints relative to abuse and neglect in nursing homes.

Our Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse lawyers have every reason to believe the same kinds of trends are indicated here in Florida, given that the aging population has resulted in an increased demand for nursing home services. Meanwhile, for-profit organizations are increasingly driven by their bottom line, with less focus on the quality of patient care.

In Ohio, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit reported 131 new reported cases of nursing home abuse and neglect thus far this year. That is nearly double the 74 that were reported during the same time last year. More than half of the new cases were opened following an announcement that authorities in that state were dedicated to rooting out nursing homes that provide poor care.
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In a case that sets a troubling precedent, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled against a nursing home employee claiming retaliation after he filed complaints with state health care officials alleging improper patient care.

Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse attorneys know that there are state and federal protections intended to shield whistleblowers who come forward to report the abuse of elderly and disabled residents, as well as statutes that encourage workers to report conditions that may lead to infection.

Florida Statute 448.102 bars employers from retaliating against a worker who discloses violations of law, rule or regulation or who provides testimony or an official inquiry. It also provides protection for workers who object to or refuse to participate in any activity, policy or practice of the employer that is in violation of law, rule or regulation.
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It was touted as a measure to “make Florida more attractive” to those seeking to invest in the nursing home industry here in the Sunshine State.

Nevermind the fact that our elder population is soaring (with people over 60 comprising 23 percent of our 19 million population), prompting the need for advanced elder care to spike as well. With S.B. 670, investors mulling a good place to put their money can rest easy knowing if they put it in one of the state’s nursing home facilities, they will be shielded from liability. Of course, protected alongside them could be owners and others who have a role in the day-to-day operations of negligent facilities.

Broward County nursing home abuse lawyers know that in addition to narrowing the defendant list in Florida nursing home abuse cases, the measure also limits the ability of plaintiffs to seek punitive damages against nursing homes.

If you wonder who your elected lawmakers are working for, you can rest assured it’s not you.
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An elderly resident of a nursing home was bedridden, non-verbal, fed through a tube and suffered from advanced-stage dementia. He was also likely a victim of nursing home sexual abuse.

That’s the allegation made in a lawsuit filed on his behalf recent in Illinois, where prior to his death, doctors found a condom containing hardened material inside his digestive tract.

Nursing home abuse lawyers in Fort Lauderdale recognize that for every case like this where abuse is discovered, countless more go unreported.
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Florida, like all other states, has strict limitations on the window of time in which a person can file a lawsuit alleging negligence resulting in injury or wrongful death. However, Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse lawyers are familiar with several circumstances under which that window can be lengthened, or “tolled.”

The limitations and exceptions depend on the kind of negligence alleged, as well as the circumstances surrounding the case.

In Alldredge v. Good Samaritan Home, Inc., the Indiana Supreme Court recently ruled the statute of limitations could be tolled when the true cause of a nursing home patient’s death had been concealed from her family until after the original limit for a wrongful death action had expired.

According to court records, the elderly patient resided at a nursing home in suburban Indiana. It was well-known to her loved ones that she had a medical condition that made her prone to falling, and she had sustained injuries in the past due to such incidents.
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A lawsuit filed in New York’s Supreme Court alleges a nursing home facility staffer’s abuse may have contributed to the woman’s death less than a month later.

In Jones v. Hudson Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, the family is seeking $2 million in compensation after an aide reportedly broke the elderly dementia sufferer’s arm, and the fracture went untreated for 12 hours, despite her desperate pleas for help throughout that time.

West Palm Beach nursing home abuse attorneys have learned an investigation revealed the aide was upset because she was asked to work an additional five hours beyond her regular shift because there was no one else to cover her duties.
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