Author: Dave Abels

Elderly Americans are some of the most vulnerable members of our society and they deserve to be protected and cared for in their senior years. Many families with older relatives face the decision of whether to put their loved ones in a nursing home when declining health or a change in circumstances means that an alternative means of care may be necessary. This decision can be agonizing as loved ones consider which home is the best for their family member’s needs, but once that person is placed, the need to evaluate a home may slip from their minds.

This is a reasonable approach as many feel that once their loved one is placed in a home, they are confident that appropriate care will be provided. Too often, residents are faced with nursing home abuse and neglect, causing serious or even permanent injuries. This abuse can be hard to determine as many victims are not in a position to report the mistreatment or have no one to report the abuse to as many nursing home patients do not have regular contact with non-employees.

Victims of nursing home abuse in Illinois are entitled to seek relief for their damages and their injuries through the use of a civil claim. In the tragic instance where a patient is killed due to negligence or abuse, the right to seek relief may pass to the victim’s surviving family members, though no amount of relief can ever be considered adequate in these cases. Speaking with a personal injury lawyer or a nursing home attorney may help you understand your legal rights if you suspect nursing home abuse or if you believe neglect may be harming your loved one.

Police in Washington arrested the 67-year-old owner of a nursing home after a hidden camera reportedly showed the man sexually assaulting an 83-year-old patient of the home who was stricken with dementia. According to reports, the family members of the victim suspected wrong doing and had the hidden camera placed in the woman’s room to monitor the care she received. When the footage was reviewed, the family members contacted police, who initiated charges.

It is not clear what charges are pending against the owner at this time but authorities confirmed that the nursing home at issue housed 12 patients, all of whom were being relocated following the arrest of the owner.
Continue reading “Hidden Camera Reportedly Catches Nursing Home Owner Sexually Assaulting Dementia Patient”

In most cases, elderly and disabled adults are moved to nursing homes when their need for care exceeds what can be provided at home, by another facility, or by family members. With the need for care being at the forefront of the decision to place a loved one in a home, many family members believe and assume that their loved one’s needs will be tended to and that their loved one will get a level of care that is both needed and deserved by the staff at a nursing home.

Unfortunately, in Illinois and in every other state in the country, that is not always what happens. Nursing home abuse and neglect pose a constant threat to those who reside in long term care facilities and to their well-being. When an employee, an owner, or another in a position of authority within a home cuts corners, skips safety protocols, or otherwise puts their own interests before those of a patient, injuries may result. These injuries may be an aggravation to a preexisting condition like an infection or a wound or they may be a new injury like a broken bone or bruising.

It can be difficult to determine whether abuse or neglect has harmed your loved one if your loved one resides in a nursing home because these facilities often try to protect their own interests while hiding the truth. That is one reason that speaking with a personal injury lawyer may help you understand your options if you suspect neglect, including whether your loved one or the members of your family have a valid claim for financial relief.

An incident out of a Maine nursing home has triggered federal sanctions and may lead to other charges, according to local officials. Reports indicate that a male resident with a chest wound indicated that his wound was itching on September 7, 2014. Bandages were removed and the site was inspected by a nurse who reportedly witnessed a maggot on the resident’s wound, between the resident’s body and where the bandages had been moments earlier. Inspectors believe that employees at the home allowed flies to enter the facility by the use of broken windows and/or opening windows without screens and that one of these flies was able to lay at least one egg on the patient at issue.

Officials with the State of Maine have recommended fines stemming from this incident in the amount of $500 per day that the facility was out of compliance for its use of faulty windows. Since the incident occurred, the facility reportedly has taken steps to replace all faulty widows at issue and to replace all missing screens. It is not clear whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will agree to this punishment or will suggest an alternative course of action.
Continue reading “Federal Sanctions Pending at Nursing Home after Maggot Found in Resident’s Wound”

In 2008, 3.2 million Americans lived in nursing homes across all 50 states. That same year, 900,000 people lived in an assisted living facility. The majority of these residents, 2 out of 3, were female, and 6 out of 7 were aged 65 years or older. These numbers mean that a significant portion of America’s elderly population is confined to long term facilities, including nursing homes, and that those people rely upon others for their daily care.

The residents of these homes should not have to worry about whether they will get the medication they need, whether the employees of the home will care for them as they deserve, or whether they will be the victims of abuse. Unfortunately, these are concerns that many, if not most, nursing home patients face on a daily basis. A 2000 study by K. Broyles revealed that 44 percent of long term care facility residents reported being abused and that 95 percent of residents reported either being neglected or seeing another resident neglected.

Nursing home abuse and neglect is continuing daily in Illinois homes and likely will continue as the American population continues to age and place greater demand on long term care facilities. Too often, this abuse goes unreported or unnoticed by those other than the victim, meaning that abusers are free to continue their wrongdoing and victimizing others. Consulting with a personal injury lawyer in the Chicago area may help you understand the implications if you suspect abuse of a family member or a loved one or if have noticed harm.

In New York, a licensed practical nurse has been arrested and charged with a felony count of endangering the welfare of a nursing home resident whom the nurse was caring for at a local nursing home. According to officials, the employee came upon an 89-year-old resident on the floor, moaning in pain in January of 2013. The resident reportedly suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease and relies on the care provided by the employees at the home for all of her daily needs.

Upon finding the resident, the nurse allegedly did not check the woman’s vitals or call for help. Instead, she determined that the resident was uninjured and moved the resident to a wheelchair. Later tests revealed that the resident broke her hip in the incident and was in excruciating pain at the time the nurse moved her.

Protocol required the nurse to inform a superior of the resident’s fall and to allow a supervisor to determine whether or not the resident needed medical attention. The criminal charge against the nurse indicates that her actions delayed necessary medical treatment and violated the duty of care she had toward the resident.
Continue reading “Employee Failed to Report Fall that Caused Broken Hip in Nursing Home Resident”