Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

Our Maryland nursing home abuse attorneys recently discussed different types of elder abuse, plaguing aging victims in nursing homes across the country. According to the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, all nursing home residents are entitled to freedom of abuse, neglect and misappropriation of funds. Elder neglect and abuse are also considered criminal acts regardless of whether they occur inside or outside of a nursing home.

Earlier this month, legendary Hollywood actor Mickey Rooney gave a passionate testimonial in Congress about the problem of elder abuse, affecting 3.5 million victims in this country every year—including movie stars like Rooney.

Rooney, who is now 90-years old, testified before a special Senate committee considering legislation to curb senior abuse, telling the committee about the main forms of elder abuse and neglect--physical and emotional abuse, where elders don’t get the help or treatment they pay for at nursing homes, and financial abuse, where an elder’s life savings can be stolen or swindled, often by people who are closest to them.

In Rooney’s case, he made shocking allegations against his stepson and stepdaughter, claiming that while they were in charge of providing care of their mother and Rooney, they embezzled $400,000 of his life savings, took his Oscar and Emmys, put a lock on his refrigerator and left him with one pair of shoes.

In February, a Los Angeles judge extended a restraining order against his Rooney’s stepson, alleging that he threatened, harassed and intimidated him into signing his assets over to him, and that he prevented him from leaving his home. Last week, a settlement was reached between Rooney and his stepson and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz approved the provisions of Rooney’s voluntary agreement to make his attorney permanent conservator of the actor and Rooney’s estate.

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As Baltimore County nursing home injury attorneys, we have recently read about yet another nursing home negligence lawsuit filed in Illinois, where a health and rehabilitation center is being sued for failing to properly care for Betty Dressel, a resident suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, who reportedly developed pressure ulcers all over her body while residing at the home that her family claims led to her wrongful death.

Decubitus Ulcers, also known as pressure ulcers or bedsores often occur with elderly nursing home residents suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease, who are resting in the same position for long periods of time without moving—causing areas on the body to lose circulation, which leads to skin breakdown, a problem that our lawyers recently stated in a Maryland nursing home injury blog, is entirely preventable.

Without proper nursing home staff attention, pressure sores often progress into the four stages of bedsore development, where small sores turn into deep painful craters as a result of skin breakdown, damaging joints and tendons and causing major infections which can lead to personal injury or even death.

The lawsuit claims that Betty Dressel was treated at Cedar Ridge Health Care and Rehab Center with substandard care, and as a result of her deteriorated mental condition, they restrained her to her bed, placing her at a high risk of physical deterioration. According to her daughter, this negligent treatment lead to the development of pressure sores that reportedly formed on Dressel's back, legs, buttocks and feet that became infected, causing sepsis, a potentially fatal infection of the blood.

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As Baltimore, Maryland nursing home injury attorneys we have recently discussed the topic of elder abuse in a nursing home abuse blog, and the prevalence of abuse in health care facilities and communities across the country, unlawfully causing harm, personal injury, and even death to older and vulnerable adults.

According to the NCEA and the NCCNHR, types of elder abuse include emotional, physical, verbal, sexual, and psychological abuse, as well as neglect, intimidation, abandonment, and exploitation.

• Physical abuse includes inflicting physical pain or injury on an elder, or the threat of inflicting pain. Physical abuse also includes hitting, pinching, slapping, shoving, and force-feeding, along with rough handling during nursing home care and treatment, when being moved, cared for, fed or given medicine. Physical abuse can also result from a nursing home staff member or an outside intruder or visitor.

• Emotional or psychological abuse inflicts mental pain, anguish, or distress on an elderly person or nursing home resident through verbal and non-verbal acts, which includes ridiculing or cursing a resident, threats of punishment or deprivation, rejection or isolation.

• Sexual abuse is non-consensual sexual contact where a resident is tricked, forced, threatened or coerced into performing acts of a sexual nature.

• Neglect is the failure to provide elderly adults with basic needs, such as proper health care and medical treatment, shelter, protection or food, which can result in conditions like dehydration, malnourishment, incontinence, pressure sores, incontinence, depression and immobilization.

Continue reading " Types of Elder Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Homes " »

Elder abuse, as our Baltimore nursing home abuse attorneys have reported in a related Maryland elder abuse blog, is a term used to refer to any treatment by nursing home staff, a health care provider, or any other person that is negligent, intentionally causing harm or a great risk of harm to an elderly adult who is vulnerable.

According to the NCEA, research indicates that more than one in ten elders experience abuse, with only one in five reported every year. The White House reports that every year approximately 700,000 to 3.5 million elderly Americans are abused, exploited and neglected. Studies show that elders are often abused by the very people that they trust the most, like spouses, family members, personal acquaintances or professionals in a position of trust.

According to the NCEA and the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (NCCNHR), types of elder abuse include physical, emotional, verbal, mental, psychological, and sexual abuse, as wall as exploitation, neglect, abandonment, or intimidation.

Elder abuse can happen anywhere, in nursing homes, healthcare facilities or in the community, and is a problem that remains to be under recognized, causing elders to experience consequences that can lead to personal injury or even wrongful death.

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