According to the lawsuit, John J. Donahue was a nursing home resident of Embassy House in Brockton, Massachusetts, that is owned by Kindred Healthcare. While a resident at the home, in 2005, Donahue’s left eye was reportedly gouged by the metal safety hook on a machine that one of the employees used to move him from his bed. The state investigation into the case stated that the machine used on Donahue was supposed to be operated by two employees and not one, which the lawsuit claimed was negligent on the part of the nursing home.
Donahue’s eye had to be surgically removed after the incident, and he died 46 days later at the age of 93, from sepsis, a blood infection, that reportedly came from a result of the eye removal. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition, when bacteria enters the bloodstream and spreads throughout the body. Sepsis progresses rapidly and can cause organ failure and death.
The jury reportedly found the nursing home negligent in failing to prevent the eye injury, and awarded Donahue’s stepdaughter $400,000 plus interest for suffering, pain and disfigurement while a resident of the home. Kindred was not held accountable for Donahue’s death.
]]> If you are worried that a friend or loved one staying at a nursing home in Maryland or the Washington D.C. area is suffering from nursing home negligence or abuse, contact our attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC for a free consultation. Call us at 1-800-654-1949.Stepdaughter Wins $400G Over Nursing Home Abuse, Boston Herald, August 15, 2010
National Institutes of Health, (NIH): Medline Plus: Sepsis
Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
]]>Barbara Lefforge, 57, reportedly entered the St. Edna nursing facility in the fall of 2007 to recover from surgery after a tendon was repaired. When Lefforge was out of surgery less than 6 hours later, she was given an accidental overdose of morphine, after her podiatrist ordered 50 mg of morphine for pain management instead of 50 mg of Demerol. Lefforge reportedly suffered the overdose at home, and wasn’t taken to the hospital until the next day, which led to personal injury and brain damage.
Lefforge was awarded $3.1 million by the jury—$2 million for suffering and pain, and $1.1 million in cost for medical care, and the punitive damage amount is still pending. The jury found that the nursing facility is responsible for 90 percent of the medication error, while her podiatrist is being held responsible for 10 percent of the error. Lefforge’s nursing home negligence attorney stated that the nursing facility should have discovered the prescription error made by the podiatrist before the medication was administered. The pharmacist who filled the prescription reportedly even warned that the medication dosage was too strong, but the nurses at St. Edna, who were not even able to retrieve the entire medication dose for Lefforge, continued by acquiring the extra 30mg of morphine from an emergency office supply at the hospital.
Morphine is used as a narcotic pain reliever for moderate to severe pain treatment. It works by dulling the brain's pain perception center. Symptoms of an overdose of morphine could include confusion, clammy and cold skin, a weak pulse, severe drowsiness, fainting or shallow breathing, or breathing that stops. An individual who has overdosed on morphine should seek medical attention immediately.
If a nursing home or doctor incorrectly prescribes morphine it could result in a morphine overdose and cause patient injury or death, in which case the nursing home could be liable for nursing home negligence or wrongful death.
]]> At Lebowitz and Mzhen, our Maryland nursing home negligence attorneys are knowledgeable about representing victims of nursing home negligence and medication error in Maryland and the Washington D.C. area. We are dedicated to making sure that victims and their families receive the personal injury compensation they deserve. For a free consultation, contact Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC, today.Woman Injured at O.C. Nursing Home Gets $3.1 Million, The Orange County Register, August 19, 2010
Nursing Facility Morphine Overdose Costs $3M, The Associated Press/Mercury News, August 20, 2010
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]]>The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that they are recommending that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should fine Britthaven nursing home the maximum allowed fine by federal law, $20,000.
The nearly 100-page report based on the investigation performed by the North Carolina Nursing Home Licensure and Certificate Section reportedly revealed details of patient lethargy and altered states with the residents who tested positive for opiates.
The Herald-Sun reports that further investigation from the toxicology reports indicate that 14 residents out of 29 in the Alzheimer’s wing at Britthaven tested positive for opiates in February. Not one of these patients had prescriptions for opiate medication. Rachel Holliday, an 84-year old resident, and one of the hospitalized patients with high levels of morphine in her system, died on February 16, 2010 from pneumonia due to reported morphine toxicity.
Britthaven was reportedly investigated after patients were hospitalized from the Alzheimer’s wing of the nursing home, which lead to the discovery of opiates in their blood. A criminal investigation was launched in February by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Investigations Unit, and The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), to investigate for nursing home abuse or neglect, over-medication, or chemical restraint in an effort to make the nursing home residents more manageable.
]]> The report also stated that the facility failed to ensure that a registered nurse adhered to the nursing home policies and procedures regarding the administration of medication and physician’s orders within the Alzheimer’s Wing.Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC represents victims nursing home abuse and negligence. Contact our attorneys today at 1-800-654-1949 for a free consultation.
Fine Recommended for Nursing Home Where Patient Died, ABC-11 News, August 11, 2010
Report Calls for Britthaven Fines, The Herald-Sun, August 14, 2010
Alzheimer’s Patient Murdered with Morphine at N.C. Nursing Home, Worker Charged Say Investigators, CBS News, June 11, 2010
Nursing Home Worker Charges, The Carrboro Citizen, June 10, 2010
Nurse Indicted in Patient’s Death, Orange County News Observer.com, June 7, 2010
Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
]]>The report states that the number of physically restrained nursing home residents dropped from around 10.4% in 2000 to 5% in 2007. As our Maryland nursing home attorneys reported in a recent blog, physical restraints can be used to keep a resident or patient from moving freely, and is only allowed when medically necessary, as it can also cause patients to become weak or develop other health complications. Common restraints include belts, wrist ties or bands, vests, bedside rails, or special chairs.
The report also discovered that number of Asian and Hispanic residents living in nursing homes who were physically restrained fell from around 16% in 1999 to around 7% in 2007.
According to Karen K. Ho, MHS, research analyst for Maryland’s Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at AHRQ, there is a disparity between white and Asian populations being restrained in nursing homes. Ho claimed that the report shows that Asians and Hispanics are reportedly more likely to be restrained in nursing homes, and this could be because of language and literature issues. Ho claims that the ability to communicate with a health care provider, and the ability for the health care provider to talk to the patient is hugely important. If there is a language barrier and communication problems arise, the patient will most likely not get the care that they would like, or that is recommended.
]]> An ARHQ written statement notes that overusing physical restraints may reflect a poor quality of care because nursing home residents who are restrained on a daily bases can become weak, lose the ability to function, and become prone to problems like pressure sores, isolation, loss of walking ability, incontinence, constipation, or injury from trying to escape the restraints, leading to possible injury or wrongful death. The AHRQ states that restraints should only be used when all other options have been exhausted.Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC represent victims nursing home abuse and negligence. Contact our attorneys today at 1-800-654-1949 for a free consultation.
Fewer Nursing Home Residents Being Physically Restrained, Medscape Today, July 22, 2010
Elderly/Long-Term Care: Use of Physical Restraints in Nursing Homes Creates Substantial Adverse Consequences for Residents, AHRQ
Freedom from Unnecessary Physical Restraints: Two Decades of National Progress in Nursing Home Care,Center for Medicaid and State Operations/Survey and Certification Group, November 7, 2008
2009 National Healthcare Quality & Disparities Reports
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]]>According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, from 2007 to 2010, 107 citations were issued by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services that endangered the health and safety of nursing home residents. The newspaper discovered that only seven out of the over 100 cases of nursing home abuse or deaths were ever prosecuted criminally.
Although the state reportedly hands serious violations of nursing home laws and regulations to the attorney general’s office, the attorney general can only prosecute if the local prosecutors grant the attorney general permission. And the local prosecutors claim that they are rarely made aware of such cases. Also, police and coroners are reportedly rarely alerted of nursing home deaths or serious injuries in nursing homes.
The Herald-Leader reported that of the 107 citations that were investigated, there were eighteen deaths, thirty occurrences of hospitalization, 5 incidents involving residents with bones broken, and two instances of amputation that reportedly were a result of nursing home state law and regulation violations. The citations also claimed that three residents experienced nursing home injuries after staff members failed to provide proper health care.
]]> Beshear reportedly asked Janie Miller, Kentucky’s cabinet Secretary, to look into how the state agencies are coordinating and communicating with prosecutors and law enforcement officials in reviewing the nursing home reports, and to also look into the time lapse between sending serious citations to Kentucky law enforcement officers or to the attorney general.Governor Behsear’s decision reportedly came from the urging of Bernie Bonderheide, who started the Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform, for a task force to examine the reporting lapses from the Herald-Leader investigation. Janie Miller, who runs the cabinet in charge of nursing homes investigations, was asked to instigate a new review of the Kentucky homes by September 1, 2010, involving Vonderheide’s nursing home reform group, Jack Conway, the Attorney General for Kentucky, the U.S. Attorneys for the Western and Eastern Districts, law enforcement agencies, local prosecutors, advocacy groups and industry groups.
Vonderheide reportedly called the decision a major victory for residents of nursing homes and long-term health care facilities—the first serious action taken on behalf of the individuals by the government of Kentucky in twenty to thirty years.
Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC represent victims nursing home abuse and negligence in the state of Maryland and Washington D.C. Contact our attorneys today at 1-800-654-1949 for a free consultation.
Ky. to Review Handling of Nursing Home Abuse Cases, The Herald-Dispatch/The Associated Press, July 30, 2010
Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Mae Campbell, an 88-year old, was sexually abused two times while being a resident at Hazard Nursing Home. Campbell suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, and was reportedly sitting in a hallway last year, in view of other staff members and a nursing supervisor, when a male nursing home resident sexually assaulted her by ejaculating onto her face. She was reportedly sexually abused three months later by another male resident of the home who had allegedly entered her room to perform a similar sexual act. The nurse on duty was told by her supervisor not to discuss the incident with anyone because Campbell had not been harmed.
Under Kentucky law, staff members and officials of nursing homes are legally mandated to report nursing home neglect or abuse. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services issued the home a Type A citation, claiming that Hazard Nursing Home did not follow state regulations and failed to protect Campbell from sexual contact that was unwanted, failed to protect her health and safety as a resident, failed to report the sexual abuse allegations to the necessary state agencies, and failed to investigate the sexual abuse allegations thoroughly.
The Herald-Leader reported that Campbell’s sexual abuse was only discovered after depositions in a wrongful death case led to a former nurse’s aide’s description of Campbell’s sexual assault, where the former employee claimed that she stopped working at Hazard Nursing Home after the incident, as she thought the home should have protected Campbell better. Another former nurse also admitted to witnessing Campbell’s other assault. She was told not to discuss it with anybody—because Campbell had not been harmed.
]]> In May, Campbell’s son filed a lawsuit against the home, claiming that he and his family were not contacted by the home about the sexual assault and abuse, nor were the authorities, and only learned of the assaults after the deposition. Mae Campbell reportedly even complained after one incident that she had a sore throat, that her inner thighs were bruised, and that men were trying to harm her in the home, but the complaints were reportedly never looked into. Campbell’s son claimed that if he had known what was happening, he would have immediately removed his mother from the home. The home’s citation is also being reviewed for the possibility of criminal prosecution.The Herald-Leader investigated citations that were issued by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services since 2007, and found that nine nursing homes in Kentucky received Type A citations for nursing home sexual abuse and assault. Two other cases of sexual abuse were recorded that did not receive Type A citations. The sexual abuse in the cases was reportedly committed by nursing home staff, visitors, residents, and even a registered sex offender. These cases went unchecked despite warnings to nursing home officials, by staff and family members. Since 2007, three of these cases have been prosecuted criminally.
In the state of Maryland, if a nursing home fails to protect residents from nursing home sexual abuse that can result in resident injury or death, the nursing home could be held liable for Maryland nursing home negligence or wrongful death. Our attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC represent victims and their families who wish to recover personal injury compensation from nursing home negligence and harm. Contact us today.
A Failure to Protect: Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes, Lexington Herald-Leader, July 25, 2010
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]]>In a recent wrongful death lawsuit, the family of Frances Graham, a former 81-year old resident of an assisted living home in San Leandro, California, is suing Graham’s doctor, as well as the assisted living home, after Graham suffered from nursing home violence and devastating pressure sores all over her body, some reportedly as large as a baseballs—that lead to her tragic death. Graham’s family is also suing the nonprofit responsible for her care, the Center for Elders Independence, claiming that they put profits over her nursing home health and safety.
According to the suit, Graham was kept at the Andrew Elijah residential care home even though laws require that Alzheimer’s patients are cared for by a nursing staff that is skilled for such illnesses. Graham reportedly shared a room with a 72-year old dementia patient, who in June of last year, was found attacking Graham with a plastic hair pick. Graham suffered dozens of cuts on her body, and her left eye was bleeding and also bruised. Graham was reportedly treated by a doctor, and sent back to the Andrew Elijah home and put in a room that was private.
Graham’s son claims that soon after, Graham was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia, where a doctor discovered multiple bedsores on her body, so many that the doctors wrote in the notes that they weren’t sure that they even seen them all. The worst sore was allegedly a 4-inch hole that had eaten down to the tendons and smelled horribly. The doctor also found her to be anemic and dehydrated. Graham was moved to another health care center, and died two days later.
]]> The Oakland Tribune states that the family tried to keep Graham at home, but after incidents where their mother started wandering, they decided to reach out for help from the Center of Elders Independence, a non-profit that has been helping to serve hundreds of elders, and thousands of seniors for eighteen years. The Center of Elders Independence recommended the Andrew Elijah Guest House for Graham, a facility that offers only basic help with daily activities like meals, dressing, housekeeping medication support, bathing and laundry—but had received an exemption to care for patients with dementia, even though their staff was only trained to handle basic needs. The owners of the facility claimed not to know about the severity of the Graham's bedsores because the Center for Elders Independence was responsible for Graham’s medical needs.In December of 2008, the center reportedly sent health nurses to care for Graham, as she had a total of five sores. Graham’s medical records showed four severe sores in April of 2009 that required 24-hour attention. The nurses from Nightingale Nursing claim to have reported the severity of the sores to both the Center for Elders Independence as well as Graham’s doctors.
As the Oakland Tribune stated, this is a stark reminder that the number of seniors will double over the next two decades, and as the oversight and regulation of assisted-living facilities are expanding yearly with more responsibilities, the facilities are falling behind. Eric Carlson, a National Senior Citizens Law Center Attorney claimed that the problem with assisted living centers is that facility oversight hasn’t kept up with the model, and facilities are admitting seniors with much more complex and difficult healthcare needs, like dementia or Alzheimer’s, without the proper training on how to care for them.
Our Maryland Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawyers represent victims and their families that wish to recover personal injury compensation from a nursing home or assisted living facility who unlawfully neglected or caused harm to an elderly or sick person during their stay. Contact Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC today.
Oakland Woman’s Family Sues Assisted Living Home in San Leandro, Oakland Tribune, July 23, 2010
Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
]]>Pressure sores develop after an individual rests for too long in one position without moving, cutting off the blood supply to a resident’s skin, forming sores from the pressure on the skin that is unrelieved. Nursing homes residents who are elderly and immobile are highly vulnerable to pressure ulcers. Many advanced decubitus ulcer cases are often the result of nursing home abuse and neglect, and can end in wrongful death. Around sixty thousand people reportedly die each year from complications of some of the more advanced stages of bedsores.
In a recent wrongful death lawsuit, a hospital is being charged with allegedly failing to prevent, treat, and monitor the pressure sores of a patient, causing him to develop serious infections that allegedly lead to his wrongful death.
According to the suit, William B. McCuller became a resident of Memorial Hospital and Memorial Convalescent Center in April of last year, where he developed pressure ulcers that became infected. The hospital and center staff are being accused of negligence, for failing to properly treat McCuller, failing to monitor and care for his bedsores properly, failing to identify him as a high risk patient for bedsores, and failing to identify the early states of ulcer occurrence. The staff is also being accused of neglecting to treat McCuller with the proper wound prevention and treatment protocol, and to properly train their staff on the prevention protocol as well.
]]> Winifred Love, the administrator of McCuller’s estate filed the suit, claiming that his family suffered grief and sorrow after being robbed of his companionship, instruction, counsel, love, support, guidance, and services. Love seeks a judgment of over $50,000.Our nursing home neglect lawyers at Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC support the rights for Maryland and Washington D.C. residents to live in a nursing home environment that is filled with quality care and is fee from negligence that could result in injury or wrongful death from the development of pressure sores. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Pressure Sores Not Treated, Says Wrongful Death Suit Against Memorial and Nursing Home, Madison Record, July 29, 2010
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]]>According to the civil lawsuit, Donald R. Salli, 78, was assaulted by another resident in September of last year. The complaint claims that Salli was found by the staff at Sunrise Cottages on the floor on September 19th, with a resident assaulting him. Salli allegedly had a large hematoma on his head, as well as a red area from where he had been kicked in the back. He was reportedly not evaluated by a licensed nurse until seven hours after the attack.
The lawsuit also claims that the next day, Salli was found on the floor of his cottage apartment by three staff members, crying and in a great amount of pain, and was unable to walk on his own. He was documented as being unresponsive, sleeping through the day, was unable to stand or communicate, and yelled in pain when his back was touched.
After Salli’s daughter, Elizabeth Pulsifer, asked that Salli be sent to the emergency room, they discovered that he had suffered a fractured skull with internal bleeding and three ribs were fractured. He reportedly remained in the intensive care unit until he was transferred to hospice care, where he died on October 7, from a brain injury. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, neglect was the direct cause of his demise and they cited the facility for negligence.
]]> Sunrise Cottages is being accused failing to supervise Salli and his attacker, failing to provide medical care to Salli that was given in a timely manner, and for failing to respond to Salli’s requests for proper treatment, that resulted in the injuries that caused his death. The defense attorneys in the lawsuit also allege medical malpractice.If a Maryland nursing home resident becomes injured or dies because the nursing home neglected to protect the health and safety of the resident, the nursing home could be held liable for Maryland nursing home negligence or wrongful death. Our attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC represent victims and their families who wish to recover personal injury compensation from nursing home negligence and harm. Contact us today.
Lawsuit Filed in Connection with Rochester Care Facility Death, The Post-Bulletin, July 21, 2010
Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
This week, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) released a lengthy report, after conducting a thorough investigation, and claimed that the Ravenswood Nursing Home gave nursing home residents a “substandard” quality of care that resulted in “actual harm” to the residents.
Maryland regulators reportedly fined Ravenswood $52,500 after the air conditioning malfunction left residents sweltering in nearly 100-degree heat in the nursing home.
In the DHMH report, six state and federal violations were reportedly cited, that focus on the air conditioning problem. The report also found that the nursing home facility was storing food that was potentially hazardous at unsafe temperatures, the building was not in good shape, and that the nursing home residents were receiving inadequate care, treatment and services.
]]> According to Nancy Grimm, Director of the DHMH, the department looked at every floor of the nursing home facility, assessing each patient, to make proper evaluations in the report. Grimm stated that they will not allow nursing home residents to move back into the facility until all of the deficiencies are addressed, with a strong plan of correction.Ravenswood reportedly has ten days to prepare a plan of correction to address how the violations will be corrected to care for the residents on a long-term basis, to avoid nursing home neglect, injury or wrongful death of Maryland residents in the future.
If you are worried that a friend or loved one staying at a nursing home in Maryland or the Washington D.C. area is suffering from nursing home neglect, or substandard care that could lead to personal harm or injury, contact our attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC for a free consultation. Call us at 1-800-654-1949.
Md. Nursing Home Fined for A/C Breakdown, The Washington Post, July 22, 2010
Report Says Nursing Home Harmed Residents, NBC/WJZ, July 21, 2010
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Nursing Home Could Face Deficiencies for No A/C, WBALTV, July 12, 2010
Nursing Home Residents With No A/C to Move, WBALTV, July 6, 2010
Second Nursing Home Moves Its Residents, WBALTV, July 8, 2010
150 Residents Moved Out of Hot Md. Nursing Home, July 7, 2010
]]>The Maryland Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ) issued a “Code Red – Heat Alert” last week, along with the Baltimore City Health Department, cautioning all Maryland licensed health care and residential facilities to implement appropriate plans to ensure the health and safety of residents while the outside temperatures are near or above 100°F.
The health department made recommendations for nursing homes to:
• Relocate resident activities to cooler areas, and caution nursing home residents to cut back on outdoor activities during the extremely hot days to prevent nursing home injury or illness.
• Monitor and address the behavior of dementia patients, or confused patients who may want to be wrapped in blankets, or wear too many clothes.
• Make sure the cold water is constantly available for residents, and offer it frequently.
• To keep residents cool, offer ice packs, or washcloths that are cool and wet, to help them endure the heat. Also give residents baths or shower that are cool, or lukewarm in temperature.
• As nursing home A/C systems will be operating at their maximum potential during the heat wave, contact maintenance staff to check the A/C systems, and perform required maintenance measures in advance, to prevent system failures.
• Rearrange any nursing home equipment or furniture that may be blocking any vents on the walls or floor to improve air circulation and make sure that the movement of air is not obstructed.
• Check the operation of all refrigerators and ice makers in facilities that do not have A/C or where kitchens are not cooled with A/C, to make sure that the refrigeration units are maintaining the correct temperatures.
• Make sure all medications for residents are stored at the temperatures listen on the packaging or prescription labels. Relocate the drugs to secure storage if necessary, to prevent any nursing home negligence or injury.
• Turn off any unnecessary lights that do not impact any activity for residents or staff, and close the curtains to keep out the hot sun. Also avoid the use of heat producing equipment like vacuums, stoves, or ovens.
Our nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers at Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC support the rights for Maryland and Washington D.C. residents to live in a nursing home environment filled with quality care that improves and maintains the quality of their mental and physical health, and is free from any negligence that could result in injury or wrongful death. Contact us today.
Code Red – Heat Alert, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: Office of Health Care Quality, July 7, 2010
Nursing Home Could Face Deficiencies for No A/C, WBALTV, July 12, 2010
Nursing Home Residents With No A/C to Move, WBALTV, July 6, 2010
150 Residents Moved Out of Hot Md. Nursing Home, July 7, 2010
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]]>Although many residents claimed that the malfunction occurred on Friday, July 2, it was determined by authorities to occur on Sunday. Many residents claimed that their complaints were not heard, until a Ravenwood resident called 911 on Monday for help. The temperature inside the building was reportedly 92 degrees at the time.
The center could reportedly face new environmental deficiencies, as it did not report the issues until a few days after the nursing home had been without air conditioning. Ravenwood is currently under investigation by the state Office of Health Care and Quality to make sure that the home followed proper procedure, to ensure the health and safety of the residents.
The Ravenwood staff claimed to do everything that they could to make sure that the residents were not in medical danger during the period of time without air conditioning. Many of the residents are vulnerable adults who need special medical attention, some of whom are under 65 and suffer from a variety of medical conditions, including amputation, HIV/AIDS, and paralysis.
]]> According to WBALTV, Recent health inspections also found that the home failed to have policies and procedures in place to prevent nursing home abuse and neglect, mistreatment, nursing home health and safety, and theft of residents’ property. It also reportedly failed to properly screen nursing home staff to ensure that the members of the staff have no record or history of mistreatment, abuse or neglect. Upon further investigation, Ravenwood also failed to have licensed pharmacists check on the residents’ drugs programs once a month for safety.State officials also reportedly moved 70 residents from Liberty Health and Rehabilitation Center last week, because the building’s air conditioning units started breaking down in the heat as well. The residents from both homes were moved to other facilities with air conditioning until the problems are fixed. The state reportedly hopes that the residents will be able to be moved back into the homes in 10 to 12 days.
If you are worried about the treatment, health and safety of a friend or loved one staying at a nursing home in Maryland or the Washington D.C. area, contact our nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC for a free consultation. Call us at 1-800-654-1949.
Nursing Home Could Face Deficiencies for No A/C, WBALTV, July 12, 2010
Nursing Home Residents With No A/C to Move, WBALTV, July 6, 2010
Second Nursing Home Moves Its Residents, WBALTV, July 8, 2010
150 Residents Moved Out of Hot Md. Nursing Home, July 7, 2010
Related Web Resources:
]]>Center for Medicare Advocacy Senior Policy Attorney Toby Edelman, recently released a statement in reaction to a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing, claiming that nursing home residents die every day from the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications given to residents who have no diagnosis of psychosis. Edelman claims that nursing home facilities are violating the Controlled Substances Act and the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law, by failing to provide the residents with proper medical attention, and physicians who are available to treat them 24 hrs a day.
According to the statement, under the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law, every resident must be under the care of a physician, and each nursing home must provide a physician for medical care in case of an emergency, with another physician on-call. Edelman claims that nursing homes and long-term care pharmacies have long been relying on the practice of “chart orders,” for medications, where nurses assess the nursing home resident’s changed condition, and contact the physician—who then prescribes pain medication recommendations.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reportedly begun to enforce the rules and policy of the Controlled Substances Act, requiring physicians to write and sign prescriptions, sending nursing home and nursing home pharmacy industries into a frenzy, claiming that without these practices, residents will not receive the pain medication they need.
]]> In April of 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued “black box” warnings against prescribing antipsychotic drugs with dementia patients, as the drugs were reportedly causing an increase in deaths. The FDA then extended its “black box” warning to conventional antipsychotic drugs, advising health care professionals that antipsychotics are not indicated for the treatment of dementia related psychosis—a problem plaguing many elderly residents in nursing homes.Edelman cites that the government reported in the fourth quarter of 2009 that 26.1% of the nation’s nursing home residents, or 354,904 people, received antipsychotic drugs. Studies reportedly confirm that 25-30% of nursing home residents are given antipsychotic drugs across the country, for off-label reasons that are not approved by the FDA—causing resident injury and wrongful death.
Edelman argues that if a nursing home resident who is experiencing pain is properly supervised by a physician, a right that the resident is legally entitled to, then the physician would prescribe the appropriate treatments for quality care. The residents would then have access to the safety and healthcare that they deserve, with the properly prescribed medication and dosage—protecting them from nursing home negligence, or chemical restraint.
In Maryland or the Washington D.C. area, our nursing home attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC represent victims nursing home abuse and negligence. Contact us today for a free consultation.
3 Nursing Home Patients Killed by Chemical Restraints, ABC News, January 5, 2010
The War on Drugs Meets the War on Pain: Nursing Home Residents Caught in the Crossfire, Statement of the Center for Medicare and California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, March 24, 2010
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]]>According to the civil lawsuit filed by the family in 2005, Burr Needham, arrived in the center on April 26, 2002, to receive physical therapy for a hip fracture, and was administered a lethal overdose of morphine. The suit accused Dr. Arun Gupta and a staff of five nurses at the home of nursing home negligence, causing the 76-year-old’s wrongful death on May 2nd.
According to the medical examiner, the death was a homicide, caused by severe morphine intoxication. The documentation in the suit showed that the staff at the nursing home was unable to account for the dosage of morphine administered to Needham.
The jury ruled that the staff was professionally negligent, and awarded Mrs. Needham, who died of cancer in 2007, $3 million for the loss of companionship she experienced after her husband died. The jury also awarded $1.5 million for Needham’s suffering and pain, and $350,000 in damages.
]]> If a Maryland nursing home patient becomes injured or dies because the nursing home neglected to protect the health and safety of the resident during their stay at the home, the nursing home could be held liable for Maryland nursing home negligence or wrongful death. Our attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC represent victims and their families who wish to recover personal injury compensation from nursing home negligence and harm. Call us for a free consultation at 1-800-654-1949.Family Wins $4.85 Million for Nursing Home Death, Toledo Blade, June 29, 2010
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]]>This month, Angela Almore, a 44-year old registered nurse, was indicted in the case, on one count of second-degree murder in relation to the death of Rachel Holliday, a resident of the nursing home who died after being given a heavy dose of morphine. Almore was also charged with six counts of felony resident abuse, related to administering morphine to several patients of the nursing home, causing hospitalization.
The investigation reportedly began after a few patients from the Alzheimer’s wing of the nursing home were hospitalized for odd behavior, which led to the discovery of opiates in their blood. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the Attorney General’s Medicaid Investigations Unit, with the Orange County District Attorney, launched a criminal investigation of the nursing home in February to determine if the patients were being over-medicated, abused or neglected, or being subjected to chemical restraint.
The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office claims that after testing, nine out of over twenty-five Alzheimer’s patients at the nursing home tested positive for opiates in February. Holliday, one of the hospitalized patients with high levels of morphine in her system, died on February 16, 2010.
]]> According to CBS news, the morphine was most likely given to the patients to over-medicate them so they were more manageable. Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall claimed that although Britthaven was investigated in the abuse allegations, Almore’s charges concluded that she acted alone. Almore’s next court date is set for July 13.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims that around 15,000 deaths happen in nursing homes every year as a result of administering unnecessary anti-psychotics. In 1987, Congress passed laws to protect patients from unnecessary drugging, making it unlawful for facilities to administer psychotropic drugs to patients without a doctor’s orders, treatment justification, and consent from the patient. As our attorneys reported in a related blog, unnecessary drugging for the convenience of the staff can leave residents with dangerous side effects and cause a high risk for falls, long term injury or even wrongful death.
In Maryland and the Washington D.C. area, Lebowitz and Mzhen, LLC represent victims of nursing home abuse and negligence. Call our attorneys today at 1-800-654-1949 for a free consultation.
Alzheimer’s Patient Murdered with Morphine at N.C. Nursing Home, Worker Charged Say Investigators, CBS News, June 11, 2010
Nursing Home Worker Charges, The Carrboro Citizen, June 10, 2010
Nurse Indicted in Patient’s Death, Orange County News Observer.com, June 7, 2010
Related Web Resources:
National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
FDA Warns Antipsychotic Drugs May Be Risky For Elderly, The Journal of the American Medical Association, May 25, 2005
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