Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

Maryland Lawmakers headed to Annapolis last week for the annual 90-day session of the Maryland General Assembly, and Delegate Sue Hecht from Frederick County, a Democrat, has returned to support one of her bills that would allow families to use video cameras to monitor the treatment of elderly residents in a nursing home or assisted living facility.

Hecht is reportedly reintroducing Vera’s Law, HB557—Video Monitoring Legislation, a longtime bill she has worked on, to allow elderly residents to have video monitoring in their rooms for protection against nursing home abuse, negligence and violence.

Delegate Hecht originally introduced the bill after she witnessed her grandmother experience nursing home abuse by a nurse’s aid while residing in a home, over ten years ago. Vera’s Law is named after her Grandmother.

Hecht also reintroduced this legislative proposal in 2009—to give assisted nursing home and assisted living facility residents and their families the right to install video cameras or monitoring devices in the resident’s room, with consent of the roommate. The bill from 2009 did not require that the monitoring was paid for by the facility—the cost would be covered by the resident or resident’s family, as would the mounting device for the camera.

Continue reading "Maryland Lawmaker Supports Nursing Home Video Monitoring Legislation" »

In a recent blog on nursing home injury, our Maryland-based attorneys discussed the problem many nursing homes are facing today, of creating a safe environment for residents who live in nursing home facilities with patients who are mentally ill or have violent criminal pasts.

After the Chicago Tribune’s investigative reports over the past few months, fueled by a series of nursing home abuse and assault cases, the publication has shed light on the high numbers of felons and sex offenders that reside in Illinois nursing homes, and how this is affecting the safety of nursing home residents. Last week, twenty federal marshals and the County Cook sheriff’s police, initiated by the Illinois Attorney General’s office, conducted a raid of two Chicago-based homes, looking for felons with outstanding arrest warrants.

After the sweep of the nursing homes, eighteen residents were discovered in the homes who are wanted on charges that vary from burglary and assault to disorderly conduct. The authorities arrested five people, including an unregistered sex offender from another state. According to the Attorney General’s office, this was the first step in an ongoing effort to identify residents in nursing homes who are wanted on arrest warrants.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the number of residents living in Illinois nursing homes who are felons has grown as the state continues to rely on the nursing home facilities to place younger psychiatric patients, many of whom have criminal records, which can endanger resident safety and cause nursing home injury or abuse to older residents.

Continue reading "Sweep in Nursing Home Finds Felons and Sex Offenders with Outstanding Warrants" »

In a previous blog from October, our Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys reported on a nursing home assault from earlier this year that shed light on the ongoing problem many nursing homes are facing today—on how to maintain nursing home safety for residents who share facilities with mentally ill patients and criminals with violent pasts.

In January of this year, a 69-year old female resident of Maplewood care nursing home in Elgin, Illinois was found assaulted and raped in her room, allegedly by 21-year old Christopher Shelton, a mentally ill patient from the second floor of the nursing home. Reports stated the Shelton was reported missing during the evening bed check, and was later found in the woman’s bathroom after the assault.

This week Shelton, who suffers from bipolar disorder, pleaded guilty to the sexual assault, and agreed to a sentence of 12 years in prison in exchange for the guilty plea of one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault— a Class X felony. Illinois law states that Shelton must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, or about 10 years. He will receive 335 days of credit from his time served in the county jail since he was arrested in January.

Before Shelton moved into the nursing home at the end of last year, the staff didn’t properly check his criminal background, or listen to the warnings from the previous nursing home’s director on his violent behavior. Shelton reportedly had a violent history including an aggravated battery conviction, as well as other aggression related arrests. The Chicago Tribune reported that Shelton was arrested last year three times for alleged offenses that all included nursing home violence. At Maplewood, officials reserve rooms on the nursing home’s second floor for the psychiatric patients—but the separation between floors was not safely protected or monitored, so Shelton allegedly easily found his way to the resident’s room on the first floor.

Continue reading "Mentally Ill Man Charged in Nursing Home Rape" »

In recent nursing home abuse news, our Maryland-based Attorneys have been following the case announced last week, where the family of a nursing home resident who sued Fillmore Convalescent Center for elder abuse and was awarded $7.75 million in monetary damages.

According to the lawsuit, in 2006, the family of Maria Arellano, a 71-year-old resident and stroke victim, noticed substantial bruising on Arellano. The family complained to the management at the center, but they did not investigate the bruises. The family then placed a video camera that was hidden to the center and staff—to find out what was happening to the resident in the room.

The camera allegedly caught Monica Garcia, a worker at the center, engaging in nursing home abuse, by pulling Arellano's hair, forcefully bending her neck, wrists and fingers, slapping her, and using violent behavior while bathing her.

After the 22 day trial, Garcia received a criminal charge, and reportedly pleaded no contest to simple battery. The verdict from the trial splits the liability between the three defendants—20 percent to Garcia, 40 percent to the center, and 40 percent to the owner of the center.

Continue reading "Elderly Resident at Nursing Home Wins $7.75 Million in Abuse Case" »

In yesterday's post, our Maryland Nursing Home Injury Attorneys wrote about the difficulty of maintaining resident safety in nursing homes that take in mentally ill patients and violent criminals. Elderly nursing home residents who are often weak and unable to protect themselves from the violent actions of younger, mentally ill patients.

In the Chicago Tribune's ongoing reporting on security and safety reform in nursing homes, today's article recommends a serious overhaul of nursing home operations, to better protect elderly residents in nursing homes from the violence of mentally ill residents and convicted felons.

Nursing homes have become known as “dumping grounds” for young and middle aged individuals with mental illnesses, according to U.S. data and Associated Press interviews. The placement of mentally ill patients into nursing homes in this country has increased by 41% between the years of 2002 and 2008, as well as the incidents of nursing home crime and violence.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), released data earlier this year that nearly 125,000 individuals with mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, or bipolar disorder lived in U.S. nursing homes last year—many of whom moved directly into homes from jail cells, shelters and psychiatric wards.

According to the Associated Press, many states are mixing the mentally ill with the elderly because the federal government will help pay for resident care under Medicaid regardless of their age—as long as the nursing home’s mentally ill residents stay under 50%.

Continue reading "Violence in Nursing Homes—Protecting Elderly Residents from Criminals and the Mentally Ill" »

A brutal nursing home assault in Illinois recently shed light on an ongoing problem many nursing homes are facing today—how to maintain resident safety in homes that take in violent mentally ill patients and criminals.

In January of this year, a 69-year old female resident of Maplewood care nursing home in Elgin, Illinois was found crying and terrified in her room, moaning in pain. According to police reports, 21-year old Christopher Shelton, a mentally ill patient from the second floor, had assaulted the woman—raping her, as she begged him to stop.

Although psychiatric patients are not an inherent threat in homes, some residents have criminal records, and if not carefully assessed, treated or monitored, can be a big concern for resident safety. At Maplewood, officials had reserved rooms on the nursing home’s second floor for psychiatric patients—but the separation between floors was not safely protected or monitored.

When Shelton, who suffers from bipolar disorder, moved into the nursing home, he had a violent history including an aggravated battery conviction, as well as other aggression related arrests. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, Shelton was arrested three times last year for alleged offenses that all included nursing home violence.

Before Shelton entered the home at the end of last year, the facility staff didn’t properly check his criminal background, or listen to the director’s warnings from the previous nursing home on his violent and disturbing behavior. After the resident assault and injury, facility officials told the state investigators that Shelton and the woman had been involved in “consensual” sex—a suggestion that the emergency room staff, the prosecutors as well as the police vehemently rejected.

Continue reading "Nursing Home Rape Leads to Resident Safety Concerns" »