Investigations of Elder Abuse at State Veterans Home

As Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys, we have been following a recent story from the Dallas Morning News, covering nursing home abuse incidents and allegations surrounding seven veterans nursing homes in Texas that are state-owned.

According to the article, regulators have repeatedly found abuse and neglect problems in the Texas homes, which are open to veterans and their spouses who are Texas residents, and did not receive dishonorable discharge.

One of the homes with nursing home abuse incidents was at the Lamun-Lusk-Sanchez State Home for veterans in Big Springs, where John Harris, a 97-year old World war II veteran lived before he died in 2007. A nurse aide reported that she witnessed a colleague grab the resident from his wheelchair and shove him so aggressively into the bed that he was hospitalized that night complaining of pain in his hip. In another incident from the same year, Albert Teague, a Marine who had once served at Iwo Jima reportedly experienced nursing home violence, when an employee allegedly punched and choked at the home.

The article states the criminal investigation into these two cases was drawn out because of a bureaucratic jumble over who should perform the investigation—home administrators, local police, or state officials. Last month, felony charges were finally filed against the former employees.

Of the state’s seven homes, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave the Ussery-Roan and Big Springs Veterans Home the second to the lowest possible rating this year, with the main violation being nursing home neglect.

The head of the Big Springs nursing home claimed that residents are given an environment that is safe and secure, and that all employees were retrained on the policies of nursing home abuse and neglect.

If you or someone you know at a Maryland or Washington D.C. nursing home facility has experienced nursing home negligence or abuse, contact the attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation, so we can help you receive the personal injury compensation you are owed.

Elder Abuse Investigations Linger in Incidents at State Veterans Home, The Dallas Morning News, April 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:

National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)

Maryland Department of Aging

Contact Information