Articles Posted in Nursing Home Negligence

Earlier this month in El Dorado, Kansas, a male nurse named Geofrey Nyanswego appeared before a judge in Butler County and entered a not guilty plea to several counts of neglect and abuse of patients at Victoria Falls Nursing Center. Evidently, the man was charged with the abuse or neglect of at least one patient and also the false imprisonment of another.

According to a report by a local news source, after entering his guilty plea, the man was released on his own recognizance and will return to court later this summer for a preliminary hearing. If convicted of the offenses, he faces potential jail time as well as a fine of up to $100,000. He was forced to surrender his nursing license and is prohibited from contacting the nursing home management, its employees, or its patients.

The CEO of the nursing home told reporters that the man has been fired from his post and that two other nurses were suspended as a result of the investigation. The nursing home was fined $155,000 for its failure to meet regulations.

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In May of this year, a Colorado man and his sister recovered $3.3 million in a lawsuit against a nursing home for the negligent care the home provided to the man. According to a report by a local news affiliate, the man, who suffers from dementia and mild mental retardation, was admitted to the home in 2011.

After her brother spent some time in the facility, the woman began to notice that he “wasn’t treated with dignity and respect.” Moreover, according to the co-plaintiff, her brother suffered various preventable conditions, including “bed sores, dehydration, malnutrition, UTIs, skin tears and abrasions, hyperkalemia (high potassium), multiple infections including E. coli, and significant weight loss.”

After taking the case to trial, a jury awarded the woman and her brother $3.3 million. Of that total, $300,000 was based on the nursing home’s negligence, and the remaining $3 million were punitive damages assessed due to the reprehensible behavior of the nursing home.

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Two nursing home residents in North Dakota are alleging that the nursing home they resided in provided negligent care resulting in a Hepatitis C outbreak. According to a report by McKnight’s Long-Term Care and Assisted Living, forty-four residents in a 114-bed facility contracted the incurable disease. The residents filed the suit in a federal court in North Dakota earlier this month.

They allege that the nursing home’s negligent care, specifically foot and nail care, or blood work may have caused the outbreak. The plaintiffs are seeking certification as a class to continue as a class action and have claimed unspecified monetary damages. An attorney for the residents claims that even the most basic level of care could have prevented the outbreak.

The nursing home claims that the lawsuit is premature, as the cause of the outbreak is still officially undetermined. In a recent statement the nursing home claims to be “cooperative and proactive” about ensuring all protocol is followed in the wake of the outbreak. While that is true, the North Dakota Department of Health is conducting in thorough investigation into the cause of the serious outbreak.

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Last month, nine people were arrested for their participation in the death of a 72-year-old nursing home patient in Long Island, New York. According to an article by CBS New York, several of those involved were charged with criminally negligent homicide, and the administrator of the nursing home was charged with covering up the death.

Back in October of 2012, the elderly victim was admitted into the nursing home after suffering from a bout of pneumonia. She was supposed to be in the nursing home for just six weeks and then return home. However, at some point in her stay her ventilator became unplugged. Employees ignored alarms for two hours and by the time they did show up, she had died.

The family of the woman was told that their loved one died of a heart attack. it was not until a whistle blower came forward and told the attorney general of New York what really happened that an investigation was conducted. Upon completion of the investigation criminal charges were pressed against seven employees.

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Last month, a former resident of the Hickory Creek of Athens nursing home filed charges against several owners, operators, and supervisors of the nursing home, alleging inadequate care. Specifically that the nursing home and its employees caused him “to lose his personal dignity and extreme and unnecessary pain, degradation, anguish, and emotional trauma.” According to a report by AthensOhioToday.com, the plaintiff was admitted to the nursing home in September 2012 and was a resident until January 2013. While it is not known why the plaintiff entered the facility, he claims that he “suffered catastrophic injuries, extreme pain, suffering, and mental anguish” while a resident.

The plaintiff claims that the owners and management of the nursing home were aware of the dangerous conditions present at the time of his residency. While he cannot identify all parties in the suit—listing several “John Does” as temporary placeholders until their names are revealed—he explains that supply shortages and understaffing problems were the cause of the inadequate care. Specifically, the plaintiff’s claims against the nursing home are for corporate negligence, medical malpractice, premises liability, fraud, and breach of duty.

Similar Problems Maryland Nursing Homes

Like the nursing home above, Maryland nursing homes are notorious for providing inadequate care to their residents. The reasons for the inadequate care are numerous; however, all the reasons relate to one fact: nursing homes are for-profit enterprises. Because of this, nursing home administrators are often incentivized to provide as little as possible to the residents. As long as the beds are filled, nursing homes are getting paid.

Red Flags that Nursing Homes Are Providing Inadequate Care

In most cases, the person staying at the nursing home is in the best position to understand what kind of care the nursing home is providing. However, the reality is that many times residents of nursing homes cannot affect the change on their own. Therefore, they will often reach out to family members. Here are a few red flags that may indicate that a nursing home is not providing the necessary standard of care for your loved one:

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Earlier this month, the family of a recently deceased 81-year old man filed charges in a central Texas court alleging that the nursing home the family placed the man in provided negligent care that led to the man’s death. According to a report by the Waco Tribune, the family admitted the elderly man in December of 2011 after a fall had rendered him in need of constant care and attention.

The elderly man, who suffered from Alheimer’s and Parkinson’s, died in September of 2012, “after months of severe and agonizing pain and suffering” caused by a series of pressure ulcers that worsened into a more serious, life-threatening condition.

The man’s family claims that there was nothing about his condition that made the pressure ulcers unavoidable. They note that pressure ulcers are an avoidable condition that merely require the proper level of care and attention. Instead, the family claims, the pressure ulcers were a result of the negligent care provided by the nursing home facility. The man had never suffered from a pressure ulcer before being admitted to this particular nursing home.

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Earlier this week, a man was sentenced in Washington County for the neglect of an 84-year-old woman who was placed in the care of the man’s Boonsboro assisted living facility. According to a report by Harold Mail Media, the man pled guilty to neglect of a vulnerable adult for his role in the 2012 injuries suffered by a resident of his assisted living facility when she fell through the floor in a second-story bathroom. Apparently, the manager failed to properly cordon off the second-story bathroom. The accident left the elderly woman—who also suffers from dementia—without the ability to walk.

While this accident may seem shocking, what is even more upsetting is how it was handled by the manager. The manager reported that he heard a noise and, upon investigating, found the woman lying on the floor with a hole above her in the ceiling. When police responded to a possible assault on the elderly woman a few days later, the manager told police what happened, but said the woman did not sustain any injuries. However, in subsequent talks with the woman’s doctor, it came out that she had suffered a broken ankle, several broken ribs and vertebrae, a broken pelvis and a head injury likely all caused by the fall. The assisted living manager claimed that he “panicked” and didn’t know what to do.

At sentencing, the manager was given an eight year prison sentence, five years of which were suspended in favor of probation. In addition, he was ordered to pay the victim nearly $15,000 in restitution.

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A U.S. Court of Appeals recently sided with the federal government in regards to several federal law violations in a nursing home, which culminated in a patient’s attempted escape.

In the case, MISSISSIPPI CARE CENTER OF GREENVILLE v. United States Department of Health and Human Service, U.S. Ct. App, 5th Cir. (2013), a resident of a Mississippi nursing home left the facility without supervision or permission, and wandered out into the street. Luckily, the man was spotted by a staff member, and safely returned to the facility.

As a result of the incident, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found that, as a result of the facility’s inability to prevent such incidents, the nursing home’s residents were in immediate jeopardy. The facility was subsequently fined $85,000 and ordered to amend its policies and procedures. The facility then requested a hearing before an administrative law judge and, upon an adverse ruling, appealed to the administrative review board. The administrative review board upheld the ALJ’s findings. On appeal to this court, the facility challenged the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s factual findings and determination that the Center’s residents were in immediate jeopardy.

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