Nursing Home Negligence

Family Sues for Nursing Home Falls and Wrongful Death

January 28, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys, we have been following a lawsuit in which a 65-year old paralyzed patient in a nursing home was allegedly dropped to the floor twice. Her family claims that the second nursing home fall resulted in her wrongful death.

According to the lawsuit, Adriana Neagoe fainted in front of her church and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After surgery to treat the tumor left her body paralyzed with the ability to only move one arm, her family decided on Midway Nursing Home in Queens, New York for her care.

In the spring of 2008, Neagoe’s family was told that she had fallen from her bed, a bed that is protected by guardrails. Her family claims in the suit that she couldn’t have fallen, as she was paralyzed. The resident needed constant care—to be lifted up for bathing, and so the sheets could be changed.

Neagoe reportedly told her family that they dropped her on her head, from five feet up in the air. After she experienced the second nursing home fall, she was rushed to the hospital, where she died six days later from severe head injuries. Her family claims her death was caused from complications of these falls, due to nursing home negligence.

Nursing Home Residents Allegedly Drugged for Pharmacy Gain

January 22, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In yesterday’s blog, our Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys discussed the complaint filed last week by the U.S. Justice Department against Johnson & Johnson, for allegedly paying millions of dollars in kickback payments Omnicare, the largest pharmacy in the country, to increase sales of antipsychotic prescription drugs given to nursing home patients. According to the complaint, Omnicare was allegedly persuading physicians to prescribe drugs like the antipsychotic Risperdal for patients with dementia, even though the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the drug for dementia treatment.

In 1987, Congress passed landmark laws protecting patients from unnecessary drugs, and, according to these regulations, nursing home residents have the right to be protected from chemical restraints and medication for the sake of convenience or discipline to nursing home staff or doctors. It is illegal for facilities to give strong psychotropic drugs to patients without a doctor’s orders, patient’s consent and treatment justification, as patients may experience dangerous side effects like tremors, severe lethargy, nursing home falls, and wrongful death.

The Department of Health and Human Services states that nursing homes are required to have an outside pharmacist consult and review a patient’s medication schedule at least once a month. Once the outside pharmacist checks with the patient, they are obligated to report any oddities in the prescription drug schedule with the physician, and are able to make recommendations on how they would alter the medicine plan. But according to the complaint by the government, Johnson & Johnson used the consultant pharmacists as a tool to increase market share—dissolving the trust and integrity that should be a cornerstone for the health and safety of nursing home residents.

The New York Times reported this is not the first time that a drug company has been charged for using antipsychotic prescriptions to drug elderly residents. Eli Lilly pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor last January in a nearly $1.5 billion settlement of criminal and civil charges that the pharmaceutical company had marketed Zyprexa, the antipsychotic drug for the treatment of dementia with elderly people. Omnicare and Johnson & Johnson were reportedly trying to compete against AstraZenica’s antipsychotics, by increasing market share for Risperdal.

Maryland Lawmaker Supports Nursing Home Video Monitoring Legislation

January 19, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

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.

Pressure Ulcers Claim Resident’s Life—Nursing Home Sued for Negligence

January 15, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent article discussing decubitus ulcers, a leading cause of nursing home injury and death in this country affecting nearly one million Americans every year, our Maryland-based attorneys from Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers have read about another tragic case, where a resident of a nursing home developed multiple non-healing pressure ulcers that allegedly lead to his death.

According to the lawsuit, Edwin Ley developed multiple pressure sores or decubitus ulcers while staying in Collinsville Rehabilitation and Health Care, that developed on his buttocks, feet, elbows and coccyx. Ley reportedly died from the complications of these sores and from severe malnourishment and neglect while being a patient at the center from December 4, 2007 through January 23, 2008.

When a nursing home resident rests for too long in one position without shifting weight, the resident’s blood supply to the skin is cut off, due to unrelieved pressure. The skin then begins to breaks down, and causes decubitus ulcers to form.

The suit was filed by Dorothy Ley, special administrator for Ley’s estate, and she states in the complaint that Ley’s condition deteriorated to such an extreme state that he was sent to the emergency room and diagnosed with dehydration and pressure ulcers. Edwin Ley died on June 10, 2008 from his condition, and according to the suit, in the months before his death, he suffered pain, disability, medical costs, and disfigurement.

Nursing Homes and Operator Admit to Fraud and Negligence in 1.6 Million Settlement

January 8, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers in Maryland and the Washington D.C. area have been following the news of a lawsuit settlement announced yesterday between five Missouri-based nursing homes, the operator of the homes, and federal prosecutors. The homes were charged with severe negligence, inadequate care, lack of staffing, and complaints of fraud.

The five nursing homes are all operated by Cathedral Rock of Texas, but are located in Missouri. According to the Star-Telegram, the nursing home company acted with severe nursing home neglect, by leaving nursing home residents’ skin sores untreated for so long that they became infested with maggots and amputations were necessary. The staff was also accused of not bathing, feeding, or providing the proper bathroom accommodations for the nursing home residents.

In the plea agreements, the company admitted that the homes were not equipped with enough staff to provide adequate nursing home care and that residents often did not receive required medication or proper wound care treatment. The company also admitted to doctoring the medical records to give the appearance that all patient medications had been administered, regardless of whether they had been given or not. The nursing home was also charged with cheating Medicare and Missouri Medicaid, by submitting fraudulent claims for services that weren’t provided or were of no value.

Cathedral Rock of Texas pleaded guilty to felony health care fraud, and C. Kent Harrington, a majority owner in Forth Worth, entered a plea agreement that will require him to pay, along with Cathedral Rock, $1 million in criminal fines. Harrington and the nursing home company must also pay $628,000 to resolve civil allegations of fraudulent claims made to Medicare and Missouri Medicaid, as well as implement programs that protect nursing home residents from abuse and neglect in the future.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Accuses Nursing Home of Bedsore Negligence

December 30, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland Nursing Home Negligence and Abuse Attorneys, we have been following the recent lawsuit filed against Caseyville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center—where a nursing home resident died after the staff at the center allegedly neglected to treat her multiple bedsores while she was a resident at the facility.

According to the lawsuit, Theresa Steiner was admitted to the nursing and rehabilitation center as a patient on December 12, 2008. She entered the home with pre-existing decubitus ulcers, or pressure sores— three on her buttocks that were stage II, and pressure sores that had developed on both heels after staying for a week at Anderson Hospital for abdominal bleeding.

One week later, Steiner’s buttock ulcers had developed into stage IV bedsores, there were multiple sores on her heels, and she had developed sepsis, one of the greatest dangers of an advanced pressure sore—when bacteria enters the bloodstream and spreads throughout your body. Sepsis is a potentially lethal condition that progresses quickly and can cause organ failure.

Steiner was taken to the hospital on December 19, 2008, and died on January 7, 2009 from sepsis and acute respiratory failure. Steiner’s son accuses the center of nursing home negligence—for failing to screen his mother bedsores properly before entry, for properly treating the bedsores, and for failing to alert Steiner’s doctor on the seriousness of her the bedsores to prevent further deterioration. According to the suit, the facility did not have a nurse on staff that specialized in wound care, and who was properly trained in treating pressure sores.

Mentally Ill Man Charged in Nursing Home Rape

December 23, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

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.

Top Ten Important Considerations for Choosing a Nursing Home

December 10, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A recent report that our nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys have been following gives an expert recommended list of ten top considerations for choosing nursing home care.

• Discuss with the resident what their goals and expectations are proactively, before the resident goes into the home. Also discuss the diagnosis with health-care providers to determine what kind of care is needed: from a nursing facility, to community based-care, long-term care, or other possible institution options.

• Always start looking for an establishment that is close to family and friends, so visitation is easy and accessible.

• Search the Nursing Home Compare Website, which lists Medicare-and Medicaid certified facilities with Five-Star ratings that compare national quality standards on short-term as well as long-term care.

• Always meet with the administrator, to discuss care planning, safety systems, wander alerts, specialized services, policies and the cost. Also ask about policies on physical and chemical restraints, as well as the nursing facilities’ history of bedsores or decubitus ulcers.

• Visit the home at least twice to check the level of care—both at busy times, as well as times when the staff is less busy. Try to witness the level of care during mealtimes, as well as early evenings, or just before a staff shift change.

Inspection Reports in Nursing Homes—Preventing Personal Injury

December 8, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a related post from last week, our Maryland Nursing Home Injury Lawyers discussed the importance of researching the up to date results on recent inspections when choosing a nursing home in the state of Maryland, especially with regard to complaints and deficiencies in homes that can lead to nursing home negligence, abuse or personal injury.

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) stresses the importance of having nursing home performance data available for consumers, and how important it is to rate facilities based on recent inspections. Many states electronically post “report cards” of various types for consumers to access.

The Maryland Health Care Commission’s Maryland Nursing Home Guide is a rating resource that covers specific information on facilities such as quality measures, deficiencies, recent state inspections, and bed counts, as well as family satisfaction surveys. The guide offers a look at more than 200 nursing facilities and 34 Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). This service allows visitors to compare and contrast information on each facility, review quality measures, inspections results, and quality indicators.

The Nursing Home Compare website ranks around 16,000 Medicare and Medicaid-certified national nursing homes on a Five-Star Quality rating system that compares the quality standards on short-term as well as long-term care. The U.S. Nursing Home Information & Registry from Member of the Family.net also reports on 16,000 homes by the state, for survey ratings, complaint information and reports of repeat violations.

Jury Finds Nursing Home Negligent in Resident’s Death

December 4, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Maryland Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys, we have been following the recent nursing home neglect case ruling against Rosewood Care Center on behalf of Catherine Taylor, a patient who died in 2004 at the age of 88 from bed sore complications during her stay at the Illinois facility.

Taylor was a resident of Rosewood Care Center, in July and August of 2004, and was taken to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in August for a treatment to remove bedsores and treat bone infections that developed, according to the suit, as a result of being confined to her bed without proper nursing home care. She had allegedly developed a bedsore on her backside that was the size of a fist, and died in December 2004 at the age of 88 from complications of the bedsore infection.

On Monday of this week, a jury ruled against Rosewood Care Center, and awarded the family of Catherine Taylor $51,000 in damages. The center is also responsible for covering all attorney fees over the past five years of the lawsuit.

Bedsores, also known as decubitus ulcers or pressure sores, are a major problem in nursing homes, causing injury and death to nearly one million Americans every year. When residents are left sitting or lying in the same position for long periods of time, the skin starts to break down, causing pressure sores which can lead to bone infections, or osteomyelitis—an inflammation of the bones caused by a bacteria that enters the body through the wound and attacks the bone. Once the bone becomes infected, an abscess can develop, resulting in the loss of blood supply that hinders the natural healing ability of the body.

Osteomyelitis can be treated with antibiotics, yet some cases require surgery to remove the dead tissue, bone, and fluid from the area around the bed sore with a scalpel, so the skin can heal. The mortality rate reported for residents with osteomyelitis is extremely high.