Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

Peak Flu Season Is About to Hit Maryland Nursing Homes, Be Prepared

January 13, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As if the cold temperatures of winter are not bad enough, every January and February “Flu Season” comes around, putting an extra damper on anyone’s season who is unlucky enough to contract the persistent and infectious disease. However, for some the flu is more than a pesky illness that requires we use a few sick days from work. To the elderly, the flu can be a life threatening illness.

One recent article by the Frederick News-Post notes that, while Frederick Memorial Hospital requires all hospital staff to be vaccinated, nursing home employees are not required to get the flu vaccine. Considering that nursing home employees work with an extremely vulnerable population—the same as the hospital employees—a nursing home employee’s failure to get vaccinated may have devastating repercussions, should an outbreak hit a nursing home.

The Effects of the Flu on the Elderly

To most of us, getting the flu means that we will have to take a week off of work, at the worst. However, the elderly are an especially vulnerable population. In fact, according to the government website, flu.gov, 90% of all flu-related deaths occur in people over the age of 65. This is due mostly to the fact that, as we age, our immune systems grow weaker and have a more difficult time fighting off the flu virus.

Finding a Safe Nursing Home for Your Loved One in Maryland

January 6, 2014 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Rarely does anyone look forward to putting a loved one in a nursing home. Ideally, we would all be able to provide the care that our aging friends and relatives need in their final years. However, the reality of life often prevents us from doing so and many of us will require the services that a nursing home provides at some point in our lives.

However, nursing homes have a bad reputation, and for good reason. The instances of nursing home abuse and neglect seem incredibly high these days. In fact, a recent study conducted by the federal government found that 1 in 3 nursing homes were cited with some kind of violation that could have caused harm (or actually did) to one of their residents. With all the bad nursing homes out there, how can you be sure that you are selecting a good one for your loved one?

How Do Maryland Nursing Homes Stack Up?

Maryland nursing homes rank below average with the quality of care they provide to their residents. According to the 2013 Nursing Home Report Card, Maryland was given a “D.” Below are just a few highlights from the Report:

Approximately 95% of all Maryland nursing homes were deficient in some manner.
Approximately 17% of all Maryland nursing homes were reported to have “severe deficiencies.
Maryland was ranked 34 out of the 50 states when it comes to nursing home care.

Court of Appeals Upholds Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s Findings Regarding $85,000 Fine and other Findings in Nursing Home

December 27, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

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.

Egregious Case of Nursing Home Neglect Leads to Federal Lawsuit

December 18, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

An Iowa woman’s death has reportedly prompted a federal lawsuit brought by her husband and granddaughter, seeking damages for wrongful death, and loss of consortium.

The nursing home resident reportedly died under circumstances in which state investigators discovered that the woman had fallen more than 50 times prior to her death. While it is unclear whether the investigation was limited to this case, the facility was fined more than $10,000 in relation to the woman’s case and for another matter that was uncovered.

The lawsuit, which was reportedly filed in federal court, cites to at least 23 occasions, known to the plaintiffs, in which the family was aware that the woman fell. The documents further allege that the facility failed to adequately notify the family regarding the falls.

Doctor Employed by Federal and State VA skirts Federal Claims in Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit

December 10, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A recent case that alleged harm under the Federal Tort Claims Act, DUCKWALL-KENNADY v. US, Dist. Ct., ED Ky. (2013), was dismissed due to the court’s finding that the doctor defendant was not acting within her scope of employment as an on-call doctor for Federal Veteran’s Agency, but rather in her capacity as a treating doctor for a state Veteran’s Agency.

The case alleged that the plaintiff’s husband became a patient of a veteran’s affairs center, called the Thomson Hood Veterans Center (“THVC”), which was owned and operated by the Kentucky Department of Veteran’s Affairs. According to the plaintiff, her husband suffered an accelerated deterioration of his health, ultimately resulting in his death, due to the physicians who worked in the home failing to take proper care of him.

The doctor who provided care for the plaintiff’s husband was simultaneously employed by the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs at THVC, where the plaintiff’s husband was a resident, and also maintained “on call” telephonic hours with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs at the VA Nursing Home in Lexington, Kentucky. While her patient, the doctor only provided care to the plaintiff’s husband at the THVC.

$114 Million Jury Award in Nursing Home Lawsuit

December 3, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A decision reached within recent years in a nursing home case offers a glimpse into the realm of extensive punitive damages that may be available in nursing home neglect cases.

In the case, a 76 year old woman was place in a nursing home in Florida for rehabilitation. Throughout the course of her stay, the staff and facility reportedly knew that the woman was at risk for falls, but allegedly did not adopt any preventative measures in place in order to protect it from happening.

As a result, the woman reportedly fell within two weeks of being admitted. She suffered head trauma and a fracture to the upper arm. According to the lawsuit, she never fully recovered from the injuries.

D.C. Court of Appeals Examines Meaning of Reckless Indifference in Criminal Neglect of Vulnerable Adult Appeal

November 25, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The D.C. Court of Appeals decided earlier this year in the appeal of a certified nursing assistant who was convicted of criminal neglect of a vulnerable adult.

The case, TARPEH v. US, 62 A. 3d 1266 – D.C. Ct. App (2013), centers on a discussion of what it means to be criminally reckless, as to meet the standard required to convict someone of criminal neglect of a vulnerable adult.

In Tarpeh, the appellant was a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), and was assigned the atypical task of transporting a patient, whose residence unit she did not typically work within, to a dental appointment in the D.C. area, an area in which she had never been. The result was essentially a disaster.

D.C. Court of Appeals Affirms “Interests of Justice” Standard in Waiving Notice Requirement in Medical Malpractice Claims

November 18, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In the course of nursing home abuse and negligence cases, there are several procedural requirements that must be met in order to ensure that your case is in compliance with relevant state and federal laws. For example, in medical malpractice cases, the District of Columbia requires that you serve the defendant with notice of your intention 90 days prior to filing a claim. Failure to file this notice could result in your case being dismissed.

In a recent case case, Lewis v. Washington Hospital Center, DC: Court of Appeals 2013, the D.C. Court of Appeals discussed the proper standards of review and standard for allowing a case to move forward when the requirement that the defendant in a medical malpractice claim be given 90 days notice was not met. Although the facts in the case were not discussed, the plaintiff was attempting to sue a hospital on malpractice grounds, and apparently failed to serve adequate notice of her lawsuit to the hospital.

The hospital filed a motion arguing that the court should not allow for a waiver of the notice requirement, because in its opinion, a waiver is only proper when the lawsuit involves, “an otherwise unknown or unlicensed defendant, or a misnomer.” Since the plaintiff was not suing an unknown defendant, the hospital argued that the “interests of justice” waiver was not proper. Additionally, the hospital argued that a separate waiver for notice, when a showing of good faith has been made regarding attempts to give notice, was also unavailable, because that was not the case either. The hospital argued, therefore, that the case should be dismissed for failing to meet the standard.

Abuse of 86 Year Old Alzheimer’s Patient Suspected in Alleged “Fall” Case

November 12, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A Missouri family believes that their 86 year old mother with Alzheimer’s was abused in a nursing home where she was living.

The nursing home initially called the family to inform them that the woman had fallen in her bedroom. Her daughter reports that her mother’s eye was swollen shut, following what the home stated was a bad fall. The family members did not believe that a fall could have caused the injuries.

The woman’s daughter stated that the pictures from the hospital show her mother suffered a broken nose, broken cheekbones and bruising to her eye, and that she believes someone assaulted her mother, on at least one occasion. The family reportedly received conflicting stories regarding how their mother allegedly fell.

Nursing Home Abandons Patients, Leaves Them to Fend for Themselves

November 5, 2013 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A nursing home in California has been in the headlines lately for allegedly abandoning its facility, and therefore patients. One patient suffering from dementia went missing for several days, until he was finally located by law enforcement officers over 30 miles away.

Government officials began a criminal investigation into elder abuse at the closed residential care facility, where fourteen patients were eventually moved from hospitals to other skilled nursing homes.

The facility had reportedly been battling with California’s elder care oversight agency for months over the state’s attempt to revoke their license over a host of unfixed violations at both this location and another one run by the same family. The lawyer representing the family disputes any allegations of wrongdoing, and alleges that the home was properly staffed for the small number of mostly indigent residents still waiting to find a new place to live.