Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

A Delaware jury recently convicted a certified nursing assistant of abusing an 89 year old woman at a local nursing home. The specific charges were patient abuse and mistreatment of an impaired adult, stemming from an incident where the assistant allegedly placed a trash bag over the elderly woman’s head as she sat in her wheelchair last February. The victim, who suffered from severe dementia, was not injured.

She was additionally ordered to stay away from any facility providing care for the elderly during the course of her six month probation period. Additionally, following notification of the U.S. Department of Health and Social Services, the agency can further bar the woman from working in a facility that receives federal health care funds for a minimum of five years.
While this incident reportedly took place in Delaware, it could just as easily have happened in Maryland, or any other state. Nursing home abuse is far more common than we would like to believe. Sometimes, as in this case, the victim isn’t physically harmed, but the true ramifications of the abuse may never be known. Additionally, what is further troubling about this case in particular is that there is no guarantee, nor in fact any legal barrier, that will ensure that this woman is prevented from resuming as a certified nursing assistant in another nursing home once her six month probation term comes to an end.

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Earlier this month in Florida, the owner of an adult care home was charged in regards to multiple allegations related to the mistreatment of residents, which included such things as abusing residents, failure to provide an adequate number of beds, restraining a resident with handcuffs, and other crimes.

According to a statement from the Florida Attorney General, the formal charges against the woman included neglect of a disabled adult, false imprisonment, aggravated abuse and exploitation.

Authorities allege that the owner failed to provide medical services for at least one resident’s wounds, did not provide an adequate number of beds for residents of the home, restrained at least one disabled adult with handcuffs, abused at least one disabled adult causing wounds on her wrists and permanent disfigurement, and additionally failed to pay at least two disabled adult residents their required monthly personal needs allowance. According to the Attorney General’s statement, the woman is facing up to 60 years in prison and $40,000 in fines.

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According to the Attorney General in New York, a nurse’s aide was arrested recently based on allegations that she physically and mentally abused an elderly woman under her care in a nursing home.

The aide was charged with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, two counts of willful violation of health laws, and one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically disabled person.

According to reports, the aide led the patient to her room in August, where the patient then became difficult, and hit the aide in the face. The aide allegedly then grabbed the woman by the wrist and twisted her arm behind her head, causing her wrist to fracture. The aide additionally allegedly hit the woman in the face with the woman’s own hand, and then with a pair of urine soaked undergarments.

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A Sheriff’s Department in Georgia is investigating a claim that a nursing home staff member allegedly physically abused a patient. The incident was allegedly reported by both a family member and another staff member at the facility.

An 86-year-old woman was hospitalized with bruises and a broken bone that she suffered allegedly as a result of the incident at a care facility. The Sheriff’s Office stated that it will use forensic evidence from the woman’s physician to determine how she received the injuries.

A local ombudsman reports that in her opinion, accidents such as this one are usually not intentional, but happen due to a lack of training or other accidents. In those cases, the facility should focus on better training its staff in order to prevent future incidents from occurring. She also reiterates the common message of being involved with the nursing home by visiting on a regular basis and getting to know the staff, in order to ensure that your loved one is receiving good care.

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Trial has reportedly begun in the case of a former nursing home employee accused of assaulting a patient last November.

The defendant pleaded not guilty earlier this year to the charge of abuse of a disabled adult. She faces up to two years in prison if convicted. The charges stem from allegations that the woman abused a 76 year old resident while giving the woman medication last November. Specific allegations include claims that the defendant pulled the patient by her hair, used a knee to pin down the patient’s legs, and squeezed her chest. She reportedly also hit the patient in the face with water from the cup or pitcher on the patient’s bedside stand. The entire ordeal was apparently related to the defendant trying to get the patient to take her pills.

The woman’s defense attorney said that the patient was disoriented and startled when the defendant woke her up, and that she has struggled with memory problems.

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Another seemingly egregious case of nursing home abuse has been captured on hidden camera.

A Canadian man set up a hidden camera in his mother’s room at a home in Ontario for a period of three weeks due to suspicions that she was being abused or neglected. One instance that prompted his action was when his mother, a dementia patient, developed a black eye, and employees were unable to provide an explanation for the injury.

Once he reviewed the footage, the man found employees handing his 85 year old mother roughly, and in one case an employee reportedly shoved a feces-covered rag in her face after using it to clean her bottom. A different employee was captured blowing her nose in the woman’s sheet. While four employees were ultimately fired following suspension after health officials conducted investigations, police stated that they would not bring criminal charges.

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The Center for Investigative Reporting made a finding that California is failing to protect patients living in care facilities across the state. What they discovered was unsettling. By searching through years of records, the group determined that investigators from the Department of Public Health failed to look into accusations of abuse by nursing assistants. Documents show state regulators effectively shelved more than 900 cases from Southern California, including some of the most alarming allegations involving suspicious deaths. Data reportedly shows that most of investigations conducted do not result in action against caregivers, the number of caregivers’ licenses revoked has gone down, and that fewer cases have been referred for prosecution.

One such case involved a 95 year old woman who checked herself into a Pomona assisted living facility. The woman is believed to have died as a result of injuries she sustained from employees of the home. While the facility claims that the woman died as a result of injuries she sustained from a fall, family members and even a former nursing director believe that the woman was repeatedly punched, especially in the face. The former employee stated, “Her face looked like Mohammed Ali did a dance on it. And you could see knuckles.”

Despite questions surrounding her death, the Department of Health closed the case in February, seven years after the woman died. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s report ultimately concluded that the allegations of assault could not be ruled out, but no charges have been filed. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has decided to take a closer look at the woman’s death, and as a result has opened a homicide investigation.

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A 76 year old nursing home patient died last month from complications of injuries he sustained when he was tased by local police.

The man was reportedly wielding a knife and scissors and otherwise behaving erratically when the police arrived. When officers motioned to the man, who did not speak English, and ordered him to drop the weapons, he moved the knife towards his throat. Police then used a taser in an attempt to prevent the man from harming himself. As a result, the man fell and severely injured his face.

The man died shortly thereafter from pneumonia that developed during treatment for delirium and his injuries, according to the medical examiner.

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