Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

White House Honors Elder Abuse Awareness Day

June 17, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In Washington D.C. this Tuesday, the White House honored the 5th annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, that was launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) and global organizations as a direct response to the growing problem of elder abuse and neglect around the country and world.

According to a White House press release, every year approximately 700,000 to 3.5 million elderly Americans are abused, neglected or exploited. Seniors who experience abuse and neglect reportedly face a higher risk of premature death—300% more than elderly residents who have not experienced abuse.

Although all Americans have the legal right to live out their senior years with integrity and respect, many of our elderly residents experience abuse and neglect, often times by the very people giving them care, with a reportedly large percentage of female victims. In 2006, funds were added to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to help elderly abuse victims, and victims of late life domestic violence—however only 1% of the funds are allotted to older women.

To honor World Elder Abuse Awareness, organizations and agencies around the country are encouraging individuals to raise public awareness of elder abuse and neglect, and to recognize this devastating problem that afflicts senior citizens and often goes unreported. According to research, as few as 1 in 6 reports of elder abuse are brought to the attention of the authorities.

Family of 100-year old Nursing Home Resident files Wrongful Death Suit Against Home

June 10, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

A wrongful death lawsuit has recently been brought against Brandon Woods of Dartmouth nursing home, by the family of Elizabeth W. Barrow, a 100-year old resident of the facility who was allegedly strangled to death last year by her roommate, who was 98-years old.

Barrow reportedly shared a room with Laura Lundquist, a 98-year old who has been diagnosed with having dementia and paranoia. According to Barrow’s son Scott, Lundquist allegedly harassed his mother for weeks, making her life miserable because she was jealous of all the attention that Barrow received, as well as the window view. Scott Barrow reportedly asked for the women to be separated, but according to the director of the home, Scott Picone, Barrow declined the option of moving rooms. Picone said the two roommates acted like “sisters” and took walks together.

On September 24th of last year, Elizabeth Barrow was reportedly strangled to death in her bed with a plastic bad. The autopsy revealed that she died by means of asphyxiation, but also received blunt force trauma to her arms, leg, skull and chest. Lundquist has been charged with the murder.

The lawsuit claims that the nursing home staff and executive director were negligent, as they were responsible for providing his mother with a safe environment, and they failed. He claims that as a result of the nursing home’s carelessness and negligence, Barrow was forced to suffer consciously until the time of her death.

CDC Guide to Nursing Home Fall Prevention

May 28, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent blog, our Baltimore, Maryland Nursing Home Attorneys discussed a new Maryland initiative, led by the Maryland Patient Safety Center (MPSC), to reduce the number of nursing home resident falls that can result in nursing home injury and deaths throughout the country.

According to the CDC, more than 1,800 people die in nursing home falls every year. In 2003, 1.5 million people over the age of 65 reportedly lived in nursing homes. The CDC projects that if this rate continues to rise, by 2030, there will be around 3 million nursing home residents—so understanding and evaluating nursing home falls and ways of preventing them is necessary for the health and safety of nursing home residents, to prevent nursing home injury and wrongful death.

Nursing home falls can be linked to the result of many health problems, including older residents who are weak, have difficulty caring for themselves or have difficulty walking, have chronic health conditions, or residents who have memory problems like Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Among the most common causes of nursing home falls are muscle weaknesses and walking problems, leading to 24% of falls. Environmental hazards like wet floors, poorly fitted wheelchairs, bad lighting, or improper bed heights, have also lead to a reported 16-27% of nursing home falls. Medications can also increase the risk of falls, especially if a patient is taking drugs that affect the nervous system, like sedatives or anti-anxiety drugs. Physical restraints, the controversial method used to try and keep residents from falling, can actually increase the risk of fall-related injuries and wrongful deaths.

Nursing home falls can also be caused by poorly trained staff, understaffing, or by using incorrect or outdated equipment to transfer or transport nursing home residents properly.

Nursing Home Aide Steals Drug By Licking Painkiller Patch on Resident’s Back

May 27, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Baltimore, Maryland attorneys have been following the recent nursing home news, that a nurse’s assistant at an Illinois nursing home has been charged with aggravated battery for removing medication from a patch on the back of an incapacitated resident—engaging in nursing home abuse for personal drug use.

According to Eugene Lowery, Crystal Lake’s Deputy Police Chief, Jeremiah Healless, a 25-year old certified nurse’s assistant who worked at the Fair Oaks Health Care Center, would enter the room of a 92-year old resident, roll her to one side, and make holes in resident’s fentanyl medication patch with a pin, a drug given to residents who are in ceaseless pain. Healless would then reportedly steal the drug by squeezing the patch, and then licking the drug from his fingers.

The nursing home staff started to suspect that something was amiss when the resident’s patch started to become discolored. After asking the woman’s family for permission, as the resident has mental and physical incapacities, the staff set up a hidden surveillance camera in her room to monitor for nursing home abuse.

Healless was subsequently caught forcing the drug out of the patient’s patch on camera and was immediately fired from his position and arrested. He reportedly made other incriminating statements to the police.

Program Aims to Reduce Falls in Maryland Nursing Homes

May 24, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In recent Maryland nursing home injury news, more than 24 hospitals in the state of Maryland are taking part of the Maryland Patient Safety Center’s (MPSC) SAFE from FALLS initiative, a program providing state facilities with a “road map” to prevent patient and resident falls—to reduce personal injury and harm.

The Maryland program, based on an original program in Minnesota, was created through the Maryland legislature, with the Delmarva Foundation and the Maryland Hospital Association chosen as operators, to work to decrease nursing home and healthcare falls overall, and decrease the severity of resident falls, especially falls with personal injury.

The SAFE from FALLS “road map” was developed by studying acute care, home health care, and nursing home care—the three environments that the project is aiming to help. The program was then tested in these healthcare settings during 2008 and 2009. Today there are reportedly 50-60 nursing homes using the program’s road map, with 30 hospitals and 12 home health agencies as well.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year, an average 100-bed nursing home reports around 100-200 nursing home falls. Nearly 1,800 people living in nursing homes reportedly die in this country every year from injuries related to nursing home falls. Those nursing home residents with falls that are non-fatal can suffer serious nursing home injuries.

Elder Abuse and Negligence and the Role of Court Guardianship

May 20, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our nursing home injury attorneys in Baltimore, Maryland have been reading about a recent investigation in Arizona, where the question of guardianship is being raised after allegations of elder abuse have surfaced in a home.

According to ABC15, Gloria Horrigan’s daughter Clair was having a difficult time caring for her mother, as she had health issues that made it hard on the family. Horrigan reportedly needed help and Clair decided to appoint a court guardian, as families can’t force elderly individuals to get help, but a guardian could.

Gloria Horrigan’s case ended up in probate court, where issues on vulnerable adults are heard. The guardian that was chosen was Sun Valley Group of Tempe, allegedly offering to care for the social, emotional, physical, and mental health of residents who reside with them, as well as taking care of the residents’ personal finances.

Horrigan’s daughter, Clair, claimed that her mother was promptly taken to a nursing home against her will and not allowed any visitors, including family. Clair claims that her mother did not get the proper medical treatment that was promised, she experienced elderly abuse, and her bills were not paid. Horrigan’s house reportedly went into foreclosure as a result.

Clair claims that Sun Valley Group was supposed to be her mother’s guardian, and look our for her best interests, but the home was much more interested in her mother’s money than her health. Horrigan’s final bill was reportedly around $500,000—including charges for an employee to read her mail for $75 an hour.

Jury Demands Nursing Home Pays $28 Million in Punitive Damages for Elder Abuse Case

May 14, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent nursing home injury blog, our Washington D.C.-based attorneys reported on a current case in Northern California, where a nursing home is being accused of recklessly poor resident care and nursing home negligence, leading to the wrongful death of Frances Tanner, a Stockton native.

On Wednesday of this week, Colonial Healthcare was found guilty of elder abuse, and Tanner’s daughter, Elizabeth Pao was awarded $1.1 million in monetary damages for Tanner’s suffering and pain, after enduring a nursing home fall in 2005 that broke her hip and led to a bedsore that became so infected it reportedly took her life.

Colonial Healthcare, over the course of the two week trial, has been accused of poor care, chronic and extreme understaffing, nursing home corporate greed, and failing to care for Tanner in every way—by allowing her to fall and break her hip, neglecting to record her level of treatment and care, and neglecting to prevent the bed sores that after becoming so infected, lead to her death.

According to the Sacramento Bee, yesterday, in the second phase of the case, the jury panel awarded $28 million in punitive damages for Frances Tanner’s abuse and wrongful death, in an effort to send a message to Horizon West Healthcare and its company leaders to stop the chronic understaffing and substandard care that has lead to nursing home negligence and resident death. The jury reportedly decided on the punitive damages after hearing evidence in court about the finances of the corporation—the corporation is reportedly worth around $200 million. This is said to be the largest elder-abuse award in Sacramento County history.

Senate Pushes Reform After Alleged Nursing Home Abuse in Veterans Home

May 13, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys recently wrote a blog about a series of violent elder abuse incidents that occurred in Veterans nursing homes in the state of Texas, as published in the Dallas Morning News.

The Dallas newspaper has recently reported that after publishing the articles last month, legislators in the Senate have now taken notice, and raised questions about the safety and management of the state-owned veterans nursing home facilities this week, with two Senate committee hearings.

Last month, the Dallas Morning Star found that the criminal investigation of two former nursing home workers, accused of nursing home abuse, were stalled for two years because of conflicts between the state inspectors, police, and nursing home administrators.

When the police reportedly looked into the nursing home abuse allegations in 2007, police officers defaulted to the state inspectors. In March, felony charges were finally filed against the former nursing home employees, accusing them of harming two residents in the separate 2007 incidents.

Jury Delivers Elder Abuse Verdict—Nursing Home to Pay $1.1 Million for Wrongful Death

May 12, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

As Washington D.C. Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys, we have been following a recent case of elder abuse, where a Sacramento County Superior Court jury found a nursing home guilty for the 2005 wrongful death of a Northern California resident.

Frances Tanner, a former administrative worker who had been employed by various agencies including the FBI and the IRS, reportedly moved into Colonial Healthcare, a nursing home in Auburn, California, in March of 2005 at the age of 79. Although she was suffering from mild dementia, Tanner was reportedly mobile, strong, talkative and in great spirits.

In September of 2005, Tanner suffered a nursing home fall and broke her hip. According to the lawsuit testimony, Tanner was not properly diagnosed with a hip fracture for another eight days, during which time a bed sore was discovered. After the surgery, the bed sore progressed rapidly, and Tanner reportedly died a few weeks later from a massive infection of the pressure sore that caused her great pain and suffering.

During the course of past two weeks, the home has been accused of poor care, chronic and extreme understaffing, and nursing home corporation greed. Colonial was accused of recklessly failing to care for Tanner in every way—by allowing her to endure a broken hip, failing to keep accurate notes on her treatment and care, and neglecting to prevent or care for the bed sore that allegedly killed her.

Today, the jury awarded Elizabeth Pao, Tanner’s daughter, $1.1 million in monetary damages for Tanner’s suffering and pain, and for the loss of companionship. The punitive damages will be announced on Thursday.

Bed Rail Suffocation Settlement in Nursing Home Case—Family Paid $190,000

April 30, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent wrongful death and negligence settlement that our Baltimore Nursing Home Attorneys have been following, the family of a nursing home resident was awarded $190,000 in damages, after the resident suffocated in her bed.

According to the lawsuit, Lottie D’Aust, a resident of Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital Medical Center, in New York, died from suffocation after getting trapped between a bed rail and the mattress—a common and tragic cause of personal injury and wrongful death in nursing homes, and a topic that our Maryland nursing home injury attorneys have been discussing in a recent blog.

The Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.), reports that from 1985 to 2008 nearly 772 incidents have occurred where hospital and nursing home patients have been trapped, stuck, or suffocated due to strangulation in beds that had rails. Out of this number, staff rescued 176 residents before they became injured, 136 experienced nonfatal personal injuries, and 460 residents died.

Although bed rails were designed as an aid to help patients maneuver their positions in the bed, and give security to the residents, many of these patients often experience bed rail entrapment, like Lottie D’Aust, getting caught in the space between the mattress and the bedrails, causing personal injury, strangulation, suffocation, and even wrongful death.