Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

Sweep in Nursing Home Finds Felons and Sex Offenders with Outstanding Warrants

December 28, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent blog on nursing home injury, our Maryland-based attorneys discussed the problem many nursing homes are facing today, of creating a safe environment for residents who live in nursing home facilities with patients who are mentally ill or have violent criminal pasts.

After the Chicago Tribune’s investigative reports over the past few months, fueled by a series of nursing home abuse and assault cases, the publication has shed light on the high numbers of felons and sex offenders that reside in Illinois nursing homes, and how this is affecting the safety of nursing home residents. Last week, twenty federal marshals and the County Cook sheriff’s police, initiated by the Illinois Attorney General’s office, conducted a raid of two Chicago-based homes, looking for felons with outstanding arrest warrants.

After the sweep of the nursing homes, eighteen residents were discovered in the homes who are wanted on charges that vary from burglary and assault to disorderly conduct. The authorities arrested five people, including an unregistered sex offender from another state. According to the Attorney General’s office, this was the first step in an ongoing effort to identify residents in nursing homes who are wanted on arrest warrants.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the number of residents living in Illinois nursing homes who are felons has grown as the state continues to rely on the nursing home facilities to place younger psychiatric patients, many of whom have criminal records, which can endanger resident safety and cause nursing home injury or abuse to older residents.

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.

Elderly Resident at Nursing Home Wins $7.75 Million in Abuse Case

December 17, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In recent nursing home abuse news, our Maryland-based Attorneys have been following the case announced last week, where the family of a nursing home resident who sued Fillmore Convalescent Center for elder abuse and was awarded $7.75 million in monetary damages.

According to the lawsuit, in 2006, the family of Maria Arellano, a 71-year-old resident and stroke victim, noticed substantial bruising on Arellano. The family complained to the management at the center, but they did not investigate the bruises. The family then placed a video camera that was hidden to the center and staff—to find out what was happening to the resident in the room.

The camera allegedly caught Monica Garcia, a worker at the center, engaging in nursing home abuse, by pulling Arellano’s hair, forcefully bending her neck, wrists and fingers, slapping her, and using violent behavior while bathing her.

After the 22 day trial, Garcia received a criminal charge, and reportedly pleaded no contest to simple battery. The verdict from the trial splits the liability between the three defendants—20 percent to Garcia, 40 percent to the center, and 40 percent to the owner of the center.

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.

Rating Nursing Homes—The Five-Star Quality Rating System

December 1, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a previous post from this week, our Maryland Nursing Home Attorneys reported on basic planning tips for families searching for the right nursing home environment that promotes proper care, protects the health and safety of the resident, and is free from nursing home neglect and abuse.

One recommendation was for families to search Nursing Home Compare, the database from the from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS), that ranks around 16,000 Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes in the country on a Five-Star Quality Rating.

The Five-Star Quality Rating was developed to help residents, families, and caregivers compare nursing facilities by giving them a snapshot of the current status of health inspections, staffing for each nursing home, and quality measures. This rating system developed as a direct result of the continued efforts made since the nursing home reform law enacted in 1987, the Omnibus Reconciliation Act (OBRA ’87).

The Nursing Home Compare Website uses this quality rating system to give each nursing home a score ranging from one to five stars. One star gives a much below average quality ranking, whereas a five star rating gives a much above average quality ranking.

Home vs. Hospital—Basic Planning to Choose the Right Nursing Home Care

November 30, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our nursing home attorneys have been following a recent report covering the importance of choosing a nursing home in the Maryland and the Washington D.C. area. Choosing a nursing home should be a carefully thought out process, carried out by family members who have a clear sense of the patient’s wishes. Unfortunately, families often have a limited amount of time in which to make this decision, often 48 hours or less—when a family member is about to be discharged from the hospital, and is on the path to needing nursing home care.

The report recommends basic planning tips from experts, so that families on deadline can make the right choice and find the right nursing home environment that provides proper care, promotes resident rights, and is free from nursing home neglect and abuse.

Sarah Wells, the executive director of The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care (NCCNHR), a Washington-based nonprofit organization that represents consumers looking for long-term care, stressed the importance of discussing nursing home care expectations—if a family member becomes unable to care for themselves at any state or age of life—so there is a clear understanding of the resident’s preferences and priorities. Wells suggested talking about the most important issues of the nursing home care experience, like meals, music, proximity to family members, and visitor accessibility.

Because many important long-term care nursing home decisions are made in a matter of days and not weeks, many decisions become chaotic and hasty. Families are encouraged to use resources like the federal government’s Nursing Home Compare Website and state nursing-home ombudsmen for advice and data. Wells recommends that families should try and visit a nursing facility at lease twice, and compare the ratings and reports to what they actually experience.

Nursing Home Worker Charged with Neglect and Force-feeding

November 24, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In a recent nursing home abuse case that our Maryland attorneys at Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers have been following, a 56-year mentally disabled resident in Minnesota was physically abused by being force-fed against her will.

According to a Fox 9 News report, an employee from the Homeward Bound Group Home was charged last week for allegedly physically abusing the nursing home resident by forcing her to eat against her will. The Minnesota Health Department investigated the case over a period of four months, and concluded that the resident—who is mentally retarded, has cerebral palsy, and swallowing problems—was forced to eat by an employee, even when she was not hungry.

According to the Minnesota Health Department report, Alemayehu Seboka Abdi, placed his hand on the victim’s head while he would force-feed her, even when she nodded that she did not want food, and tried to stop the employee. He was reportedly seen retelling the story to other employees and laughing about his forceful behavior.

In an incident from May of this year, Abdi allegedly took the woman outside in the cold, wearing only a t-shirt, and forced her to eat— pushing her head back, forcing large quantities of food down her throat with a spoon that was larger than what the resident would normally use to eat. Abdi would then let her head drop forward.

By shaking her head in response to questions asked by investigators, the resident communicated that it was very difficult to breathe during the force-feeding. Because she had swallowing difficulties, she claimed that it was necessary for her to take small bites to eat. She told investigators that the physical abuse left her feeling scared, upset and sad for a week.

Negligence Lawsuit Demands Nursing Homes Install Patient Care Devices

November 17, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

In recent nursing home patient safety and technology news, our Maryland Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence Lawyers have been following the required development of electronic point-of-care devices, to be installed in Vestal Nursing Center, along with eight other nursing homes in New York. This nursing home healthcare technology development was as part of a deal made with the state Attorney General’s Office, after 14 employees were convicted of criminal charges for falsely testifying that they had provided appropriate care to patients—and were caught on a surveillance camera doing otherwise.

In 2005, Feliz Ortiz suspected that his father, a dementia patient resident at the Rochester nursing home wasn’t getting the proper care he deserved. His family was visiting him every day, and suspected serious nursing home abuse and neglect. After the state Department of Health checked the records of his care and suspected that the records were doctored, the state Attorney’s Office installed a hidden surveillance camera in his father’s room—to investigate of the level of care being provided.

The video results corroborated with Ortiz’s suspicions—his father wasn’t being turned every two hours to prevent bed sores, wasn’t being hydrated properly, and was left for hours on end lying in his own waste, while the nursing home caregivers claimed to be treating him properly. Employees were found allegedly sleeping, smoking, watching movies and not providing the promised nursing home care.

Point-of-care technology uses electronic devices to record services at health-care facilities, like the turning of a bed-ridden patient and the dispensing of patient medication in actual time. The new system of technology will also allow the nursing home caregivers to record information about the residents in their rooms, instead of having to walk back and forth to the nursing station—a process that will save time spent on paperwork, and give more time to the patients.

Electronic records will then be created for patients’ medical charts with the necessary information that can be easily accessible in the future after the implementation of electronic medical records occurs—where patient information for doctor visits, nursing homes, and critical care-facilities are all available electronically.