Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer - Nursing Home & Elder Abuse - Most Commented

Nursing Home Attempted Murder

IB Contributor — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 16:05:04 GMT

Break-in at Costa Mesa nursing home.

According to Costa Mesa's Mesa Verde Convalescent Home they not only have had no formal complaints filed against their AAA rated, government certified nursing facility, in the last four years, but they offer such amenities as: bingo and ice cream; movies with popcorn; and smiling strolls.

Unfortunately this nursing home doesn't offer one important amenity and it almost cost one 91-year-old man his life last Sunday, when an 18-year-old slipped through an unsecured door about 11:15 p.m. and attempted to smother Ted Mastos to death with a pillow.

Mr. Mastos, who's friends call him "Teddy Bear", is lucky to be alive after fighting off his attacker, who was unknown to him. The teenager was charged with elder abuse and attempted murder. All according to an article in the O.C. Register.

Even though Mesa Verde Convalescent Home is "nestled within a residential setting" in Costa Mesa, there would seem to be no logical reason to leave doors unlocked and unprotected at such a late hour. It appears that Mesa Verde's security measures need review.

For questions regarding nursing home or elder abuse, contact us for a free, professional consultation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Nursing Homes Negligence Continues to Grow and Profit

IB Contributor — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:56:21 GMT

Is there profit in negligent nursing home care?

The number of nursing homes in Arizona with serious problems has grown considerably over the last two years, according to an Associated Press news report posted on the Tucson Citizen's Web site. Last year, the report states, inspectors found 11 nursing homes were below standard - that's 13 percent of the state's nursing homes.

Inspectors found that many patients in these homes were getting the wrong medicine and some residents simply suffered in silence because they feared retaliation by abusive nursing home employees. The report states that this year alone, three homes have gotten the worst possible rating. Waverly Park in Tucson was filed $20,250 for not giving medications to 21 patients over four days last year.

The issue of nursing home abuse and neglect made its way to the limelight in Arizona when state inspectors found that the Arizona State Veteran Home was in "immediate jeopardy." They found that elderly patients were allowed to smoke without supervision, sometimes burning themselves with the cigarettes. Other residents were found left in soiled clothes for hours. The nursing home paid up a federal fine of $10,000 for its violations.

Let's do the math. A nursing home company under-staffs one of its nursing homes by one employee per shift for all three shifts a day. If they pay those employees $12.00 an hour, it probably costs them something more then $25,000 a year for wages, benefits and taxes. By understaffing one employee per shift the nursing home saves 3 X $25,000 = $75,000 saving per year. If the nursing home gets caught not properly caring for their residents by state inspectors, the state fines the nursing home $10,000. If the nursing home only gets caught twice a year, they are being rewarded for failing to properly care for their residents to the tune of an extra $55,000 per year. Would higher penalties encourage proper staffing and care? How about weekly inspections rather than yearly?

Most nursing homes are owned by "for profit" companies. If nursing home residents sue for negligent treatment, lack of treatment and/or abuse every time it happens, it won't happen much. If nursing home residents are intimidated into not speaking up and are fearful of making any type of complaint, then the worst of the nursing homes are going to continue to get away with poor, negligent and abusive treatment and gradually get worse. A "jury of your peers" is a lot scarier for a nursing home owner to face than a state inspector that hands out $10,000 fines. A jury may be the only body that can motivate the greediest of nursing home operators to properly care for their residents, to do the job they are getting paid for.

Need a confidential consultation regarding nursing home treatment or lack there of, contact us for a free, confidential consultation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Agency fines Hemet nursing home

IB Contributor — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 23:26:01 GMT

The agency that oversees California nursing homes has fined a Hemet facility $75,000 in connection with a patient's death.

ManorCare Health Services in Hemet received an AA citation, which is the most severe under state law, on March 13, the article said. Evaluators from the California Department of Health Services found that an 83-year-old man died at a hospital on Jan. 13, 2006, seven days after he fell out of a wheelchair at the nursing home, according to the citation.

The man, whom the nursing home had identified as a fall risk, hit his head on the floor next to his bed, the citation states. He was taken to an unidentified hospital, where he was diagnosed with internal bleeding and admitted to the intensive-care unit.The man died after his son had him taken off life support, the report states.

The Department of Health Services would not identify the man or the nurses who failed to properly restrain him Jan. 6, 2006. The nurses no longer work at the nursing home, the report states.

The nursing home has appealed the citation. ManorCare Health Services owns more than 275 nursing homes across the country, including the Hemet facility and ManorCare Health Services in Palm Desert.

The Hemet facility on Monday agreed to provide nurses with patient-care training, according to the Department of Health Service's report. Nursing administrators also are to check patient charts to make sure rules are followed. However, facility operators did not admit fault in the patient's death.

The Department of Health Services last inspected the Hemet facility May 31, 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Medicare Web site. Inspectors found 17 health deficiencies, most of which had been corrected by July 15.

Pat McGinnis, executive director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said consumers should consider citation and inspection information when selecting nursing homes. The group's Web site provides some of that information.

"Anytime there's a citation you always have to put it in the context of what else is going on there," she said. "The facility might be understaffed. You need to take into account the number of beds in the facility."

Understaffing is the most common problem we see in nursing homes. We've found that owners will deliberately keep staff numbers low in order to boost profits. In many cases, staff members also do not get the specialized training they need to take care of their residents.

If you are looking to place your loved one in a nursing home, you may view inspection results at www.medicare.gov. If you would like to complain about a nursing home, visit www.canhr.org or call the group at 800-474-1116 or call the California Department of Aging Crisis Line at 800-231-4024.

If you would like a consultation regarding nursing home abuse or neglect, call me.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Indiana nursing home could be placed on probation

IB Contributor — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:33:10 GMT

Indiana health officials are considering placing a nursing home's license on probation after a resident with Alzheimer's disease accidentally died last month at the nursing homre, according to an Associated Press news report published in the Indianapolis Star.

The Indiana State Department of Health also wants Bradner Village Health Care Center to hire a registered nurse consultant and a licensed administrator consultant for 40 hours per week, the agency said Monday.

Nursing home staff found the body of Clarence B. Elliott, 76, about 3 a.m. on Feb. 15 outside a locked door of the home on a night when temperatures fell below zero. An autopsy determined the man had died of hypothermia.

Following a survey days after Elliott's death, the health department charged Bradner Village with violating state rules. The survey found the home had failed to watch Elliott over a five-hour period on the night of Feb. 14 and failed to prevent his unsupervised exit from the building into a snow-covered courtyard.

The investigation also determined that a certified nursing assistant responsible for the 10 p.m. bed check did not enter Elliott's room, which was in the secure area of the home, the news report said. A second assistant responsible for a bed check two hours later entered every room but Elliott's.

Bradner Village has made several corrections, including firing two employees, Eric Walts, part owner and executive administrator of Bradner Village, said previously. It also installed a video surveillance system and a second alarm on the doors Elliott used to leave, he said.

It shocks me that a nursing home that would take in Alzheimer's patients or people with dementia would not have a surveillance system in place and alarm on the doors. These are safety standards that should be part of state requirement to operate a nursing home. It should be made part of the permit process.

In my opinion, this nursing home deserves to be put on probation. A 76-year-old man, incapable of caring for himself, froze to death at their doorstep. And they had no idea. This is one of those types of cases that my partner and I get more juice out of. Where a corporation, charging a bundle for taking care of the elderly, blows it and it costs a life. In this case, I'll bet when the attorney representing the family gets into this nursing home's records, he'll find dozens of cost cutting and cost saving steps this corporation routinely take, that puts their elder charges at risk. Looks like a "punitive damages" case to me.

When you're looking to place a loved one in a nursing home, always look for telltale signs of neglect. Here are some pointers I found at the Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Resource Center's Website:

Physical neglect: disregard for the necessities of daily living
Medical neglect: lack of care for existing medical problems
Failure to prevent dehydration, malnutrition, and bed sores
Failure to assist in personal hygiene, or in the provision of food, clothing, or shelter
Unsanitary and unclean conditions Infections
Failure to protect from health and safety hazards
Poor access to medical services
If you have experienced such a tragedy, contact me and find out what your rights are.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Lawsuit claims two nursing homes are deliberately understaffed

IB Contributor — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:30:13 GMT

Two North San Diego County nursing homes are accused of providing substandard care to residents by keeping staff levels low to maximize profits, according to an article published in Saturday's San Diego Union Tribune.

The allegations are in a lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court against Life Care Centers of America, the corporate parent of Life Care Center of Escondido and Life Care Center of Vista.

The article states that between September 2004 and November 2006, the Escondido home received 31 "notices of deficiencies" by state regulators for providing substandard care and violating residents rights, according to the lawsuit. The Vista home received 23 similar notices over the same time period.

The lawsuit, filed March 15, did not list the specific issues regulators found with the homes.

Attorneys are seeking class-action status to represent more than 3,000 residents who live in the 13 nursing homes that the Tennessee-based company operates in California. The company operates more than 260 facilities in 28 states, according to its Web site.

The lawsuit alleges that the company purposely kept staffing levels lower than mandated by the state. The suit alleges that this was part of the company's strategy to boost profits so its top executives could draw higher bonuses.

"Staffing levels at many of (Life Care's) California skilled-nursing facilities are well below the minimum staffing requirements to ensure that each of the facilities' residents receive the necessary care and services," the lawsuit says."(Life Care) engaged in an intentional plan to wrongfully increase business profits through noncompliance with laws and regulations governing skilled nursing facilities."

The lawyers want a judge to order Life Care to immediately stop understaffing its homes, and they seek an unspecified amount in damages.

I absolutely agree that understaffing is the primary cause for poor care and negligence in many of the nursing homes in California, at least that what we see in many of the cases that we have handled. If one person is taking care of 25 people, what would be the quality of that care? Nursing home employees are not always to blame for poor care. Their bosses, who are making key business decisions that affect patient care, are responsible and often liable in these cases.

It is hard to imagine that the people who own and operate Life Care Centers could be so callous as to intentional under staff as a method to raise profits. Just think what other actions they are taking to raise profits. These people know the consequences of under staffing.

They fail to realize that they are in a service-oriented industry. Of course, they are running a business and if they don't make profit, they may as well cease to exist. But there is a clear difference between making a smart business decision and making a cruel, selfish decision that benefits one party and neglects the other in the most heartless, inhumane manner. It's just plain wrong.

Here is an excellent Web site, http://www.elder-abuse-foundation.com/, that provides a lot of information about nursing home abuse as well as several links to resources that give information about the danger signs to look for in a nursing home.

If your loved one has suffered injury or neglect in a nursing home, contact me for a free, confidential consultation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

12 Nursing Homes Accused of Abuse

Christina Cole — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 00:50:42 GMT

Elder care facilities accused of abuse and fraud.

Over a dozen nursing homes that are run by one of the biggest elder care providers in the country are accused of abuse and fraud in a class action lawsuit that was filed in Orange County Superior Court.

The lawsuit accuses thirteen Southern California centers operated by Life Care Centers of America Inc, of having a long history of nursing home abuse and mistreatment. The complaint was filed on Thursday by an attorney on behalf of thousands of California residents that lived in one of the centers between 2003 to 2007.

Garcia accused the company of seeking out "the sickest of the sick who require the most attention" because these patients would bring in higher Medicare payments. The company would then give these patients little attention, Garcia claimed.

He hopes the lawsuit will force the court to order an independent monitor to oversee the company's centers.

The nursing homes are required to be examined every fifteen months, however at times its two or three years between investigations. So, really these places operate un-policed although that is not how it is supposed to be.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Nursing Home Fined $100,000 In Man's Death

IB Contributor — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 22:16:55 GMT

Owner also convicted of tax fraud.

State health officials have fined a San Jose nursing home $100,000 - the highest fine allowed under state law - for substandard care that led to the October death of a 67-year-old man, according to an article in the San Jose Mercury News.

The fine was announced the same day that Jack Easterday, the president of Homewood Care Center's parent company, was convicted of tax fraud -- on 107 counts, for failing to pay about $9.6 million in payroll taxes, the March 8 article reported.

Easterday, who was described as living "like Louis XIV" in a U.S. Senate hearing last year on tax cheats, could face up to five years in federal prison. The conviction, coupled with the fine for the resident's death, raised concerns about the future of Easterday's eight nursing homes in California.

Pat McGinnis, founder of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, said she is worried that the nursing homes eventually will be closed or sold after Wednesday's jury verdict in U.S. District Court in Oakland causing more grief to residents who are dependent on that care.

The Homewood Care Center resident died seven months after the Senate hearing. The investigation of the man's death and the resulting sanctions came about after an anonymous complaint, according to Norma Arceo, a state Department of Health Services spokeswoman.

The department announced Wednesday that Homewood, a skilled nursing facility, had received the most severe category of citation as a result of the patients death. The patient, whose name was not released, had been in failing health, required an oxygen tank and needed dialysis for kidney problems.

On Oct. 16, he was scheduled to enter a hospital to repair a shunt enabling his dialysis and was not allowed to eat after midnight. But the next morning, when he yelled for help and demanded an ambulance, the nursing home staff didn't recognize that his blood sugar had fallen to dangerously low levels because he had not eaten for hours, according to agency documents. The staff also failed to provide proper emergency care when his condition deteriorated, documents say. He died shortly after noon on Oct. 17.

According to an online nursing home guide operated by the California HealthCare Foundation, the quality of care at the 58-bed home at 75 N. 13th St. is rated slightly above average compared with other California nursing homes based on previous state inspections.

Still, investigations by the health department show that patient care was substandard in nine incidents since 2002. McGinnis, the nursing home advocate, said her group had sent letters to state health officials asking that Easterday's eight homes be investigated and that his license to operate them be revoked after Easterday was first convicted - in February 2006 - of failing to pay employee payroll taxes.

McGinnis said Wednesday that the state health agency never responded to her group's concerns.

Prosecutors said Easterday had paid himself and his wife an average annual salary of more than $338,000 between 1998 and 2004. Among his purchases - a 10,000-square-foot home, Rolex watches, a sailboat, jet skis and a dining table and chairs that seated 22 people along with a 24-place setting of Limoges china.

I have nothing against living well. But I believe that it's reprehensible to do so at the cost of other people's misery and grief and by brazenly breaking the law. This guy should be getting jail time.

When you own an elder care facility - let alone eight all over the state - you owe it to your residents to give them the best care you possibly can. Obviously the staff at this particular center were not trained and the center was most likely understaffed, a ploy aimed at increasing profits.

Such negligence or possibly gross negligence, deserves to be punished, however a fine for this guy isn't enough. He should be charged with manslaughter as well as made to pay appropriate compensation to the family of the 67-year old man that died in his care. If the man's family are like most, they are blaming themselves for the death of their loved one, for placing him in a facility that ultimately was responsible for his premature death.

Contact me if you need a nursing home to be held accountable for what they have done to one of your parents that you entrusted to them..

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Nursing Home Settles Extreme Patient Abuse Whistle-Blower Claim

IB Contributor — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 13:41:40 GMT

$1.6 Million settlement included fraud allegation.

Maxwell Manor nursing home admitted nursing home abuse, in settling a federal lawsuit. They admitted permitting routine sexual assaults, theft and improper medical care, as well as billing federal and state governments for care that was never administered, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune.

"It was an atrocious case," said an attorney for the whistle-blowers, a facilities program coordinator and a former psychiatric rehabilitation services coordinator. "No one exaggerated the conditions."

The lawsuit alleged that between October 1998 and June 30, 2000, Maxwell Manor residents were "routinely abused, neglected, mistreated, sexually assaulted, medicated as a form of punishment, unsupervised and otherwise untreated for their mental health, physical disability and substance abuse problems."

The lawsuit also alleged that the home was operated in a physically hazardous manner including "bulging ceilings, crumbling walls, rodent and insect infestations, pervasive mildew and hazardous fire alarm and electrical systems."

Federal and state authorities forced the closure of the nursing home after finding unsafe, unsanitary and hazardous conditions several months after the lawsuit had been filed.

Remember stories like this when "tort reformers" want to limit patients rights to sue nursing homes for abuse, neglect and fraud.

I have added this belated story to my blog to encourage nursing home employees to come forward to report abuse, neglect and fraud. The whistle-blowers in this case divided over $300,000 between them.

If you work at a nursing home that you know is violating the residents rights, not performing as they should, or committing fraud in the billing practices, contact me for an analysis of your circumstances and a discussion of your options.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Lawsuit Accuses Riverside Nursing Home of Neglect

IB Contributor — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 12:33:46 GMT

Broken hip after repeated falls for a 81-year old grandmother.

The granddaughter of a former Riverside nursing-home resident has sued the owners of Pleasant Care Convalescent of Riverside claiming her grandmother repeatedly was neglected and abused there, according to a Feb. 20 news report in the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Gegett A. Mike, of Montclair, alleged in her lawsuit that nursing home staff allowed her grandmother, Ida Mae Davis, to fall at least eight times, beginning in 2003, until she was hospitalized with a broken hip on Feb. 28, 2006. The lawsuit was filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the article says.

Nursing-home administrators refused to comment about the lawsuit saying they did not know it had been filed. The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages also stating in the lawsuit that the family was never contacted about the woman's falls. She had dementia, according to the family's attorney, who is quoted in the Press-Enterprise's news report.

This is apparently not the first time this nursing home has been in hot water. Last year, Pleasant Care Corp. agree to pay $1.3 million and to improve patient care in a settlement with the California attorney general's office. That state lawsuit stemmed from allegations of elder abuse and criminally negligent care at the company's nursing homes throughout Southern California including more than 160 state law violations over a five-year period. The corporation also agreed to pay a $1 million civil fine and to reimburse the state $350,000 for investigative costs.

Mike's lawsuit states the nursing home staff did not make any changes to her 81-year-old grandmother's care plans, even after she had started falling often and got several cuts on her face as a result. On Feb. 28, 2006, the nursing home staff X-rayed Davis and found she had a broken hip, the lawsuit states. Davis had been complaining of pain for more than a week before the break was found, according to the lawsuit. Davis was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where she underwent hip surgery, and was transferred to Upland Rehabilitation, where she now lives, according to the Press-Enterprise article.

California Department of Health Services records show the nursing home last was inspected Sept. 29, 2005. Inspectors found 15 health deficiencies, including those for mistreatment, quality care and nutrition. All deficiencies were corrected Oct. 30, 2006, records show. In 2006, the department investigated seven complaints, none of which was substantiated, according to records. One complaint filed in January also was not substantiated, records show.

How many complaints need to be substantiated before a nursing home that knowingly allows such neglect and abuse of the elderly is shuttered? Elder abuse is a horribly inhumane act - a crime that leaves victims feeling vulnerable, distrustful, alone and afraid for their physical and emotional security at their most vulnerable time of life.

Those who abuse or neglect the elderly must absolutely be held responsible for the pain and suffering they have caused not only to the victims, but their families who made the heart-wrenching decision to leave their loved ones in a nursing home's care. These types of incidents are a gross violation of their trust.

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have a legal and moral responsibility to report any misconduct, negligence or abuse to authorities. By not doing so, they are exposing their innocent, helpless residents to serious injuries. There are over 400,000 nursing home abuse complaints a year in the United States.

Nursing home abuse is not an accident. It is a pattern of profit over care and performance of a sacred trust, to care for our elderly. Most of the injury cases we pursue involve accidents, none intentional negligent acts that result in injuries. When we pursue nursing homes for abuse, there is something more we naturally put into the case, it becomes personal. This type of wrongdoer is more stimulating to pursue, because they did wrong and do wrong on a consistent basis. We like chasing the "bad guys" much more so than people who are simply responsible for an accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor