Articles Posted in Elder Abuse

At The Brod Law Firm, we are proud to serve as lawyers for victims of nursing home abuse in Sacramento. The elderly can be a very vulnerable population and Sacramento elder abuse can go unrecognized because some older individuals are unable to report the incidents or are unconsidered unreliable because of dementia. We are proud to serve as attorneys for individuals who fall victim to these abuses and work closely with concerned family members to represent their interests.

Abuse and neglect are all too common, but it is important to remember that the nature of even well-run elder care facilities can create health concerns. On Tuesday, The Sacramento Bee reported that public health authorities were tracking an outbreak of the norovirus in senior care environments. The virus has been confirmed in three skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, is suspected to be the culprit in at least four other locations and is believed to have caused at least 174 residents and staff to fall ill. Norovirus cause a range of gastro-intestinal ailments and, especially in the medically vulnerable elderly population, can lead to dangerous dehydration. At one facility, 15 out of 85 residents are reported to have fallen ill from the highly contagious bug.

Norovirus itself cannot be treated but symptoms can be managed with palliative care, including rehydration where necessary. The disease is spread very easily and is particularly likely to spread in close quarters like cruise ships, schools, and nursing facilities. There are several strategies that can prevent norovirus and other contagious diseases from spreading. Hand-washing can be very effective in limiting the spread of illness, although it is often not done properly. The Center for Disease Control recommends that hands be vigorously rubbed with soap and water for a minimum of twenty seconds, noting that mentally singing “Happy Birthday” twice can help ensure hands are washed for a sufficient time. Since norovirus often originates in contaminated food, proper food-handling techniques are also key. Fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed and infected individuals should not be involved in food preparation. Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and laundering clothing and bedding can also help prevent norovirus from spreading.

According to The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, accidental falls are the number one cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries in adults older than 65. Of falls among older adults, most occur in nursing homes. Research conducted by The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control found that although only about five percent of adults 65 and older reside in nursing homes, older adults in nursing homes account for twenty percent of deaths from accidental falls from this age group.

On average, a nursing home reports 1.5 falls for every bed in the establishment. This statistic, of course, does not include unreported falls that occur in nursing homes. Nursing homes have higher fall rates due to the relatively fragile population that resides there. Most elderly people move to nursing homes precisely because they cannot take care of themselves properly and are at risk for injuring themselves.

Nursing homes must adhere to the standard of care when providing services to their patients. For instance, a nursing home must implement and educate its staff about proper procedures for preventing or following-up on a fall incident in the nursing home. These procedures must measure up to the standard protocol implemented by other nursing homes under similar circumstances.

If you or your family member is living in a nursing home, it is advisable to investigate both the nursing home’s strategies to prevent falls and its follow-up procedures in case of a fall, as between half and three quarters of older adults in nursing homes fall each year.

Here are some tips to use when evaluating a nursing home:

• Be sure that the nursing home educates both staff and residents about common reasons for falls and ways to prevent bad falls.

• Ensure that the nursing home is well-lit and free of obstacles. Check that it regularly inspects items of common use and that it has an appropriate number of sturdy physical aides, such as handrails. Remember that 16% to 27% of falls in nursing homes result from environmental hazards.

• Ask about accessibility to call lights in case of injury or other cause for alarm. Also, look to see that beds and toilets are an appropriate height, making them easier to use.

• Pay attention to patient apparel. Residents of nursing homes should wear non-slip shoes or slippers.

• Make sure that the nursing home carefully reviews patients’ prescribed medicines to minimize disorientation and confusion. It should update prescriptions on a regular basis, including eyeglass prescriptions.

In addition to policies for fall prevention, nursing homes should have strict procedures following a fall incident. Post-fall procedures should include:

• Immediate assessment of the patient to look for medical conditions that may have contributed to the fall, as well as increased observation of the patient for 48 hours after a fall to watch for injuries that may appear after the fact.

• Inspection of the fall area for physical hazards.

• Identification of high risk or previous fall victims to staff and with clearly delineated precautions for such residents.

Falls that occur in older adults cause monetary and emotional damages. For instance in 2000, falls in older adults cost the U.S. health care system 19 billion dollars. Additionally, falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries in older adults, which heavily affects physical and mental functionality. Previous falls may make older adults anxious, decreasing their independence and activeness, and leading to feelings of helplessness.

If you feel that a loved one’s physical well-being is at risk because of bad practices at a nursing home, consider contacting a lawyer to advise you on preventing elder abuse. Please call for a free consultation at (800) 427-7020.

Greg Brod is an experienced personal injury lawyer practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding regions. Mr. Brod fights against inadequate conditions in nursing homes across Northern California.
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Our Sacramento nursing home abuse attorneys understand that local elder abuse and neglect occurs far more often than many area community members suspect. Not only that, but many long-term care facilities go to extreme lengths to cover up the poor care that they often provide to vulnerable seniors. For example, the Sacramento Bee recently published a series of stories explaining the widespread falsification of medical records undertaken by nursing home employees in an attempt to hide evidence of Sacramento elder neglect. State investigators continue to uncover stories of facilities throughout the area where patient information has been changed to make it appear that they received a satisfactory level of care, even though they did not. Fortunately, more and more family members of these victims are stepping up and demanding accountability.

While not always easy to catch, deceptive (and illegal) practices by these negligent facilities have been proven on a number of occasions. One supervisor at an area nursing home admitted that she was ordered to change a patient’s medical record to hide the fact that the man had died from severe bedsores caused by neglect. In another case, a deceased patient’s medical chart claimed that the resident received physical therapy sessions five times a week. However, nearly thirty of those documented sessions were supposedly led by nursing assistants who were not even at work at the time of the reported therapy. In yet another case a patient who died of neglect had a medical chart hurriedly produced with fake entries claiming check-ups from a nurse who did not even exist. The list of examples of these egregious attempts to hide Sacramento nursing home abuse goes on and on.

In many cases this information is modified after a resident has died from poor care in an attempt to evade legal liability for the inadequate treatment. However, in other cases, the false records are entered while patients are still alive-ultimately leading to deadly complications for the involved seniors. For example, sometimes patients are listed as showing no medical issues after a routine check-up that was never performed, causing residents who actually do have medical needs to fail to receive the emergency care they need. At other times a medication or treatment is charted before it is actually given. Cases have also been found of nursing home staff members who falsify consent forms so that residents can be illegally sedated or forge documents so that disagreements have to be settled through arbitration.

There is simply no excuse for any facility to tolerate sloppy record-keeping at these facilities. Of course all instances of intentional altering of records to avoid liability must be punished to the full extent possible-it is a crime to do so under California law. However, even record-keeping mistakes made out of sheer laziness can have life and death consequences. One 77-year old woman at the El Dorado Care Center in Placerville died after suffering fecal impaction. Her rectum was dilated a shocking 10 centimeters at the time of her death, but her medical chart claimed that she had several bowel movements in the previous days. Medical experts who examined the victim afterwards admitted that there was likely no way that the charts could have been accurate given her condition. Had the records been kept accurately and evaluated in a timely manner it is likely that the victim could have receive the care she needed before the medical problems killed her.
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According to the New York of Times, New York State is the operator of 2,000 group homes, which means that the state is responsible to care and protect about 10,000 residents with severe physical and mental disabilities. The Times claims the state is not doing its job and that group home abuse is running rampant. The conditions were documented by the New York Times and are described as appalling, and they are representative of the worst scandal Albany has seen in recent times. For example, a supervisor in an upstate home was discovered sexually abusing disabled female patient. Even though he was arrested and charged with rape, he was never fired. Improper screening for criminal backgrounds, drug abuse or psychological fitness, as we have been saying for a while, is to blame for lack of action by different groups that are supposed to help ensure quality care for the elderly and handicapped, such as the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons With Disabilities.

Several cases of elder abuse across the country have led to nursing and group home probes, lawsuits, and closures. There is no question that caring for the elderly is extremely stressful. But the problems begin when care workers, many of whom have inadequate training, abuse patients and then blame everyone else for their troubles. In addition to that most homes are understaffed and supervisors do not stay beyond the regular workweek hours. And sometimes employees are warned to keep quiet about episodes in order to avoid governmental investigations, which make it nearly impossible to bring change to the dysfunctional culture of abuse or hold individuals accountable.

If you or loved one suffered abuse at nursing home or other elder care facility, please contact our office for a free consultation. We have over 10 years experience aggressively handling, trying, and winning elder abuse cases.

A recent report revealed that low federal standards and inconsistent state regulations have created lapses in the types of employees hired by nursing home facilities. The majority of nursing homes hired staff with criminal convictions, according to the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) report in which investigators conducted background checks on all nursing home employees who were working on June 1, 2009 at 260 nursing homes across the nation. The report also revealed that 92 percent of the facilities had at least one employee on staff with a criminal conviction, and that five or more individuals with criminal records at just about half of the facilities. Nearly 98 percent of the facilities said they conducted criminal background checks on employees. Only 43 states mandate some sort of criminal background check and only 10, a state and FBI check. Checking in both formats enables nursing homes to see convictions over state lines; when both formats are not used, which occurs in the majority of cases, the inconsistency enables criminals to slip through the check if they have recently moved.

The offenses discovered included:

• crimes against persons, such as assault, battery, murder, rape, and robbery;

Did you know that some nursing homes homes and elder care providers are using psychotropic drugs to restrain unruly residents? According to a recent report, experts claim over-drugging is common nationwide, and the number of nursing home residents who are given these drugs is rising, and that one in every four patients is given anti-psychotic drugs. Some have suffered from a variety of adverse responses such as, tremors, dangerous lethargy, and a higher risk of harmful falls or even death. The food and drug administration has stated that the unnecessary use of these drugs kill 15,000 nursing home patients each year. In some situations, elderly people are actually held down and restrained against their will, and given excessive amounts of medicine to keep them quiet or from bothering staff.

Behavior problems, such as verbally or physically agitated behavior, are a challenge that many nursing homes do not know how to face. Sometimes antipsychotics are administered during a patient’s first week at a nursing home. Residents who are taken off psychotropic drugs must face withdrawal-and sometimes the discontinuation of medication can cause a worsening of behavior. It is illegal for nursing homes to prescribe these types of drugs without informed consent. A written statement of informed consent and valid psychiatric diagnosis must be obtained, and any resident whose level of cognitive function is sufficiently intact can be asked to provide consent for himself of herself. If a resident is unable to provide informed consent, a legally appointed guardian or family member responsible for their care should be contacted and asked to provide consent for them. If you or a loved one have been abused at a nursing home , please contact our firm for a free consultation. We have over 10 years fighting for the victims of elder and nursing home abuse.

Just the other day, we brought up the subjuct of Nursing home abuse as it pertained to an incident, and today we have different incident to discuss. According to newsobserver.com, Britthaven, a North Carolina nursing home, faces charges in civil malpractice lawsuits related to serious injuries of two residents, and a nurse at the home faces murder charges in the morphine related death of her patient. According to the complaint in one of suits, Dr. Marion Orlowski, a former professor of pharmacology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and previous nominee for a Nobel Prize in 2004 for his pioneering drug treatment for blood-plasma cancer, was found on the floor of his room with a hip fracture and other serious injuries. The suit accuses the nursing home of negligence, which includes failure to monitor Mr. Orlowski’s dementia and not providing a bed with side rails. The nurse accused of murder faced charges of second-degree murder and patient abuse related to the death of a patient and the morphine-induced injuries of six other residents.
Last year, Britthaven was ordered to pay $216,400 in fines because it was out of compliance with Medicare requirement. Those penalties stemmed from the case of Mary Lou Barthazon, a 95-year old who broke thigh bones, when a nursing assistant dropped her while trying to lift her from a chair to her bed. The nursing home’s lawyer had tried to dismiss the lawsuit, denying that they had a duty to supervise or control the clinical care, treatment or judgment of any healthcare provider. Their motion to dismiss also denied that either state or federal nursing home standards, policies, regulations or standards of participation establish the standards of the health care applicable to the nursing home. The motion also states that even if the staff were negligent, the alleged but denied negligence was not a proximate cause of any injury or damage to Barthazon. Here at the Brod Law Firm we find this type flagrant disregard of elders’ rights by the nursing home, as well their denial, truly unconscionable. If you have question regarding elder rights and the laws surrounding nursing home, please contact our firm. Or if you would like to discuss a potential elder abuse case, please call to set up a free consultation.

Several elderly patients at Valley View Skilled Nursing Facility in Ukiah, California were covered with a greasy, ointment cream by nursing home staff as part of an apparent “prank”. The patient-victims suffered from dementia, and were unable to protest about the way they were treated. Six former employees of Valley View Skilled Nursing Facility were arrested, and California Attorney General Jerry Brown called the alleged abuse of the elderly patients “despicable behavior.” The former employees are being charged by Mendocino County with misdemeanor counts of an injury to an elder or dependent adult; battery committed on elder or a dependent adult; conspiracy; and battery committed while on hospital property. In addition to the criminal charges against the nursing home staff, the California Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act provides a civil remedy for those who have been a victim of this kind of physical abuse.

If you or an elderly member of your family has been the victim of ) Financial Abuse; 2) Physical Abuse and Neglect; and 3) Abduction, please call the Brod Law Firm at (800) 427-7020 for a free consultation. If you prefer to send us an email with an inquiry, please email us.

Between 1946 and 1964, 78 million babies were born in the U.S., creating a surge in population and a demographic bulge not seen before in the U.S. The babies of that generation, known as the baby boomer generation, grew up with rebellious and idealistic attitudes that promised to reshape society and the world. Boomers are expected to live longer than previous generations. By 2030, 20% of Americans will be over 65 and more than 35% will be over 50. Men are expected to live 22 years longer that previous generations, and women are expected to live 25 years longer. Now, as many of the first baby boomers are moving through their 60’s, one question remains: will baby boomers move through their next phase of life with health and vitality, or will they carry it out with the pain and disability associated with degenerative and chronic diseases? Evidence shows that many boomers are healthier both physically and mentally than their parents and are aging more slowly due to better eating habits and more exercise (just drive through Marin on sunny Saturday or Sunday and you will likely see many boomers on race bikes zip past you while you are sitting in traffic). But another scenario is that boomers could place a tremendous demand and burden on medicare, professional care givers, and family members if they become frail and dependent.

Whether at home or nursing home or care facility, potentially all aging persons will be exposed to some sort of abuse or neglect. Often, abuse and neglect of an elder in a nursing home or other type of care facility is profit driven. Even hospice care facilities have the same financial pressures as other elder care facilities and may sometimes neglect to offer a care rather than pay for expensive treatments related to a terminal diagnosis. Caregiver stress is also a risk factor for abuse and neglect. Family members who are thrown into the demands of daily care of an elder can feel frustration and anger. Professionally trained caregivers can experience the same intense frustration and anger as a family member who is not appropriately trained and may use physical force or neglect an elder person as a way of dealing with the situation that they feel they can’t manage.

Sometimes elders are subjected to a different kind of abuse, a malicious type of abuse known as financial abuse and it can range from scams created by salespeople, such as salespeople from drug companies, to misuse of elders funds by a care facility or family member. Financial abuse or exploitation includes taking money under false pretenses or denying an elderly person what is theirs either forced or without the older person’s knowledge. When this happens, it usually goes undiscovered until someone who cares about the older notices an unexplainable bill or funds missing from that persons account. Financial abuse is pervasive in the lives of the elderly because it can go on for long periods undetected or without ever being discovered. A person can die not knowing they were exploited for a profit or cheated by someone they trusted or loved. Here at the Brod Law Firm, we have a seen these kinds of cases first hand and have the experience and knowledge needed to help an abused elderly person or the family of an abused person.