Nursing home abuse can exact a heavy toll on its victims and their families and loved ones. And, unfortunately, the sad truth is that the incidence of nursing home abuse has been rising steadily during the past 15 years.

Our site provides victims and their families with the information and resources they need to help protect against abuse, neglect, and mistreatment at the hands of nursing homes and their staff. Let the experience, knowledge, and expertise of our legal team bring you the justice that you deserve.

NURSING HOME NEGLECT NEWS

October 19, 2003 - BREAKING NEWS!!
"Nursing home abuse owner criminal prosecution appears to be on the rise"
Federal official believe inadequate staffing is the biggest cause of nursing home abuse neglect in facilities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that 9 out of 10 nursing homes employ too few workers to provide adequate care, and over 40% of all homes need to increase their nurse aide staff by at least 50%.

Congress is considering legislation that would establish federal criminal penalties for nursing home abuse and neglect. If convicted, it could result in prison terms for individuals, in addition to corporate fines of up to $3 million. The nursing home abuse and neglect bill would also require the homes immediately report any reasonable suspicion of a crime to law enforcement officials.

According to a member of the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, criminal prosecution of nursing home abuse owners appears to be increasing. Recent nursing home abuse cases include:

Florida Nursing Home Abuse:
In September 2003, owners of the Jewish Senior Living home in West Palm Beach were charged with eight counts of nursing home abuse neglect. Just days before that, owners in Riviera Beach were arrested and charged with three counts of neglect.

Georgia Nursing Home Abuse:
In February 2003, an owner of a nursing home pleaded guilty to 15 counts of nursing home abuse and neglect. She was sentenced to 15 years probation and 500 hours of community service.

Hawaii Nursing Home Abuse:
In 2002, prosecutors got a manslaughter conviction against a nursing home after a resident died of septic shock because bedsore infections had continued to go untreated.

Louisiana Nursing Home Abuse:
Owners of a nursing home agreed to pay $750,000 and to quit the nursing home business for seven years after federal prosecutors considered criminal charges because an 87-year old woman was strangled by a wheelchair seat belt.

Michigan Nursing Home Abuse:
In April 2003, a Detroit nursing home medical director and nursing director were charged with involuntary manslaughter in the heat-related death of a resident. The prosecutors alleged the nursing home lacked air condition and fans and the windows would not open.

Missouri Nursing Home Abuse:
In February 2003, a nursing home management company president was sentenced to a year in prison for failing to report the beating death of a nursing home resident. In August 2003, another home manager was charged with involuntary manslaughter in a mentally disabled nursing home resident’s death.

New York Nursing Home Abuse:
At the start of October 2003, a New York nursing home chain agreed to pay the state $3 million to settle claims that the homes failed to provide adequate care to nursing home patients. By agreeing to settle the claims of nursing home abuse, the owners were able to avoid criminal charges that had come from a grand jury investigation after reports of testimony of nursing home employees.

In June 2003, the Hallmark Nursing Centre chain pleaded guilty to criminal charges, including inadequate care, falsification of patient files, and deliberately employing too few caregivers to meet resident needs leading the New York nursing home owners to agree to refrain from operating any New York nursing homes.

Contact us for more information on nursing home abuse.

July 21, 2003 - BREAKING NEWS!!
"Congressional investigators stress need for nursing home reform"
There are still a high number of nursing home abuse instances being reported, despite the large number of unreported violations according to the General Accounting Office. In addition to the problems of nursing home abuse is the way the different state health care agencies apply federal standards to homes. Since many nursing home abuse inspectors are inexperienced, the nursing home abuse reports and citations range widely from state to state.

Although industry improvements have been made to reduce the number of nursing home abuse reports in a fast growing industry, 20% of the nation’s nursing homes, which are around 3,500 homes, were cited for harming patients or putting them at a high risk of suffering serious injury from July 2000 through 2002. Nursing home advocate Sen. Charles Grassley thinks that, “There’s a huge gap in quality among nursing homes across America. There are homes where tremendous care and compassion is provided, and then there are homes where horrendous neglect, abuse and preventable death exist.” For more information on nursing home neglect contact us.

July 2, 2003 - BREAKING NEWS!!
"Increase in high paying nursing home abuse lawsuits"
As more and more nursing home abuse lawsuits are resulting in high verdicts, families are hoping major changes will be made as a result in the way elderly are treated. In the past, nursing home abuse lawsuits were not as pursued since damage awards were usually figured by estimating lost wages and life expectancy, which is not enough of an incentive to fight back. Now, nursing home abuse has become such a widespread problem that nursing home lawsuits have caught the attention of people across the country hearing about extremely disturbing and severe nursing home abuse incidents. For more information on nursing home neglect contact us.

June 26, 2003
"Pledge to end nursing home abuse"
“Older Americans should not have to wait a day longer to be better protected from physical, sexual, and psychological abuse- or simply the sheer neglect and financial exploitation many are liable to suffer at home or in institutions.” -Rep. John M. McHugh

Rep. John M. McHugh is trying to find a solution in the House in the ways the government monitors and responds to nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect. To achieve this, the Elder Justice Act would create Offices of Elder Justice at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice. A national data repository would also monitor cases of nursing home abuse, nursing home neglect and exploitation, and set up shelters and support programs for at-risk seniors.

Every year in the U.S., 500,000- 5 million senior citizens will endure some form of abuse. In nursing homes, staff is not properly trained to distinguish bruises caused by a fall or caused by nursing home abuse. Underreporting has allowed instances of nursing home abuse continue for years and lawmakers are just now dealing with the nationwide problem. For more information on nursing home neglect contact us.

June 24, 2003
"Pennsylvania nursing home abuse stories shock law enforcement"
Director of Temple University’s Institute on Older Adult Protective Services Ronald Costen has been trying to better alert law enforcement officials and social workers of the high incidence of nursing home abuse that occurs in Pennsylvania as well as across the nation. The group was appalled at the slides shown of nursing home abuse victims. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services Inc. Area Agency on Aging has been trying to encourage law officials to reduce the high number of Pennsylvania nursing home abuse instances.

For more information on nursing home neglect contact us.

June 21, 2003
"Delaware nursing home officer director wanted out"
It was recommended in a report that Delaware’s nursing home director of the state’s oversight agency be replaced. The request followed a report that indicated the director was not enforcing sanctions against nursing home facilities that violate minimum staffing by shit requirements.

June 9, 2003
"Nursing home location determines likelihood of abuse"
A Gannett News Service (GNS) investigation on the nation’s nursing homes has concluded that depending on what areas of the nation is very dependent on the type of care that the elders can expect to receive. Most instances of the most severe nursing home abuse reports over the past four years have occurred in about 12 concentrated states. In addition, the for-profit nursing homes were found to have more instances of nursing home abuse occurrences than nonprofit and government nursing homes.

The GNS findings have come from four-months of investigation, including interviewing and analysis of four years worth of federal data on 16,000 of the nation’s nursing homes. Based on the findings, the nation’s solution for putting an end to the nursing home abuse reports holding 1.5 million elders will not come easily. Individual states and the nation as a whole are currently trying to pass new bills that will better ensure nursing home abuse come to an end.

Consumer advocates have stated that the GNS results are not surprising. Repeat violations of nursing home abuse has been a contributing factor to the high nursing home abuse incidence, and despite new quality and information efforts supplemented by years of legislation and regulation to protect residents, far too many people are being adversely affected by nursing home abuse. The 12 states that were found to have the highest number of severe and repeated violations from 1999-2003 include:

• Texas nursing home abuse
• Illinois nursing home abuse
• Arkansas nursing home abuse
• Washington nursing home abuse
• New Jersey nursing home abuse
• Kansas nursing home abuse
• Missouri nursing home abuse
• Indiana nursing home abuse
• Oklahoma nursing home abuse
• North Carolina nursing home abuse
• Mississippi nursing home abuse
• Tennessee nursing home abuse
  

2002

A recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report says in excess of half of the suspicious deaths in California nursing homes may be due to nursing home neglect. The latter deaths include dehydration and malnutrition. The study says about one third (1/3) of California nursing homes have been singled out as a result of nursing home neglect by state inspectors for "serious or potentially life threatening care problems." The report goes on to say the same problems probably exist across the nation. These nursing home neglect allegations will probably grow worse as baby boomers and the elderly population as a whole, enter America's nursing homes.

A recent study was conducted on death certificates of all Californians who died in nursing homes from 1986 through 1993. In more than 7% of the cases, nursing home neglect including lack of food or water, untreated bedsores and infections were listed as a cause of death. The GAO's medical review of 62 residents who died in trouble-prone California nursing homes showed that 34 of them were victims of nursing home neglect and poor care which probably contributed to their demise.

There are 17,000 nursing homes in America holding 1.6 million of the old and disabled. Using the GAO's percentage of California deaths due to nursing home neglect suggests that close to 20,000 American nursing-home residents are dying prematurely or are in needless pain, or both.

For more information on nursing home neglect contact us.

CONTACT A NURSING HOME ABUSE LAWYER

IN THE NEWS

A recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report says in excess of half of the suspicious deaths in California nursing homes may be due to neglect. The latter deaths include dehydration and malnutrition. The study says about one third (1/3) of California nursing homes have been singled out by state inspectors for "serious or potentially life threatening care problems." The report goes on to say the same problems probably exist across the nation. These neglect allegations will probably grow worse as baby boomers and the elderly population as a whole, enter America's nursing homes.
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