Recent Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Articles
Neglect Charges Dropped Against Kentucky Nursing Home Worker
Charges of nursing home neglect have been dropped against a Kentucky nurse after a judge determined that prosecutors mislead a grand jury in order to get her indicted.
Elizabeth Elaine Royse was accused of felony nursing home neglect last summer for allegedly failing to carry out a number of important duties while caring for a patient at Golden Living Center in Frankfort. Prosecutors said she neglected to order lab results, give direction to nursing assistants and inform supervisors of important information.
But all of that appears to be in question after Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate dismissed without prejudice the charge against her, saying that an inspector with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office gave false or misleading statements to the grand jury, according to a story on LEX18.com.
Royse was able to prove that she had contacted supervisors about a patient’s failing health, despite state claims to the contrary. After the supervisors allegedly failed to respond, Royse resigned, saying that management of the nursing home prevented nurses from providing the best care possible.
Kentucky Nurse Charged With Stealing Drugs from Residents
A Kentucky nursing home employee has been charged with neglecting residents and stealing drugs.
Jinger Butler, 41, a former nurse at Cumberland Valley Manor Nursing Home, faces 11 charges of nursing home neglect and 11 counts of theft of a controlled substance following an indictment by a grand jury. Prosecutors say that Butler stole hydrocodone from 10 residents between May and November of 2010, according to a Courier-Journal story.
Butler faces up to 10 years in prison for each count of neglect and up to five years in prison for each theft count. All are considered felonies. She was arrested on Saturday by Cumberland County deputies and released on her own recognizance.
Cumberland Valley Manor is a non-profit, 84-bed facility in Burkesville, Kentucky. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rates it as a two-star (below average) nursing home. While it received a four-star (above average) rating for nursing home staffing from CMS, it only received an average rating (three stars) on quality measures and a one star rating (much below average) on health inspections.
Norovirus Strikes 86 at Illinois Nursing Home
A massive norovirus outbreak has hit an Illinois nursing home, sickening 86 people.
Lake Forest Place nursing home reported on Monday that 50 staff members and 36 residents were suffering from norovirus, a gastrointestinal illness usually caused by food poisoning. State officials say the outbreak may have hit other nursing homes, but refused to release information on those facilities, according to a story in the Chicago Sun-Times.
The illness started among Lake Forest residents, but then hit staff members tending them, officials say. The nursing home will not say whether any residents who had the virus died, but stated that there have been no deaths “directly attributable” to the illnesses.
The outbreak appears to have started on Saturday, January 14, in the independent living portion of the facility.
Pennsylvania Nursing Home Law Seeks Punitive Damages Cap
A proposed law would shield Pennsylvania nursing homes that allow abuse and neglect of residents from facing punishment through punitive damages.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has voted 103-89 to limit punitive damages in cases of nursing home neglect to only twice that of the compensatory amount, which is traditionally low for elderly victims. The law, HB 1907, must still be approved by the state senate and governor.
Punitive damages exist for the purpose of punishing defendants for egregious conduct. In many states they start at triple the amount of punitive damages and can be scaled up by a jury seeking to ensure that wealthy defendants, like nursing home management companies, actually are financially punished for their actions.
The bill has a proposed provision which would disregard the cap if intentional misconduct can be proven, according to a story on Aboutlawsuits.com.
Illinois Nursing Home Investigated Following Elopement Death
A Illinois nursing home is now under investigation in the wake of a fatal nursing home elopement case.
On Monday, police found the body of Aubrey Giles, 75, in a wooded area near the Midwest Rehabilitation and Respiratory Care assisted-living center, where he disappeared on Saturday. Giles had a heart condition and required daily medication.
The Illinois Public Health Department confirmed that the facility is under investigation, but could not give details. The investigation will look at the specifics of Giles death and decide whether the nursing home violated nursing home regulations, according to a story on BND.com.
If found to be at fault, the nursing home could be fined or risk losing its license.
Illinois Assisted Living Center Resident Found Dead in Woods
An Illinois nursing home resident was found dead on Monday after wandering away from the facility on Saturday.
Police say they found the body of Aubrey Giles, 75, in a wooded area near a creek near the Midwest Rehab assisted-living center in Belleville. Giles left the facility without a coat sometime before 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. He suffered from a heart condition and needed daily medication according to a story from St. Louis Today.
Federal regulations have a requirement that all elder care facilities conduct a nursing home wandering and elopement assessment of every new resident. That assessment needs to be updated on a regular basis, or when their medical condition changes. That assessment needs to include a written plan of care which details the functionality of the resident and the risk of them attempting to leave the facility. This assessment forms the basis, in part, of the amount of supervision they should receive and how much attention should be paid to preventing them from leaving the facility.
Florida Nursing Home Hit with $200M Wrongful Death Verdict
A Florida nursing home has been hit with a $200 million verdict in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the son of a woman who was left at the bottom of a stairwell for an hour.
The nursing home fall lawsuit was filed on behalf of Elvira Nunziata, who died in October 2004 after falling down a stairwell in Pinellas Park Care and Rehabilitation Center while strapped in her wheelchair. It took an hour for staff to realize she was missing and to find her at the bottom of the stairs still bound into her chair. She died shortly afterwards.
Nunziata, 92, suffered from dementia and had a history of wandering away, but former workers at the nursing home said the facility was understaffed at the time, according to a story in the Tampa Bay Times.
The lawsuit was filed against Trans Health Management Inc., which managed the nursing home at the time, but does not run the facility currently. A Pinellas County jury leveled $40 million in compensatory damages and $160 million in punitive damages against the management company.
WV Nursing Home Aide Sentenced For Sex Assault
A West Virginia nursing home worker has been sentenced to up to three years in prison after pleading guilty to trying to sexually abuse an incapacitated 81-year-old woman.
The incident occurred at the Chateau Adult Care Facility in January 2010. Prosecutors accused Darren Canada, 41, of nursing home abuse and neglect, saying he sexually assaulted the woman and jumped out of a window when caught in the act. He originally faced multiple charges, but plead guilty to attempting to commit a felony, according to a story on WSAZ.com.
Elderly care abuse can take many different forms, including physical, sexual or mental. It reduces quality of life for the victims and robs them of dignity, as well as possibly inflicting permanent and debilitating physical damage. Recognizing the signs of abuse can be difficult, and in many cases the victims are too humiliated to talk about what occurred. Signs of elderly care abuse can include:
- Unusual injuries or broken bones
- Unexplained loss of hair
- Changes in behavior of nursing home staff towards a resident, or residents toward one another.
Illinois Nursing Home Sued for Infection Death
An Illinois nursing home is being sued for failing to properly care for one of its residents, who died due to an untreated urinary tract infection.
Sylvia Mayes filed a nursing home wrongful death lawsuit on December 28 in Madison County Circuit Court against Edwardsville Health Care Center. Mayes says her mother suffered a urinary tract infection that eventually turned to sepsis, kidney failure, as well as nursing home dehydration and malnutrition because the nursing home failed to treat the initial infection.
Srnek was hospitalized on March 12, 2010, when she began to show signs of health problems. She died on March 21, 2010, due to her deteriorated condition, Mayes claims.
The lawsuit accuses the nursing home and its employees for contributing to her mother’s death, according to a story in the Madison Record. She is seeking damages in excess of $100,000.
Fatal Fall Lawsuit Filed Against West Virginia Nursing Home
A nursing home wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the mother of a West Virginia woman who died after suffering injuries from a fall.
The nursing home fall and fracture lawsuit was filed by Denise Stricklen last month in Kanawha Circuit Court against Genesis Healthcare Corporation, which managed the Oak Ridge Center nursing home. Stricklen’s mother, Loretta Conner, died on May 13, 2010, from a subdural hematoma allegedly suffered during a fall at the nursing home.
According to a story in the West Virginia Record, Conner was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at Charleston Area Medical Center to be treated for her injuries before being returned to the facility. The lawsuit claims the nursing home failed to properly care for her following the fall.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and other injuries, as well as punitive damages.
