Cherry Hill, New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer - Nursing Home & Elder Abuse

Bush Midnight Regulation Hinders Nursing Home Abuse Litigation

Camryn Hansen — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:47:50 GMT

Among the midnight regulations the Bush administration enacted swiftly and secretively last fall before its power ran out was a rule which is now greatly impeding the flow of information in cases involving nursing home abuse and neglect.

The rule, which designates Medicare/Medicaid contractors and state inspectors as federal employees, restricts the conditions under which these individuals may testify for either plaintiffs or defendants in private litigation. Now, the head of the Department of Health and Human Services must approve any and all involvement of state health departments and contractors in private lawsuits concerning any facility receiving federal assistance.

On a practical level, this means that once-routine requests for information, including inspection reports and depositions, are now being interminably delayed as federal and state officials bicker over what’s what.

"This change hurts nursing-home residents and their families by allowing bad practices to be kept in secret by nursing homes and inspectors," said Eric M. Carlson, an attorney with the National Senior Citizens Law Center in Los Angeles. "Government inspectors have the right to go into nursing homes and investigate, and they learn things that residents and families otherwise could never find out."

Requests for these employees to participate in private cases "divert employees from their federal survey, certification and enforcement responsibilities," the Bush administration said in a supporting document. "The cumulative effect of these requests can impede these activities." -Cindy Skrzycki, The Washington Post

Hopefully, the Obama administration will soon see the foolhardiness in the Bush analysis, and fashion a compromise, if not a complete reversal of the policy, which will allow cases of nursing home abuse to proceed in a reasonable manner.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Camryn Hansen

Abuse of Alzheimers Patient in Allegheny County Nursing Home - Should Abusers Lose their Pensions?

Mike Ferrara — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 23:16:19 GMT

In Allegheny County, a nursing home supervisor and four nursing assistants have been charged with abusing a 94-year-old Alzheimer's patient. For a period of months, these individuals were allegedly punching the woman in the face, pouring water over her head, and/or throwing objects at her.

The employees worked together on overnight shifts at Kane Regional Center's Glen Hazel facility. Because the abuse involved the shift supervisor, it took a full six months for someone to discover it. Ultimately, another employee reported it in October.

Mary Ann Bower, 57, who has been working at the facility as a practical nurse since 1987, was in charge of nursing assistants Danielle Taylor, 46; Shelly Keene, 35; Karen Perry, 46; and Shalaya Hatten, 30. All are now facing assault, neglect, and harassment charges, and all have been fired.

Authorities are saying that the five employees seem to have singled out 94-year-old Thelma Bryant, who is in a wheelchair and cannot care for herself, since no other patients or staff at the 210-bed facility have reported abuse. It is not yet clear, however, why they did so.

In the meantime, the county is expected to try to prevent the abusers from receiving pensions and other benefits.

If you or a loved one have been a victim of nursing home abuse, please email Mike Ferrara at mferrara@ferraralawfirm.com. The Federal Government has found thousands of these cases around the country, and it is a national disgrace. There are legal remedies for you if you suspect and kind of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect. The initial consultation with an attorney who handles nursing home abuse case is free.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

Federal Government Rates Nursing Homes around the Country – Learn the Truth

Mike Ferrara — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:56:35 GMT

At medicare.gov, you can now read US government reports of nursing home inspections all across the country.

On the Medicare website, you can type in the name of a specific nursing home, find all nursing homes within a certain distance of a zip code or city, within a particular state, or within a particular county.

The US government has rated each nursing home in three different categories: health inspections (the rating assesses nursing home environment, resident care and care process, and staff and resident interactions); nursing home staffing (the rating assesses overall staffing hours, including those staffed by licensed professionals); and quality measures (the rating assesses various data about the residents themselves). It also averages the different categories together to come up with a telling overall rating. All ratings range from one to five stars—one being the lowest and five being the highest.

In the 25 mile radius outside Cherry Hill, NJ, there are more than 125 nursing homes. Out of the 125 the site would display, a full 37 nursing homes received an overall rating of only one star—the lowest rating possible.

Nursing homes that earn a one star rating on health inspections typically rate poorly on the ability to protect their residents from abuse (this includes hiring staff with no patient abuse history); on the capacity to keep the nursing home environment clean and safe from accidents; on the error-free administration of medication; and on the effort to ensure that care is given in a way that allows residents to build dignity and self-respect.

To learn more about a particular nursing home, visit the Medicare website. If you are concerned that a family member in a nursing home is receiving sub-standard care or is being neglected or abused by nursing home staff, contact attorney Mike Ferrara at info@ferraralawfirm.com to learn more about your rights. The initial consultation with an attorney who handles nursing home abuse case is free.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

PA Assisted Living Facility Shut Down after Owner Chokes Patient, 2 Suspicious Deaths

Mike Ferrara — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:29:44 GMT

Willow Crest Manor, a private assisted living facility in Pennsylvania’s Upper Moreland Township, has been closed down by the Department of Public Works after investigations into the suspicious deaths of two residents led to discoveries of negligence and rule violations on the part of its owner, Anand (aka “Dave”) Mittal.

After their investigation, DPW inspectors reported that Willow Crest neglected for several days to give a resident his twice daily medication, falsified medical records to cover up the mistake, and ignored a doctor’s recommendation to call 911 about a resident's serious leg ulcers.

The DPW also found that medication at Willow Crest was given out by unlicensed and under-trained employees; that some residents received medications that had been recalled by the FDA; and that others were given meds without prescriptions. The facility neglected to get lab work done for one patient, and failed to report it when another patient fell down and required hospitalization.

Gross violations like these are tentatively being linked to the deaths of a 49-year old woman (the patient with leg ulcers, whose autopsy revealed widespread and deadly sepsis), and a 24-year-old man with cerebral palsy found dead in his bed.

According to the DPW, residents at Willow Crest were in “immediate and serious danger” due to lack of proper care at the facility. The agency ordered that all 51 residents, about half of whom are elderly and most of whom suffer from mental illness, be evacuated and relocated at once. Forty eight evacuated, and three stayed. Because facilities that house fewer than four residents are not under state jurisdiction, the DPW cannot force the remaining three to leave.

From the sound of it, Mittal’s facility (one of many he owns) should have been shut down long ago. For years, the DPW has been finding serious state violations at his other agencies—including Southampton Manor in Bucks County, and Diston Manor and Adelphia in Philadelphia—that have caused them to ban his operating licenses.

Over the summer, criminal charges were filed against Mittal for allegedly choking a Parkinson's patient at Willow Crest. He’s now out on bail, but has been banned from his own property ever since.

We are so fortunate that the state has moved in to correct these horrendous wrongs. If you or a loved one were a victim of abuse at Willow Crest, please email Mike Ferrara at mferrara@ferraralawfirm.com. The Federal Government has found thousands of these types of violations around the country. It is a national disgrace. There are legal remedies for you if you suspect and kind of assisted living/nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect. The initial consultation with an attorney who handles nursing home abuse case is free.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

Minnesota Teens Charged with Nursing Home Abuse While Friends Looked On

Mike Ferrara — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:02:29 GMT

According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, several female high school students who worked together as part-time aides at Albert Lea, Minnesota’s Good Samaritan nursing home have been accused of abusing the residents they were hired to care for.

Reported abuses include taunting seven different residents, spitting on them and in their mouths, and poking and rubbing their genitals.

Two of the young women, Brianna Marie Broitzman, 19, and Ashton Michelle Larson, 18, were old enough at the time of the alleged abuse to be charged as adults—Broitzman for 11 counts and Larson for 10. The six others involved were all 17 at the time, and have thus only been identified by birthdates and initials. Two of these young women will be tried as juveniles for abusing the residents; the other four have been charged in juvenile court for failing to report the maltreatment they witnessed.

Monday, Broitzman and Larson were charged with fifth-degree assault, abuse of a vulnerable adult with sexual contact, abuse of a vulnerable adult by a caregiver, disorderly conduct, and failing to report suspected maltreatment—all gross misdemeanors, with a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $3,000 fine per count.

If found guilty, "they most likely will face suspended jail sentences and probation, so they'd have the threat of jail hanging over them if they get in more trouble," said Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson, who filed the charges Monday.

Since summer, Nelson has said that prosecuting the aides could prove difficult because the evidence is largely based on their own statements and those made by another aide who blew the whistle to the home's administrators while she was being fired for swearing in front of a resident. That aide was among those charged as a juvenile. –Warren Wolfe, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Allegations against the teens first went public in August, after state health department inspectors found that four of them had abused over a dozen residents in efforts to make “work fun.”

The abusive acts allegedly occurred between Jan. 1 and May 1, 2008. When the Good Samaritan learned of the health department’s allegations in May, it fired the four accused aides.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

Nearly 2 Million Americans Get Bedsores - Proper Nursing Home Care Would Eliminate Them All

Mike Ferrara — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:57:34 GMT

Bed sores (also known as pressure sores or decubitus ulcers) are a serious condition that can lead to infection, septicemia, gangrene and even death. Fortunately , bed sores are entirely preventable. Today, there are medical devices and protocols that ensure proper circulation to compressed tissue. No one should ever have to suffer with them.

Unfortunately , the statistics surrounding the incidence of bed sores are overwhelming . . . and tragic!

• As many as 23% of long term care residents develop bed sores at some time
• 1.8 Million Americans are affected annually by bed sores
• It has been estimated that 8% of all nursing home deaths can be attributed to bed sores

What You Can Do - Medically

If your loved one has bed sores, it is important that you seek appropriate medical help for them immediately. Ask tough questions. Go up the chain of command at the nursing home until you get the Adminstrator's attention. Tell them to take all necessary steps to immediately try to heal the sores. Keep a diary. Take names and write down who said what to you. Let them know you won't rest until you or your loved one gets proper medical care.

What You Can Do - Legally

It’s also important that you hold the nursing home or long-term care facility accountable for their abuse. Your loved one may be entitled to compensation – compensation that might allow them to get the kind of care they need and that they deserve.

While no one can assure you that your loved one will receive compensation, cases involving bed sores have often resulted in just awards for the harms done to the victim. It is very important to have the nursing home and facility held personally responsible for the harms they caused. In 2008 there is absolutely no excuse for anyone to ever get a bed sore.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

Nurses Exposed To Serious Dangers in Hospitals

Mike Ferrara — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:02:16 GMT

A recent survey of 1000 New Jersey nurses found that more than 25% had a work-related injury within the last five years. 62% were exposed to hard to kill "bugs" like MRSA, 52% had back and other injuries from lifting patients, 33% experienced violence in their hospital or nursing home, 32% suffered needlestick or other exposure to blood-borne pathogens and finally, 15% were exposed to toxic chemicals. Fully 56% of the nurses who responded to the survey have considered leaving nursing because of such hazards. With such a critical nursing shortage, everyone must make certain corrective action is taken to insure nurses have a safe workplace. Our nurses deserve better.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

Nursing Home Malpractice Causes Patient to Die - State Fines Home Maximum Allowable

Mike Ferrara — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:27:41 GMT

As more and more baby-boomers begin to retire, finding decent nursing homes is a major concern. The quality of nursing homes varies from state to state, but one place you never want to send your loved ones is the Lagunda Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in California. They were hit with California's most severe fine after an investigating a resident's death.

The state found that the nursing home managers failed to review, evaluate, update and implement a care plan for a resident with dementia. The patient had a history of falling and wandering outside the facility where she was later found unresponsive and pronounced dead. Some states, like New Jersey, have report cards on nursing homes that have to be made available to the public. Be certain to check it out in advance. San Jose Mercury News

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara