Nursing Home Neglect
Nursing Home Litigation
Unfortunately, many of our elderly and disabled reside in nursing homes and are being subjected to daily abuse and neglect. Sadly, this is a problem our country is experiencing nationwide. In 1997, there were approximately 1.6 million elderly and disabled individuals living in 16,800 nursing homes across the country. Despite very specific federal and state laws established to protect the vulnerable residents of nursing homes, it has been estimated by recent Congressional studies that nearly 1 out of every 3 nursing homes has been cited for an abuse violation in a 2-year period from January 1, 1999 through January 1, 2001. Even more alarming, according to this study, these figures do not include an estimated 25,000 more violations which were reported to state investigators of regulatory agencies across the United States.
The majority of
abuse and neglect in nursing homes can be traced to the lack of adequate
staffing to care for residents, as well as the nursing home's failure to train
its staff members. A recent federal study found that more than 90% of the
nursing homes in the United States have too few workers to provide proper care
for their nursing home residents. This conclusion of the recent government study
is in spite of the fact that in 1997, nursing homes received over
$27,000,000,000 (Twenty-Seven Billion Dollars) in government funds, mostly from
Medicaid and Medicare programs. In some situations, this means that the nursing
homes are being paid for care they are not providing and hundreds of thousands
of residents across the nation are the ones suffering at the hands of their
caregivers. For the most part, the state of residents' care and their fate lies
in the hands of caring family members and law firms like Davis & Feder who are actively pursuing nursing home neglect and abuse litigation.
THE MOST COMMON FORMS OF NURSING HOME NEGLECT AND ABUSE
According to the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1997, all residents in nursing homes are entitled to receive quality of care and reside in an environment that improves or maintains the quality of their physical and mental health. Of course, this would include the right to be free from neglect and abuse. Some of the most common problems occurring in our nursing homes are:
(1) Malnutrition;
(2) Dehydration;
(3) Bedsores or pressure ulcers;
(4) Falls which result in serious injuries;
(5) Severe weight loss:
(6) Physical abuse;
(7) Lack of supervision, i.e., allowing residents to wander away from the facility;
(8) Infections and sepsis:
(9) Improper use of physical or chemical restraints;
(10) Theft of money and personal property:
(11) Improper, wrong, or over-medication;
(12) Choking or strangulation: and
(13) Sexual assault.
If your loved one has suffered from any of the above-listed abuse or neglect, or any other type of neglect at a nursing home, you should contact
Davis & Feder P.A., for an initial consultation. You should always remember the old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words." We cannot over-stress the importance of photographing any injuries your loved one may have suffered, if your claim eventually goes forward to the litigation stage. It is also helpful to make a chronological list of all the problems your loved one has suffered while a resident of a nursing home. Nursing home cases are very emotional and it is very easy to forget an essential fact. Thus, a diary of complaints is almost essential.
In addition to seeking legal counsel, if your loved one has experienced abuse or neglect at a nursing home, you should also report your complaint to the State Department of Health. It is extremely important to report the abuse or neglect immediately, especially if the resident is still experiencing or suffering from abuse or neglect. Once you have reported this information, the State Department of Health will initiate an investigation regarding your complaint.
Also, you have at your disposal the state ombudsman. The ombudsman is the individual who is designated to be the "patient advocate" to assist families in any type of problems they are experiencing with nursing homes where their loved one resides. There are many local ombudsman programs located across the country. Contact information for these individuals may be found at the Healthcare Financing Association website.
This website is also probably your best source for statistical information about specific facilities in its nursing home comparison program.
SELECTING A NURSING HOME
The process of selecting a competent nursing home is one of the most difficult decisions a family may ever face. As previously stated, one of the most important factors in the care your loved one may receive will be the training of the staff members and whether or not there is adequate staffing to provide the proper care to its residents. A potentially viable source of information about staffing and other issues at local nursing homes is your ombudsman. It is also important to look at the number of complaints filed against a nursing home, the nature of the complaints filed against the nursing home, the results of any investigations of complaint, the staff-to-resident ratio, the number of residents in the facility, the results of the ombudsman's survey, and the results of the latest annual state survey.
The answers to these questions do not guarantee a problem-free nursing home experience, but it may very well increase the likelihood of finding a well-equipped and responsible facility to handle your family member's needs. The importance of regular visits cannot be stressed enough in the monitoring of your loved one's care. Visits should be made at different times and especially over the holiday season.
Remember, if you see signs of abuse or neglect, it is extremely important to take photographs of injuries resulting from the abuse and neglect. If you need help, then you should contact
Davis & Feder P.A., at 1-866-857-8500 immediately. We want to help you protect nursing home patients and to end the problem of substandard nursing home care.
