Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Todd Gribbens and Earl Pelphrey

Two former caregivers at Community Presence, Inc., a Kentucky nursing home facility, were sentenced for their roles in the abuse of a resident, who died.

On October 14, 2007, Michael Price, a mentally handicapped resident of Community Presence, Inc. for seven years, died after caregivers placed him in a prone restraint. Price, who also suffered from cerebral palsy, stopped breathing and died after caregiver Matthew Bortles laid on his back for more than 30 minutes. After the caregivers discovered Price's death, they conspired to cover it up.

Todd Gribbens and Earl Pelphrey pleaded guilty on December 4, 2009. As part of their plea agreement, they both received one year for wanton abuse of an adult, first degree wanton endangerment, and first degree unlawful imprisonment. Their sentences are diverted for five years. Both are forbidden to work as caregivers of vulnerable adults or children. Two other men went to prison for their roles in Price's death.

We discussed the controversy surrounding fines Rosewood Care Center is facing after a resident's death and a recent decision by Sangamon County Circuit Judge Leo Zappa in a previous blog. In February 2009, Judge Zappa ruled that the IDPH had illegally inflated nursing home fines and imposed a $10,000 cap for each "Type A" violation, the worst violation possible.

Attorneys for Rosewood Care Center argued in front of Illinois' Fourth District Appellate Court of Appeals concerning a recent ruling by Sangamon County Circuit Judge Leo Zappa. Springfield attorney Daniel Maher argued that state officials should not be allowed "absolute discretion" in deciding how much to fine nursing homes for substandard care. Instead, Maher feels that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) should be limited to a maximum fine of $10,000 when imposing a flat fine on a nursing home facility.

State officials maintain that the enhanced fines are legal. A 1991 state law calls for fines "not less than $5,000" and "not less than $10,000", depending upon the severity of harm to the nursing home resident. Illinois Attorney General Jan Hughes holds that the $10,000 cap hinders the department's ability to protect defenseless nursing home residents.

The Appellate Panel has the option to throw out the $25,000 fine due to a technicality connected to the IDPH's delay in issuing a final fine against the facility. If the panel opts to throw out the fine, then the panel is also obligated to void Judge Zappa's ruling for the $10,000 cap on nursing home fines. The panel, which consists of Judge Carol Pope of Petersburg, Judge Sue Myerscough of Springfield, and Judge John Turner of Atlanta, is expected to rule on this matter within the next few months.

Bridget Pierce, an employee of St. Clare Meadows nursing home in Baraboo, Wisconsin, faces charges of felony possession of narcotics after reportedly stealing the pain patch from a defenseless resident.

A manager at St. Clare Meadows called the police due to the possible theft and advised police that the facility had a problem with Fentanyl patches (a powerful painkiller) being removed from residents who were unable to speak or communicate. The patches are designed to release the painkiller gradually over a period of three days.

In one instance, a resident had a Fentanyl patch in place, but 45 minutes later the patch was gone. A security camera recorded only Pierce and another employee entering the room during that time. As the patch was applied to the resident's back, only another person could have removed it. When questioned by police, Pierce admitted that she removed the pain patch and flushed it down the toilet when she discovered that the manager was looking into the theft.

Pierce is to appear before the Court on February 18, 2010. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of three years, six months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Somerset Place, a Chicago, Illinois nursing home, faces possible closure unless it can remedy the situation that placed "the health and safety of...residents in immediate jeopardy." Reports of abuse and violence and many citations from the Department of Public Health have placed this nursing home in the public eye. Complaints from Alderman Mary Ann Smith and community groups helped expose the facility's problems.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services conducted a ten day investigation at the facility and, at its conclusion, threatened the facility with termination from Medicare and Medicaid if the problems are not corrected within 23 days. Federal fines of $6,050 are accruing daily against the facility. The Public Health Department began the process to revoke the facility's state nursing home license last week. According to a Public Health Department spokesperson, "This happens very infrequently. This is the most serious thing the state can do." The facility has requested a hearing to contest the license revocation saying "the well-being of our residents, the community and our 250 employees is of paramount importance to us and we are committed to resolving these matters and moving forward."

Somerset specializes in caring for mentally ill adults. Among its 400 residents, Somerset housed 66 felons. From April 2008 to July 2009, police investigated 15 alleged assaults and/or batteries, five criminal sexual assaults, and five narcotic possessions - all within the facility. One Somerset resident, Maratta Walker, had been prostituting herself and using cocaine while a resident at the facility.

Somerset reported profits of approximately $2.3 million on revenues of $15.5 million in 2008, almost all of it from Medicaid.

More than 100 registered sex offenders currently reside in Ohio nursing homes without residents and their families knowing their offenses or their very existence. Senate Bill 130, sponsored by Senator Capri Cafro (D-Hubbard) would force nursing home administrators to notify residents, family members, and guardians when a sex offender with a Tier III status intends upon moving into the facility. Tier III offenses include rape, sexual battery, kidnapping of a minor, and gross sexual imposition on a child younger than 12. Currently, nearly 2/3 of the registered sex offenders living in Ohio nursing homes are Tier III status.

Current Ohio law only requires that anyone living within 1,000 feet of the sex offender be notified. The law does not require nursing home administrators to inform residents, family, or guardians.

The bill calls for a $100 per day violation for facilities that fail to comply with the new legislation.

Illinois pharmacist Ted S. Thalmann, and corporate secretary of The Medicine Shoppe of Edwardsville, pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of misbranding a drug. The corporation pled guilty to a felony charge of misbranding a drug.

Case documents indicate that prescription drugs were repackaged from the original manufacturer's bottle and placed into blister packs. Those packs were labeled with incorrect expiration dates and provided to area nursing homes from March 2007 to March 2008.

Thalmann faces up to one year of imprisonment, one year of supervised release, and a fine of $100,000. The corporation faces a maximum sentence of five years probation and a fine of $500,000.

Dr. David Quang Pham, DPM, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of criminal investigation of healthcare offenses relating to false billing to Medicare and Medicaid. The offense carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.

Dr. Pham treated residents at nursing homes and residences for elderly adults. The facilities he provided services to were: Abbey Care Center, Alexian Court Apartments, Beverly Farm (IL), Claru Deville Nursing Center, Columbia Convalescent Center (IL), Creve Coeur Manor, Delmar Gardens of Chesterfield, Four Fountains Convalescent Center (IL), Grand Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation, Hillside Manor Healthcare and Rehab Center, Normandy Nursing Center, Ozark Manor Residential Care Center, Parkview Apartments, Rancho Manor Health Care and Rehab Center, Rosewood Care Center (IL), St. Paul's Home (IL), St. Elizabeth Healthcare, The Cedars at the JCA, and University Forest Nursing Care Center.

After discovering he was being investigated for health care fraud, Dr. Pham created false treatment notes to support the claim that services that had been provided, when in fact they had not. Responding to a subpoena from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, these notes were provided. Dr. Pham, a podiatrist, allegedly submitted claims for treating the feet of patients who had undergone amputation prior to the date of service. He also falsely claimed to have provided services to nursing home residents who were hospitalized on the dates he reportedly provided his services. Dr. Pham's assistant, who is unlicensed as a physician or a nurse, was also allowed to provide services. Reportedly, Dr. Pham submitted false claims and medical records to Medicare and Medicaid for at least five years.

Forty-eight year old Rachel Mota, a former employee of Mimbres Memorial Hospital Nursing Home, pleaded no contest to unauthorized use of a credit card and faces similar charges in another county after she reportedly took the credit card of a nursing home resident.

Eighty-eight year old Eva Carriveau was hospitalized when she woke up during the night and found someone in her room. She asked what the person was doing and was told that she was straightening the room. Carriveau, who is hard of hearing and couldn't see, was unaware that her credit card had been stolen until she was billed in April 2009 for charges she couldn't possibly have made.

Mota faces three years in prison and approximately $6,000 in fines.

A New York jury handed down a massive $19 million verdict recently for damages in response to a nursing home neglect lawsuit filed by the family of the resident.

Seventy-six year old John Danzy was a resident of Cypress Hills nursing home for just nine months before his family removed him from their care. When he entered the facility, he weighed 237 pounds and was able to ambulate on his own. On the day he was moved, he weighed just 148 pounds and had more than 20 bedsores all over his body.

Mr. Danzy should have been moved every two hours to help prevent bedsores, but records revealed that the facility only moved Mr. Danzy every four hours, if he was moved at all. An FBI expert testified at trial that skin-check notes showing "G" (representing good) were marked over with a "B" (for broken), as the facility tried to cover up that it missed Mr. Danzy's sores.

The jury deliberated for two days following the four week trial before finding that Mr. Danzy was provided substandard care. $3.75 million was awarded for pain and suffering and $15 million was awarded for punitive damages.

Sadly, Mr. Danzy died from an infection caused by the bedsores six months after leaving Cypress Hills.

A St. Louis County, Missouri nursing home was forced to close its doors and relocate its residents after county officials found unsanitary and unsafe conditions at the facility.

Whispering Oaks nursing home "had among its problems no running water, overflowing toilets, human waste on the floor and a fire risk caused by an inoperable sprinkler system", according to a news release from County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. According to Metro West Fire Officials, the well that supplied water to the facility had frozen.

Forty to fifty residents were transferred, some of whom relocated to the The Loving Care Home, located in St. Louis City.

According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the DNR asked the state attorney general to take appropriate action after the facility's water failed to meet state water standards and the water system had been improperly modified. The DNR "contacted the business owners of this site multiple times but has not received an adequate response".

The facility has also had problems in the past. In May 2007, a resident died after suffering an asthma attack. An investigation revealed that facility staff were not trained on how to appropriately respond to the situation. In 2008, a variety of complaints led to an investigation that revealed that residents had been yelled at, cursed at, threatened, and touched in appropriately by a former staff member.

A Missouri nursing home may not be allowed to reopen if the Missouri Attorney General has anything to say about it.

The Missouri Attorney General's Office filed emergency requests on January 14, 2010 in St. Louis County Circuit Court requesting that Whispering Oaks nursing home remain closed and be fined up to $400 per day until the home comes into compliance with state drinking water laws. Additionally, the state health department had already been trying to close the facility after repeated problems with fire and safety violations, inadequate supervision, and improper handling of prescription drugs.

Naren Chaganti, the facility's owner, alleges that a company that operates a cell phone tower located on top of the facility's water tank dislodged the heat shield that kept the tank from freezing. The owner also said that he had removed space heaters from the facility's water pump room after a request to do so by the state health department. Twenty-nine of the facility's residents were transferred to Loving Care Home in St. Louis City, which is owned by Chaganti's brother, Surendra Chaganti.

Chaganti, who practices law in California, is unsure if he will reopen the facility.

We discussed the situation at Friendship Manor of Grinnell in a previous blog.

Ruth Louden entered Friendship Manor of Grinnell for rehabilitation after she fell and fractured her ankle. Her doctor put her in a medical stocking and brace and facility staff were to monitor her leg for circulation and check her skin every shift for signs of redness or swelling. Sadly, while Ruth complained to facility staff of "horrible" and "excruciating" pain for the next four weeks, no one every checked her leg.

Approximately one month after Ruth's fall, a physical therapy aide noticed that Ruth's leg smelled like "rotting meat" and the stocking showed blood seepage. Ruth was taken to the hospital and physicians there found that the wound dressing that had been put on a month earlier looked like it had never been touched. Ruth was diagnosed with gangrene and doctors were forced to amputate her leg to save her life. Sadly, she died three months later.

The facility was fined more than $101,000 due to the incident and the owner, Tim Boyle, appealed the penalty. The case was settled in early January 2010 with the facility agreeing to pay the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services $75,000.

Iowa's Department of Inspections and Appeals investigated and found that during Ruth's stay at Friendship Manor - 25 days - no one ever removed her stocking to check her leg and no physician ever examined her. Sadly, Ruth's doctors told state inspectors that Ruth's bone fracture was nearly "nonexistent" and that her amputation was avoidable.

We discussed Richmond Health and Rehabilitation in a previous blog.

Armeda Thomas' family noted severe bruising on her body and facility staff could not explain the origin. The family resorted to placing a "granny cam" in Ms. Thomas' room. The camera caught facility staff "pulling the resident out of bed by her wrists and neck" and "roughly moving the resident from side to side". Ms. Thomas suffered fractures in her lumbar vertebrae after being handled roughly by facility staff. Among other things, the camera captured images of a staff member showing her fist to Ms. Thomas after she was combative and, on another occasion, a staff member dancing in front of Ms. Thomas while another staff member held her down. The camera also captured Ms. Thomas lying on the floor for an hour before being discovered by staff.

Former nurse aide Valerie Lamb pleaded guilty to reckless abuse and neglect of an adult in the incident. Another former nurse's aide pleaded guilty last year and a third nurse's aide faces trial in March 2010.

C. Kent Harrington, the owner of the Cathedral Rock nursing homes in St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty January 7, 2010 to criminal charges and admitted to knowingly providing substandard care to his nursing home residents. He has agreed to pay $1.6 million as part of a global settlement.

Two whistle-blowing employees filed a civil lawsuit in 2003 against Cathedral Rock Corp and its affiliated companies. A criminal health care fraud charge has also been filed against Harrington, but that charge has been deferred as part of the global settlement of criminal charges that generated from the initial lawsuit.

U.S. Attorney Dorothy McMurtry alleged that staff at the facilities falsified drug records and doctored charts, as well as inflating the hours billed Medicaid and Medicare for patient care. Services provided at the facilities were alleged to be grossly inadequate. McMurtry also alleged that Harrington and other upper level staff members knew of the insufficient care.

Cathedral Rock operated Spring Place Care Center and McLaran Care Center in St. Louis, Oak Forest Skilled Care in Ballwin, Cathedral Gardens Care Center in North St. Louis County, and Blanchette Place Care Center in St Charles. Spring Place closed in 2004, McLaran was no longer operated by Cathedral Rock as of 2005, and Cathedral Rock "ceased operating" the other three facilities as of December 31, 2009.