Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Amanda Tibble, a former CNA at John M. Reed Nursing Home, a nursing home facility located in Limestone, Tennessee, was arrested on March 1, 2010 and charged with five counts of willful abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an adult. The charges were the result of a facility investigation into allegations of physical and emotional abuse of resident at the hands of a facility employee.

Reportedly, Tibble mainly directed profanity towards residents under her care, but on at least one instance, she allegedly twisted a seventy-five year old resident's arm behind his back and was using profanity towards him.

Tibble "admitted to being verbally abusing to four clients by using profanity directed to them". She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 3, 2010.

Lynwood C. Bauer, a former nursing assistant at Britthaven Nursing Home in Pineville, Kentucky, was charged with one count of reckless abuse of an adult after a defenseless nursing home resident was severely injured while under his care.

In September 2009, Bauer was caring for a male resident, who was paralyzed on his left side from a stroke. The resident's care plan required facility staff to move the resident using a mechanical lift assisted by two staff members. Reportedly, Bauer moved the resident from a chair to his bed without the assistance of a mechanical lift or other staff. The resident allegedly fell from the bed and Bauer, who did not check the man's treatment plan, put him back into bed without any assistance or any assessment for injuries.

Later, nursing staff discovered the resident had "raised" and "red, painful areas" on the back of his head, left shoulder, rib cage, hip, and knee. The resident was transported to a hospital, where he later died.

Bauer remains in jail on a $500,000 cash bond. He faces up to one year in jail. The facility was cited for two deficiencies: one for actual harm to a resident and one for failure to immediately report the incident.

We discussed Fox River Pavilion, a nursing home facility located in Aurora, Illinois, in a previous blog. On December 17, 2009, a fight between roommates resulted in the death of Randall Moons, a fifty-seven year old resident of the facility.

According to the Health Department report, Moons' fifty-four year old roommate told investigators that he was watching television when Moons began screaming profanities, jumped on his bed, and punched him in the face. The roommate screamed for help for "over 20 minutes" before another resident got a staff member. The staff member found Moons unconscious and not breathing. Moons died from a heart problem brought on by the stress from the fight. Moons' roommate sustained a broken kneecap and was bleeding from his nose, ears, and mouth.

Moons had only been a resident of Fox River since August 2009, coming to the facility with a history of "unpredictable aggressiveness". His diagnoses were paranoid schizophrenia, alcohol abuse, past drug use, and high blood pressure. He had received psychiatric treatment from February 2005 to September 2008 after he was found not fit to stand trial for obstructing a police officer after he violated a protection order.

Reportedly, Moons had been a problem at Fox River - refusing to take medication, exposing himself to female residents, was physically aggressive, and repeatedly attempted elopement. Just two days prior to his death, staff members found Moons completely dressed and sitting in an empty bathtub. He allegedly told staff members he just wanted someone to "shoot him in the head".

The facility was cited for failing to have a plan to protect both Moons and other residents in light of his increasing behavior problems. The facility had also been cited for numerous problems in the past, which included other resident assaults.

Fox River Pavilion officials have been informed that they will lose federal funding for the facility within thirty (30) days. The facility currently has a monitor in place and that monitor will assist residents desiring to move.

Minnesota authorities have issued a warrant and are actively searching for Quantel Morris after other facility employees watched as the CNA reportedly stuffed a sock into the mouth of a ninety-eight year old female resident at Sunnyside Care Center in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. When confronted, Morris told investigators that the woman would not quit yelling while he was changing her, so he placed the sock in her mouth. Reportedly, the woman was scared for days after the incident.

Reportedly, this is not the first time Morris' care has come into question. In November 2009, resident Nina Johnson was dying. Morris refused to put her oxygen back into her nose, was caught cursing in her room, and refused to reposition Ms. Johnson so that she could face her family.

Morris also faces an outstanding warrant in Chicago in connection with theft, drug possession, and child support cases.

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.

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.

We discussed Shonda Rodriguez and her alleged abuse of an elderly nursing home resident at Castle Pines Nursing Home in previous blogs. Rodriguez, who formerly was employed as a licensed practical nurse at the Lufkin, Texas facility, reportedly slapped the hand of a facility resident and woman was found with bruises on the backs of both hands and a skin tear on her upper arm. Rodriguez pleaded no contest on December 15, 2009 to charges of abusing an elderly patient and was sentenced to two years' probation, ordered to pay restitution, and fined $500. She was also ordered not to work with the elderly or small children in her profession as an LPN.

We discussed the tragic death of Andres Cardona at the hands of his roommate, Ardyce Nauden, in a previous blog.

Seventy-two year old Andres Cardona entered Ardyce Nauden's room and began eating his food. Nauden, who has a history of drug convictions and aggressive behavior, reportedly admitted to authorities that he repeatedly punched Cardona in his head because he was eating Nauden's lunch. Cardona was transported to the hospital and died on September 18, 2009 from his injuries.

On December 3, 2009, Cardona's death was ruled a homicide by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office and now, Nauden faces first-degree murder charges.

After this incident, The Chicago Tribune asked the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) for all records relating to assault allegations at the nursing home facility for the past three months. Initially, health department officials said they had none. After pressure, the IDPH managed to locate three reports, including the one involving Cardona, despite Chicago police reporting 11 alleged batteries in the 90 day period. A health department spokesperson, Melaney Arnold, said that the department is overwhelmed with incident reports and "unfortunately with the staffing we have, we're not always about to connect the dots."

Robbinsdale Rehab and Care Center, a nursing home facility located in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, has lost Medicare and Medicaid funding for new residents after inspectors found "critical treatment errors", some of which contributed to the deaths of two residents.

The facility has been in the spotlight of inspectors since July 2009, when a facility inspection survey found 29 deficiencies, which included failure to respond to signs of distress in two residents who later died. The facility was fined $3,000 and lost Medicare and Medicaid funding for new residents on October 7, 2009. The facility faces $24,300 in additional fines for six days that residents were in immediate jeopardy due to medication errors.

In February 2009, a female resident exhibited signs of a possible heart attack, which included low blood pressure and oxygen, clammy skin, and back pain. Staff members failed to notify her physician quickly, despite the resident exhibiting the four "red flags" of distress. She was found dead in her bed on February 2, 2009.

On July 2, 2009, a male resident was found "shaking" and unresponsive in his wheelchair. Staff members reported the incident to facility nurses, but no ambulance was called for five hours. The man died in route to the hospital.

In October 2009, the facility was cited for failing to discharge a patient who was being held against her wishes. Fifty-six year old Isabelle Jessich spent more than one year at the facility after being hospitalized for treatment for chronic alcoholism. Even after Jessich's doctor found that she was able to be discharged, her court-appointed guardian refused to allow her to leave.

Despite repeated warnings, facility administrators have been unable to correct problems at the facility. In fact, ten deficiencies noted in a July 2009 inspection still had not been addressed in October 2009 and another critical violation related to the mishandling of narcotic painkillers was discovered in October 2009. A resident was mistakenly given high doses of painkillers and was taken to the hospital on September 22, 2009. The resident was exhibiting obvious signs of distress, such as feeding an imaginary dog from his plate, seeing bugs crawl up walls, and wondering where he was. The ensuing investigation revealed that 120 Oxycodone tablets were missing from the allotment designated for the resident.

Robbinsdale Rehab is no stranger to deficiencies discovered during facility inspections. While the average deficiency rate is 10, the facility track record is as follows:

- 19 in 2007
- 25 in 2008
- 37 in 2009 to date.

If Robbinsdale Rehab and Care Center fails to rectify its deficiency violations by January 7, 2010, the federal funding ban will be extended to all residents, which could force the nursing home out of business.

We discussed Elizabeth Barrow's tragic death in a previous blog. Sadly, Ms. Barrow's 98 year-old roommate was indicted on December 11, 2009 for second-degree murder for allegedly strangling her 100 year-old roommate at Brandon Woods Nursing Home in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Barrow was found dead in her bed with a plastic bag tied around her head on September 24, 2009. The medical examiner determined her death was a homicide after an autopsy revealed that Ms. Barrow had been strangled.

Elizabeth Barrow had recently complained that Lundquist was making her life "a living hell" because Lundquist thought Barrow was "taking over the room". In fact, the night before Barrow's death, Lundquist had blocked her path to the bathroom with a table at the foot of her bed. A nurse's aide removed the table and Lundquist punched her. The table was found next to the bed when Barrow was discovered dead.

Barrow and Lundquist had been roommates for approximately one year. Lundquist, who had a long-standing diagnosis of dementia and cognitive impairment, had complained to nursing home staff about the number of visitors that Barrow received and had made threatening comments to Barrow. According to the District Attorney, Lundquist suffered from paranoia and "harbored hostility toward the victim". Scott Barrow, Elizabeth Barrow's son, had requested that the roommates be separated, but nursing home staff assured him that they were getting along. Reportedly, Barrow did not want to leave the room where she had lived with her husband before his death and declined a room change in July and August 2009.

The nursing home issued a statement alleging that the roommates acted like sisters, walked and ate lunch together daily, and said "Goodnight, I love you" to each other at night. The facility is establishing a scholarship in Barrow's name, which her son will chair.

In 2006, Maria Arellano was a resident of Fillmore Convalescent Center in Fillmore, California. The seventy-one year old woman was the victim of a stroke and was nonverbal. During a routine visit, family members noticed that Ms. Arellano was bruised. They reported the bruising to facility management, but allegedly the facility failed to investigate the incident. The family took action and placed a hidden video camera at the side of Ms. Arellano's bed. The camera caught an employee, Monica Garcia, slapping Ms. Arellano, pulling her around by her hair, bending her neck, fingers, and wrists, and treating her violently when she was in a shower chair.

Garcia was charged for abusing Ms. Arellano and pleaded no contest in February 2009. She received ten days work release as punishment for her crime.

The attorney for the Arellano family tried to settle the case in July 2009 for $500,000 but "they never offered me one dime. They never offered to go to mediation, nothing. There was a lot of arrogance." After a twenty-two day trial, a Ventura County jury deliberated just two days before awarding $7.75 million to Ms. Arellano's family: $2.75 million in actual damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Liability was split among three defendants: 40% to the facility, 40% to owner Eduardo Gonzalez, and 20% to Monica Garcia.

The facility faces yet another lawsuit for abuse of a resident. During the Arellao family ordeal, they Arellanos met resident Daniel Sanchez, who lived across the hall from Ms. Arellano. His family had found bruising and hair-pulling and also suspected abuse. Their case goes to trial in January 2010.

Todd Gribbens and Earl Pelphrey pleaded guilty to Class D felonies of wantonly abusing an adult, wanton endangement first degree, and unlawful imprisonment relating to abuse of a 25 year-old disabled resident. Charges were brought against Gribbens and Pelphrey as well as Bob Thompson and Michael Yates for their alleged abuse of Michael Price, the resident involved.

On October 14, 2007, Michael Price, a resident of Community Presence, Inc. facilities for seven years, died after caregivers placed him in a prone restraint, which is prohibited by Kentucky Law. Price, who was mentally disabled and suffered from cerebral palsy, stopped breathing and died after caregiver Matthew Bortles laid on his back for more than 30 minutes. Caregiver Brandon Starotska failed to intervene and stop the abuse and watched television instead. After discovering Price's death, both Bortles and Starotska cleaned up Price's blood, hid a bloody pillow, and washed a blood-stained washcloth in an attempt to conceal evidence. Both Bortles and Starotska were sentenced to prison earlier this year.

Mount Loretto Nursing Home, a nursing home facility located in Amsterdam, New York, was hit with a $77,610 fine after a January Department of Health Investigation found several deficiencies that could have placed residents in immediate jeopardy.

The fine was levied following an investigation that revealed the following:

- An employee who saw two other employees deliberately shaking and stuttering while caring for a resident suffering from Parkinson's Disease;
- Incontinent residents reported not being cared for promptly;
- Residents reported medications not being provided on time; and
- A resident reported that an employee threatened to strangle her.

Facility staff reported that inadequate staffing levels attributed to care delay due to large turnover from "burn-out" and employees calling in sick. Staff members also complained that "Chicago" controlled staffing levels, without being aware of what was needed. One staff member allegedly "stated that often there were only three [certified nursing assistants] on a unit and that she realized it was very difficult to provide quality care to the residents."

We discussed Johnetta Phillips and her alleged abuse of an elderly resident at Castle Pines Nursing Home in Texas in a previous blog.

The reported abuse of the 77 year-old resident was caught on a video camera that the victim's husband set up in her room. The victim told her husband that she was being abused but, due to her mental state, she could not identify her abuser.

Phillips was caught on tape on two separate occasions abusing the female resident. According to the arrest warrant, Phillips grabbed the woman's right arm and twisted it and then struck her arm three times. In another incident, Phillips was seen putting the resident to bed roughly, causing her to hit her head on the headboard.

Phillips pleaded guilty to the abuse and was sentenced to twenty months in jail.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases involving nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Top officials at Regency at the Park, a skilled nursing facility located in College Place, Washington, have been terminated after the state Department of Social and Health Services determined that the facility caused a resident harm.

Reportedly, the resident suffered mental and physical abuse in the summer of 2009. The resident was admitted to the facility in 2000 and suffered from short and long-term memory impairments, poor decision-making abilities, and was resistant to care. In early June 2009, the resident began refusing to change her clothes or shower and according to a state report, her body odor "had become very offensive".

On July 24, facility administration revoked the woman's smoking privileges for refusing to shower or change her clothes and took her ashtrays from the smoking area. Staff told her that being allowed to smoke was a courtesy and she would not get her cigarettes until she complied. She was also told that the Administrator would not allow her to purchase cigarettes with her own money. The resident continued to smoke and a fire was found in a trash can on August 29 in the area where she was allowed to smoke, putting all facility residents in danger.

When the resident continued to refuse to shower, Administrator Larry White pushed the resident in her wheelchair to the shower area and ordered Director of Nursing Mary Coates for have two aides shower the resident. The resident reportedly struggled against the aides and suffered superficial injuries. She was injured twice more when forced to shower in August. The facility where residents live is considered their home and staff is "working for them", according to a representative for the state ombudsman program. Therefore, forcing someone to shower is considered abuse.

The ensuing investigation found that the resident had suffered abuse at the hands of Administrator Larry White and Director of Nursing Mary Coates and they were terminated from their positions. Additionally, the facility was issued a citation.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

According to a November 9, 2009 report from the Minnesota Department of Health, on May 26, 2009, a resident of Homeward Bound Maple Grove, a nursing home facility located in Maple Grove, Minnesota, was forced to eat her dinner by a facility employee. The resident, who suffers from cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and swallowing problems, was not hungry at dinner. While she is able to feed herself, facility staff will assist her with her meals when she tires and she is able to communicate whether or not she wants to eat.

On the day of the incident, the male employee took the resident outside in a t-shirt, when it was cold. She did not want to eat, but the employee forced her to eat and used a larger spoon than what the resident would normally use. She also had problems breathing when she was being fed.

Reportedly, another employee witnessed the event and tried to stop the employee from force-feeding the resident. When she attempted to intervene, she was told that the resident was losing weight and he had to force her to eat if she did not want to. The resident was resisting the feeding and trying to push the man's arm away. The reporting employee had previously voiced concerns about how he cared for the residents that were consistently denied by the man, so she videotaped the incident on her cell phone.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

The Chicago Tribune recently published an article questionning whether a popular program that rid Illinois nursing homes of sex offenders was cut to save costs. In 2001, the Illinois State Police began staging raids on nursing home facilities to sweep out unregistered sex offenders and ex-convicts with outstanding arrest warrants for a variety of crimes, including armed robbery and murder.

From January 2005 through June 2006, twenty northern Illinois nursing homes were raided and police removed approximately 80 fugitives and sex offenders. Nursing home abuse and neglect complaints in that area decreased 67%, according to a department citation issued to the unit conducting the raids.

In 2006, the raids were suddenly stopped. Could the abandoned "sweeps program" be an example of how Illinois cut costs? Reportedly, these raids were stopped as facilities were still admitting felons and sex offenders, exposing our vulnerable elderly to assaults, rapes, and other types of abuse.

Seventy-two year old Andres Cardona died at the hands of a roommate in August 2009. Tragically, Cardona was beaten at Columbus Park Nursing and Rehab Center in Chicago, Illinois by sixty-two year old Ardyce Nauden. Nauden, who has a history of aggressive behavior, beat Cardona because Cardona came into Nauden's room and took his lunch. Cardona later died from the injuries sustained in the beating.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Cigi Serrevera Snell turned herself into officers at the Jackson County Jail on October 28, 2009 and was promptly charged with one count of abuse of an elderly adult, a third-degree felony.

Snell is a former employee of Signature Health Care Center of North Florida. She was terminated after an investigation by the Florida Department of Children and Families Adult Protective Services revealed that she knowingly abused a 90 year-old resident at the facility. Snell reportedly slapped the elderly woman across the face so hard that it left a red mark.

If convicted, Snell faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at (888) 317-2525 or visit us on our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.