Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

A California man will spend three years behind bars for admittedly raping a defenseless 76 year-old resident on multiple occasions.

Fifty-four year old Felix Panem plead guilty to rape of an incoherent patient and elder abuse in June 2010. He was arrested in December 2009 after he was caught having sex with his victim by another employee of the El Dorado Care Center.

According to Officer David Vojtaskovic, "He told me that he came in (to her room) and cleaned her up. He changed her and had sexual intercourse with her." Panem admitted to having sex with the resident in May and November 2009. His victim described Panem as a friend but didn't recall seeing him that day and denied having sex with him.

Sexual abuse is a growing problem at nursing homes. Every day more elderly residents are subjected to sexual attacks by employees and other residents. For a nursing home abuse attorney who has had experience in handling cases of sexual assault, contact the Terry Law Firm at (888) 317-2525.

The LaSalle County Nursing Home continues to be plagued with problems, the most recent of which is a CNA has been reportedly accused of abuse. We've discussed this nursing home in previous blogs. In the past two years, the facility has been forced to deal with a multitude of problems, including the molestation of multiple defenseless residents by another resident.

Now, an investigation of a CNA is underway for abuse/molestation. According to Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) spokeswoman Melaney Arnold, "IDPH did receive an incident report from the facility regarding a CNA (certified nurse assistant) and abuse. IDPH is reviewing the evidence to determine what action, if any, will be taken."

Many Illinois nursing homes have been plagued by the physical abuse and sexual abuse of nursing home residents. Nursing home abuse and neglect attorney David Terry has successfully handled many cases against the nursing home industry. If you are ain Illinois resident and would like a copy of David's new book, Five Things You Must Know About Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Illinois at no cost to you, call our office toll-free at (888) 317-2525 or order online here. The book is free if you live in Illinois or the nursing home you are concerned about is located in Illinois.

A Mississippi man was arrested on August 20, 2010 and charged with two counts of fondling a vulnerable person.

Twenty-three year old Brandon Rowlings was arrested after he allegedly fondled a 70 year old man who lived in a personal care facility where he worked. Rowlings was investigated after the victim's family members reported concerns to authorities.

Rowlings faces up to 15 years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine per count if convicted.

Daily we are hearing about defenseless nursing home residents being sexually abused or sexually assaulted by nursing home employees or other residents. Contact the Terry Law Firm at (888) 317-2525 if you have concerns that a loved one is being sexually abused or sexually assaulted while living in a nursing home facility.

Brianna Broitzman entered an Alford Plea on Monday, August 16, 2010, on three gross misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct by a caregiver toward a vulnerable adult in the criminal case of abusing defenseless residents of Albert Lea Good Samaritan nursing home in Albert Lea, Minnesota. An Alford Plea means that the defendant in a case maintains innocence but acknowledges that existing evidence could result in a "guilty" jury verdict.

Broitzman's sentencing is set for October 22, 2010. The gross misdemeanors each carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison, a $3,000 fine, or both. The case against Broitzman's accomplice in the abuse case, Ashton Larson, remains pending and the Freeborn County Attorney does not envision a similar plea in that case.

We had discussed the abuse these residents suffered in a previous blog.

Columbus Manor Residential Care Home, a nursing home in Chicago, Illinois, faces a possible loss of its license. The facility is home to approximately 130 mentally ill residents.

The facility was recently cited for many violations, some of which include resident safety. Reportedly, residents at the facility were attacking each other and a female resident allegedly had to fight off a sexual assault at the hands of a male resident. Additionally, facility staff reportedly failed to advise a resident's doctor of his illness and the resident later died.

A hearing has been scheduled for December 6, 2010 in Chicago. The facility faces minimum fines of $100,000.

Six former employees of Valley View Skilled Nursing facility were arrested last week and charged with one misdemeanor count of causing injury to an elder or dependent adult, battery committed on an elder or dependent adult, conspiracy, and battery committed while on hospital property for their roles in a vicious "prank".

The employees reportedly coated seven dementia residents at the facility from head to toe with ointment so that they would be "slippery" for employees on another shift. Four of the former employees applied the ointment and two failed to report the abuse.

Since the incident, the facility's executive director has been replaced.

Sadly, we hear about nursing home residents being the object of pranks, assaults and neglect far too often. We work hard at making a difference in cases of Missouri and Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect. There is no room for this kind of disrespect in nursing homes.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 326 into law at 2:00 p.m. today. The new legislation is designed to improve the quality of life in nearly 800 nursing homes in Illinois.

Among other things, the new legislation will require nursing home owners to hire more staff members to care for residents, the number of nursing home inspectors will nearly double by 2013, and hospitals would have to initiate criminal background checks prior to transferring patients into nursing homes.

After a lengthy investigation, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) uncovered serious violations after investigating allegations of physical, sexual, and verbal abuse of residents at K. F. Jammer Manor, a Missouri veterans' nursing home located in University City.

The DHSS began investigating the facility in April 2010. According to a recently released 21-page report, one resident made two allegations of rape, but facility staff failed to call police or call the hotline, as required by law. The resident affected called 911 and reported the incidents. The same resident alleged that she and a facility housekeeper were involved in a sexual relationship. According to the report, "During an interview the Director of Nursing said the resident alleged he/she had a sexual relationship with Housekeeper #1. Due to the resident's allegations, staff moved the housekeeper to the facility's other location. The Director of Nursing did not report any allegation of rape or a sexual relationship because, according to the report, she did not believe they happened.

In another instance, a staff member sent a text message to another staff member about a manger who reportedly gave a resident $3.00 in exchange for oral sex. According to the Director of Nursing, she did not tell anyone about the message, talk to the resident, investigate the alleged message, or do anything related to the message.

The same investigation found that facility staff failed to protect two residents who were spit on, had hair pulled, had water thrown on them, and were constantly called racially charged names or degrading names.

The Veterans Administration (VA) began moving its 36 residents from the facility back in April 2010, when the allegations were first reported. Currently, there are two residents remaining at the facility. The VA assisted its residents in finding other facilities. Of the two residents remaining, one resident desired to stay, but now that resident's legal guardian has requested a move to a different facility. The second resident is in the process of relocation.

The University City Police are investigating the allegations of rape. The Director of Nursing is no longer employed at the facility.

Reportedly, verbal abuse, headlocks and chokeholds are used to restrain residents at a Texas adult daycare center in Spring, Texas.

Westridge Pinnacle Care is the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General after the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services found a "threat to the health and safety of the residents" at the facility.

According to the investigator's report:

- A staff member was arguing with one of the disabled residents, who wanted to call his mother to go home because he didn't feel well and reportedly came to blows. The staff member allegedly put the resident in a headlock and shouted, "You're not going to be violent! I'm the only one that is going to be violent! If you do it again, I'll bite your face off!"

- The facility was operating without a valid license. Reportedly, the facility's request for licensure was denied on March 16, 2010 but there are no indications as to why.

A judge issued a temporary restraining order against the facility and ordered the state to place residents in a safe facility.

A New York nurse was caught red-handed abusing a defenseless nursing home resident by a granny cam.

Fifty-six year old Jessie Joiner, a nurse at William Benenson Rehabilitation Pavilion in Queens, New York, was seen pushing a medication cart on March 20, 2010 around 9:00 p.m. when she suddenly left her cart and walked toward a dementia resident sitting in a wheelchair. The video reportedly shows Joiner grabbing the wheelchair, jerking it sharply to the left, and the eighty-five year old resident crashing to the floor, breaking her hip.

The nurse was seen walking past the severely injured resident twice before leaving the area. The resident is quite obviously injured and in need of assistance. According to video footage, the resident was lying on the floor for more than two minutes before another employee arrived. For over a minute after his arrival, he did nothing - not even reassuring the resident that assistance was coming. Finally, he was seen speaking to the resident.

Three full minutes after the fall, Joiner was seen returning and calls for help. A third employee arrives and the three employees approach the resident - more than four minutes after her initial fall. According to the Attorney General's complaint, Joiner admitted knocking the resident from her wheelchair and failing to assist her. The complaint alleges that Joiner failed to report the incident until another staff member saw the resident.

Joiner faces charges of endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person and willful violation of health laws. She has pleaded not guilty.

We previously blogged about the abuse Cesar Ulloa heaped on unsuspecting, defenseless nursing home resident that ultimately resulted in the killing of one resident at Silverado Senior Living, an upscale nursing home facility located in Calabasas, California.

Ulloa, 22, was found guilty of torture and seven counts of elder abuse in April 2010. He was arrested in October 2008 after an eleven month investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. An anonymous call to the widow of Elmore Kittower, who had died in November 2007, told her that Kittower had died of abuse. The ensuing investigation found that Kittower had suffered abuse at the hands of Ulloa for months prior to his death.

Fifty-six year old Julio Mestre, a registered sex offender, reportedly sexually molested two nursing home residents on May 8, 2010.

The women were roommates at Creekside Health Care Center, a nursing home located in San Pablo, California. On the day of the attack, a nursing home worker reported that a man entered the room of a 66 year old resident, who was unable to speak due to a stroke, and groped and sexually assaulted her. The man allegedly walked into the room and stood behind the curtain partition of the victim. Her roommate, a 79 year old woman, began hitting her call button in an attempt to summon help. An attendant located the man in the room and took him to the nurses' station, but the man, who was later identified as Julio Mestre, left before police could be summoned. The woman was treated at a local hospital and returned to the facility.

The sixty-six year old woman could convey enough information to police to describe her assault but did not know the man. Her roommate told police that the same man had assaulted her in January 2010. Although the January attack was reported to nursing home staff, police never received information of the attack and therefore, it was never investigated.

On May 9, Mother's Day, the attacker returned to the facility with his wife to deliver Communion to the residents from a nearby church. A staff member recognized Mestre and called police.

Mestre was charged with multiple felonies and booked into the County Jail. He remained in jail in lieu of $700,000 bail.

Mestre drives a charter bus. While he was working for Muni in San Francisco in 2005, he reportedly molested a woman in a hospital bed in Laguna Honda Hospital while wearing his work uniform. As part of his plea deal in that case, Mestre was required to register as a sex offender in San Pablo, where he lives.

Police continue to investigate this matter, but have not found any other victims.

A Missouri nursing home nurse has been charged with abusing an elderly nursing home resident.

Kelley Smith, a nurse at Brookview Nursing Home in St. Louis, Missouri, reportedly became angry at a 72 year old defenseless resident in January 2010 and scratched him on his face multiple times. She has been charged with elder abuse in the third degree, a Class A misdemeanor.

An Ohio LPN was arrested on May 6, 2010, after reportedly abusing two defenseless nursing home residents.

Monica Smith, an LPN at Harmony Court nursing home reportedly became angry and grabbed a resident by the hair and threw her to the floor. In another instance of abuse, she reportedly punched a resident in the chest.

She faces two counts of patient abuse.

Randall Moons died from a heart problem in December 2009 after being involved in an altercation with a roommate at Fox River Pavilion. The roommate said he called for help for "over 20 minutes" before another resident summoned a staff member. The roommate suffered a broken kneecap and bleeding from his nose, ears, and mouth from the brawl.

A forty-eight year old mentally disabled resident was allowed to eat inedible objects, such as napkins, toilet paper, and latex gloves. The resident had to undergo surgery to remove the foreign objects.

A suicidal twenty-five year old resident was allowed access to a razor blade with which she cut her arm, requiring 40 stitches.

We discussed Fox River Pavilion and its problems in previous blogs. Now, Illinois regulators have undertaken the necessary steps to revoke the license of this nursing home. Nearly 100 residents have been moved into other facilities within the past month. The facility lost its Medicare funding after the facility was cited for reportedly failing to provide sufficient supervision for the residents residing there. The facility was fined $30,000 for multiple violations.

A for-profit facility owned by David Meisels, Fox River Pavilion is the second Illinois facility to face state action. In March 2010, Somerset Place in Chicago surrendered its license.

Raquel Bravo

Thirty-five year old Raquel Bravo, a CNA at First Coast Health and Rehabilitation Center in Florida, faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of abusing a disabled adult. Reportedly, Bravo was seen hitting a disabled adult three times. She is currently suspended from her position pending the outcome of an investigation into the allegations by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

We discussed the problems Somerset Place, a Chicago, Illinois nursing home, was experiencing in previous blogs. Somerset Place was home to more than 300 mentally ill residents and had been cited for repeated fights, verbal abuse, and lack of supervision, among other problems.

Reportedly, while admitting no fault, the owners of Somerset Place and the State of Illinois reached a settlement last month that is unpublicized. The owners of the facility agreed to pay fines totaling $20,000 and surrendered the facility's license. However, it is possible for the owners to renew the license because the state agreed that the settlement cannot be used to deny a license renewal.

On March 31, 2010, fourteen nurses and nurse aides at Northwoods Rehabilitation and Extended Care Facility, located outside of Troy, New York were charged with endangering the welfare of a resident plus felony falsification of business records. They were also charged with multiple misdemeanor violations of health laws.

Using video surveillance, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo showed a six week period of alleged neglect of the resident. According to a news release from Cuomo's office, the staff "routinely failed to turn and position an immobile resident, often leaving the resident in the same position for an entire shift. Nursing staff failed to administer medications, as well as treat the resident's bed sores. The footage also revealed that the aides charged failed to check the resident for incontinence or change undergarments for long periods of time." The report continued, saying, "In addition, the resident's medical records show that the defendants falsified medical records to conceal their neglect. A physician assistant also created a phony record of an annual medical exam that never happened."

Six LPNs, seven CNAs, and a physician assistant were charged on March 31, 2010.
Nine nurses and nurse aides currently working at the facility are being suspended until the charges are resolved.

Northwoods is no stranger to problems at the facility. The facility lost federal funding last year after facility workers routinely ignored the patient assistance buzzer. In January 2010, a male nurse aide at the facility pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 78 year old female resident in 2008.

A California man has been arrested and charged in connection with three sexual assaults at a California nursing home facility.

On February 16, 2010, twenty year old Christopher Richardson allegedly broke into the Heritage Rehabilitation Center in Torrence, California between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. through an unlocked window and attacked the three residents. He was arrested a week later in connection with a similar assault.

Richardson faces charges of lewd acts against elderly, burglary, and elder abuse.

A Virginia licensing board has accused two current NHC-Bristol staff members and a former nursing director of ignoring reports of sexual abuse and discouraging others from reporting allegations of sexual abuse.

The alleged abuser, James Wright, was a former nurse's aide at the facility. He entered an Alford plea to four counts of aggravated sexual battery. An Alford plea acknowledges that there is evidence sufficient to convict the defendant without admitting guilt and is treated as a guilty plea by the court.

NHC - Bristol Administrator Charlotte Wilson, Nursing Supervisor Helen Roberts, and former Nursing Supervisor Elizabeth Franklin are accused of ignoring sexual abuse allegations and discouraging sexual abuse reporting. Wilson is accused of failing to investigation reports of sexual abuse of residents between 2000 and 2008; her failure affected twelve residents. She is also accused of failing to pass on reports to resident's physicians or to Adult Protective Services. Wilson reportedly set up a chain of command to dead end abuse reports, which is a violation of state law.

Both Roberts and Franklin attempted to discourage a resident's daughter from filing a complaint surrounding sexual abuse.