Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Eighteen year old Raymond Tillman, a suspected nursing home rape suspect, turned himself in after police officials released surveillance video of the suspect leaving the facility. Reportedly, Tillman's family members saw his image and immediately worked to convince him to turn himself in.

Tillman was wanted in connection with a sexual assault that occurred on Sunday, February 14, 2010 around 5:00 p.m. at a nursing home in New Orleans, Louisiana. "According to investigators, the suspect entered the nursing home and sexually assaulted a female inside of her room and then fled on foot," said Officer Gary Flot in a news release.

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.

Seventy-six year old resident Barbara Fasold allegedly fell out of bed while her sheets were being changed at Ridgecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation, a nursing home located in Deland, Florida. Reportedly, the fall occurred around 5:00 a.m. on February 19, 2010, but no emergency help was summoned until approximately 4:45 p.m. - leaving Ms. Fasold's broken legs and shoulder untreated for nearly 12 hours. Mrs. Fasold died on Thursday, February 25, 2010.

Ridgecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation is not without problems. In 2008, the facility was cited for an excessive rate of high-risk bedsores.

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.

A Minnesota nursing home faces blame in the death of a resident after a medication error. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, a resident at Fair Oaks Lodge in Wadena, Minnesota died after she received the wrong medication.

The resident, who suffered from Alzheimer's, was taken to the hospital on June 1, 2009 after being administered the incorrect medication. The medication caused her blood pressure to drop and she contracted pneumonia. She was taken off life support three days later and died shortly thereafter.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, two other residents at the facility were also administered incorrect medications. They were sent to the emergency room for treatment.

Four staff members at the facility were blamed for the errors and the ensuing investigation "indicated a systems failure on the part of the facility". The facility was found responsible for neglect.

Redeemer Health and Rehab has been blamed for recent injuries a resident suffered that resulted in his death.

The facility, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was found negligent by state investigators because the resident, who suffered from a traumatic brain injury and dementia, was known to wedge his feet between his bed and the radiator and because the radiator cover had become loose. The resident suffered second and third degree burns on his legs and feet from a radiator heater that was uncovered and located directly below his bed. In fact, one of the resident's feet "appeared to be burned down to the bone" by the heater. The resident was rushed to a hospital, where he died approximately four weeks later. Facility employees reported that the resident had placed his feet in the same location on previous occasions and that the heater cover would regularly come off and have to be repaired by maintenance staff.

An inspection of the facility two weeks after the incident found ten beds within 20 inches of the radiators. Approximately six residents in those beds were considered fall and potential burn risks. The radiator surface registered temperatures ranging between 85 and 119 degrees.

Sadly, this is the second Minnesota nursing home cited for resident neglect involving radiators. In January 2010, a Golden Living Center - Meadow Lane resident was found sprawled over a radiator next to her bed. She suffered first and second degree burns on her left arm, hand, and leg and died approximately nine days later.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Chapel Hill Police Department are investigating after several residents at The Britthaven of Chapel Hill tested positive for opiates.

The Britthaven of Chapel Hill, a nursing home facility located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has had problems with patient care in the past. The facility notified authorities after a resident's blood tests revealed unprescribed opiates. Other residents of the facility's 29 bed Alzheimer's unit displayed signs of lethargy and underwent testing. Opiates were found in the blood of at least two more residents, who were immediately admitted to the hospital.

No drugs were missing from the facility, but the investigation continues. The regular staff of the Alzheimer's unit has been temporarily replaced with staff from corporate offices and other facilities.

Britthaven has had problems in the past at this facility. Prior to this incident, the facility was placed on the "Special Focus Facility" list belonging to the Medicare due to persistent and uncorrected conditions involving poor care. As a result, the facility receives a bi-annual inspection, rather than an annual inspection.

According to a Minnesota State Health Department investigation, the Foley Nursing Center, a nursing home located in Foley, Minnesota, was cited recently for failing to have "an adequate system in place whereby nurses notified the physician of the resident's deteriorating health status.

On March 3, 2009, a facility resident complained to a nurse that his chest was tight and his cough had "slight crackles". The nurse noted that the resident's oxygen saturation level had dropped to approximately 80%. The resident was administered oxygen and his saturation level climbed to 92%.

The following day, the resident attended a previously scheduled physician's appointment, where the physician detected shortness of breath. The man was taken to the hospital and admitted. The man died on March 8 from pneumonia.

The hospital physician doctor told state investigators that when the man's oxygen saturation level dropped to 80%, a nurse should have called a doctor. The state report found that one nurse failed to notify a physician of the "crackles" in the resident's lungs, a second nurse failed to act on that first nurse's concerns, and yet a third nurse didn't notify a doctor about the drop in oxygen saturation.

We discussed The Britthaven nursing home, a facility where residents were reportedly found to be under the influence of drugs that they weren't supposed to be receiving, in a previous blog.

A criminal investigation has been launched by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Medicaid Investigations Unit of the Attorney General's Office to investigate the possibility of drugging at The Britthaven. Six Alzheimer's residents tested positive for strong pain relieving drugs that they were not prescribed and three residents had to be hospitalized. Sadly, one of the three residents hospitalized, eighty-four year old Rachel Holliday, died on February 16, 2010.

The nursing home facility has taken multiple steps to ensure resident safety. The facility replaced some medications and eliminated some dietary supplements. The Alzheimer's unit is now monitored 24 hours a day. The Alzheimer's unit's staff have all been drug tested and while the test results were all negative, the staff remains on paid leave.

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.

On October 7, 2009, a nursing assistant was caring for a female resident at St. Anthony Health Center when another resident's sensor alarm sounded. The employee immediately left to check on the other resident, leaving the female resident, who was a known fall risk, unattended and without her Care Plan safety precautions in place. The resident's Care Plan called for her bed to be lowered, a sensor alarm set, and a floor mat placed next to the bed. A facility nurse later found the woman on the floor of her room.

The woman's fall caused a hematoma on her forehead, according to a Department of Health report. Shortly thereafter, the woman became "very drowsy" and had weakness in her legs. She then became unresponsive and had difficulty breathing.

According to the report, with "significant physical status changes", the resident was admitted to hospice care on October 9, 2009 and she died on October 11, 2009.

The nursing assistant was suspended after the incident and was fired after the resident's death.

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.

A California jury awarded Maria Arellano $7.75 million in her case against the Fillmore Convalescent Center, which included $5 million in punitive damages.

Reportedly, the seventy-one year old woman, who was unable to speak or walk due to a stroke, was abused during her residency at the facility. A film was produced at trial that showed Monica Garcia, an employee of the facility, slapping Ms. Arellano, pulling her hair, treating her violently while sitting in a shower seat, and roughly handing her neck and hands. Ms. Arellano's attorneys produced evidence that the facility had been notified in writing of the abuse by more than one family and with at least one party naming Ms. Garcia as the abuser. Both the facility and its owner admitted that Garcia's actions were "so horrible that they exceeded the scope of her employment". Garcia herself admitted to physically abusing Ms. Arellano only on the occasion captured on videotape.

What are contractures? Contractures develop in people who have been physically inactive over long periods of time. Muscle fibers begin breaking down and stiffness increases in affected joints, which leads to a body part or limb to slowly begin pulling toward the body and stiffen in place. Body parts usually affected are hands, feet, legs and arms. Contractures can develop quite quickly, sometimes in less than one week. Severe contractures can take up to one year to resolve to restore the affected body part to proper working order.

Elderly nursing home residents are especially prone to developing contractures due to frailty, such as brittle bones or weakened muscles, or medical conditions. Often, bedridden residents suffer contractures due to their inability to ambulate to receive adequate exercise.

There are several methods that can be used to help prevent contractures or lessen their severity.

POSITIONING

Positioning is important in nursing home residents. Make sure that your loved one is seated properly in chairs, wheelchairs, and beds. You may need to use pillows or cushions to achieve the proper sitting position.

SPLINTING

Often, nursing home facilities utilize splinting devices, such as special boots, wrist cushions, or pads, to help keep the resident's hands or feet from drawing up. Knee and elbow braces are also available to keep knees and elbows from stiffening, while allowing the resident free range of motion. Occasionally, special boots or splints may be used to help prevent toes and fingers from drawing up.

EXERCISE

The most important weapon in preventing contractures is exercise. Nurses, nurse aides, and physical therapy staff are fully aware of contractures and how to help prevent them. Range of motion exercise is very important and staff must take the time to assist immobile residents. Passive range of motion exercises involve gently rotating the affected joint clockwise and counterclockwise and should be performed at least two to three times per day.

Madison County, Illinois Coroner Steve Nonn, together with the Illinois Department of Aging, has established the Madison County Elder Abuse-Fatality Review Team in an effort to help keep vulnerable elderly citizens safer.

The Madison County Elder Abuse-Fatality Review Team is the first of its kind in the Metro East and only the second one in the State of Illinois. The team will review cases of suspected or alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the elderly. The team is headed by Maryville Police Chief Richard Schardan and consists of members of law enforcement and health care communities. Nonn said, "We see this team has having two primary benefits. First and foremost, several sets of eyes are looking at a case with each individual viewing it from a different perspective. Second, it serves as a remarkable information-gathering tool that enables us to discover gaps in the system and services provided for our senior population."

Camelot Terrace, a nursing home facility located in Streator, Illinois, has been cited by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) after moisture and mildew were found in the facility.

On January 14, 2010, moisture and mildew were found in the facility's C Wing. According to the IDPH investigation, "a notice from the city of Streator Fire Chief (Tom Risley) dated January 14, 2010, sent to the facility's owner states that the city received a complaint regarding roof leakage and water damage at the facility. The notice indicates (the fire chief) performed an inspection at the facility on December 29, 2010, and found the building was in violation related to the roof and interior surface sections of the city code. The notice indicates that the violations are of a serious nature, and that 'signs of rust and water damage' are present on light fixtures and electrical switches on the northeast wing of the building." Additionally, several facility employees reportedly advised the IDPH that "mold/mildew" smell near the nurse's desk.

A January 12, 2010 state inspection revealed "black mildew was present on the wall in the space approximately six inches high between the suspended ceiling tiles and the bottom of the concrete ceiling near the video camera located just inside the fire doors for C wing. An area of sagging, darkly-stained ceiling, approximately 2 1/2 feet square was present in the assisted feeding area near the wall adjacent to the C wing common area. Another inspection performed on January 14, 2010 found "black mildew was present under the layers of peeling paint at the top right side of the door jamb of the activity office, where water was dripping down at the time. Black mildew was present on the inside of the drywall up approximately two feet from the floor, visible in an approximate 16-inch wide area where...had removed a section of wet drywall in room C12 alongside the entry door to the right."

Crystal Lopez, a CNA at the facility for 13 years, believes the facility's environment is causing problems for the residents. She said, "People have been having rashes, headaches, itchy and watery eyes, asthma and difficulty breathing." She said the symptoms have been increasing over the last few weeks, but no one was taken to the hospital.

Michael Lerner, owner of GEM Healthcare in Chicago, disputes the mildew findings, saying, "It was accumulated dust. We cleaned it up and are back in business. We replaced the ceiling tiles."

According to the IDPH, an investigation at the facility continues concerning "safety and health conditions".

A Knoxville nursing home's new admissions have been suspended until further notice after the Tennessee Department of Health found conditions at the facility could be detrimental to residents.

New admissions were suspended at Serene Manor Medical Center, effective February 1, 2010, until further notice. A recent complaint inspection found problems with administration, nursing services, and performance improvement. Until problems are corrected in these areas, the facility faces a federal fine of $5,050 per day. The facility also faces a one- time state fine of $1,500. A monitor has also been appointed to observe daily facility operations.

In November 2009, a ninety-three year old resident of Cypress Village nursing home told her son that her Rolex watch had been stolen. Her son provided a detailed description of the watch to the police, who began a search of area pawn shops. The watch was discovered at a local pawn shop and the person pawning the watch had left her fingerprint and signed a proof of ownership form.

Police checked the fingerprint and found that Sharon Bines Kaiser was an employee of Cypress Village and could access the victim's room. After further investigation, police determined that Kaiser had pawned ninety items since March 2009.

Kaiser was arrested and charged with dealing in stolen property, giving verification of ownership on pawned items, and elderly abuse without bodily harm. She faces similar charges in the other thefts.

We discussed the tragic choking death of Adam Waeltz at Golden Moments Senior Care Center in our previous blog.

Adam Waeltz was a seventy-four year old developmentally disabled resident of Golden Moments Senior Care Center in Jacksonville, Illinois. Waeltz often ate and drank too quickly and was known to be at risk for choking on food. According to an Illinois Department of Public Health report, Waeltz, who had no teeth, was given ham that was torn into pieces, instead of receiving ham that was ground up. He collapsed and died. The coroner responding at the scene found ham pieces and mashed potatoes from Waeltz's mouth lying next to his body. His autopsy revealed a wad of ham pieces the "size of a tangerine" in Waeltz's windpipe. Coroner Jeff Lair filed a complaint with the Department of Public health that triggered the investigation.

State officials fined Golden Moments Senior Care Center $50,000 related to the poor care that was provided to Adam Waeltz.

The Illinois Supreme Court just ruled that it is unconstitutional to cap damages on jury awards, overturning the state's 2005 landmark medical malpractice reform law.

The 2005 law capped "pain and suffering" jury awards against physicians at $500,000 and hospitals at $1 million. Today's ruling essentially stated that the law infringed on an issue that is supposed to be decided through the court system.

Illinois' medical and business industries have long held that out-of-control jury awards against physicians and hospitals led to skyrocketing medical malpractice rates and forced Illinois physicians to move their practices elsewhere, especially in the Metro East, which is nationally known for high malpractice jury awards. Lawyers and labor and patient rights groups point the finger at the insurance industry for the high malpractice rates.

In an unusual development, some of the Illinois justices apepared to take personal shots at each other in their written opinions. Maryjane Wurth, president of the Illinois Hospital Association, said, "The hospital community is deeply concerned that this decision will renew the malpractice lawsuit crisis and make it more difficult for Illinoisans to access or afford health care." Peter Flowers, the president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, said, "With this decision, we can now focus on the real issue - providing meaningful insurance reform that will keep costs down for doctors and patients alike."