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.

According to Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, Hazard Nursing Home and its administrator, Sheila Noe, failed to report accusations that a resident was sexually abused by another resident as required by state law.

The facility spokesman, Eddie Woodruff, would not provide a comment on this specific charge but did state that Hazard Nursing Home has provided "consistently excellent care" to Kentucky residents since 1976. A brief review of Medicare.gov shows that it has received an overall one star rating by Medicare, making it a "much below average" facility. In its most recently reported survey information, Hazard Nursing Home received 11 deficiencies compared to a state average of 7.

The Administrator and the facility's registered agent are due in Court on September 13, 2010 to face the charges.

The Collinsville Rehabilitation & Health Care Center is appealing more than $25,000 in state and federal fines assessed earlier this year. The fines were the result of a December 5, 2009 incident where a male resident reportedly entered a female resident's room and pulled up her skirt. The man only left when the woman screamed.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the nursing home facility failed to provide a safe living environment for the female resident, who reportedly feared sexual assault from a male resident. Melanie Arnold, an IDPH spokesperson, reported that the nursing home failed to conduct a criminal background check as required by law when the man was admitted. The man was placed at the facility by the Illinois Department of Corrections. Because the facility failed to report the incident to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, they were assessed a $5,300 fine.

Whether the facts in this case were accurately reported or not, there is no doubt that sexual assault of nursing home residents in Illinois is a terrible problem. As an Illinois nursing home abuse attorney, I work daily to address the rights of the elderly in Illinois nursing homes. If you would like to receive a free book I wrote entitled Five Things You Must Know About Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Illinois, order your free copy here.

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.

John and Mae Campbell

Eighty-eight year-old Mae Campbell had been a resident of Hazard Nursing Home in Kentucky since 2005. She and her family decided it was a good fit for her since they knew the facility and staff had taken good care of Mae's husband, John Campbell. They never dreamed that she would be subjected to sexual abuse while a resident of the facility.

Mae Campbell, who suffers from Alzheimer's, was sitting in the hallway of the facility last year in view of a nursing supervisor when a male resident walked up and ejaculated on her face. Three months later, she was sexually abused again by another male resident. A nurse who witnessed the incident was reportedly told by her supervisor not to tell anyone and Campbell had not been harmed. No one told anyone in the Campbell family what was happening to Mae.

The sexual abuses may have gone undetected if it hadn't been for a nurse's aide testifying in a wrongful death case. Debbie Salley testified in her deposition that she quit working at the nursing home after she witnessed the sexual abuse Mae Campbell endured while sitting in the hallway. She thought Campbell should have been better protected.

The State of Kentucky became involved and cited the facility for failing to monitor the man involved in the May 18, 2009 incident, even though he had previously exposed himself to both Campbell and two other female residents.

Another nurse, Sandy Noble, who also was being deposed in a wrongful death suit, testified that she found yet another male resident in Campbell's room and that he had blocked the door. The male resident was nude from the waist down and Campbell had semen on her. Reportedly, according to the deposition, a nursing supervisor told Sandy Noble "to go on and keep working and...not to be discussing it with anyone" and "there was no actual harm done to the patient". Once again, facility staff failed to monitor the man in the second incident even though he had been found in bed with another impaired resident in 2008.

Even after the sexual abuse incidents were uncovered through deposition, the nursing home failed to notify Mae Campbell's family about her alleged abuse. It took attorney Jeff Morgan, who was involved in the wrongful death case, to notify the Campbell family. According to Morgan's investigation, after one of the incident's Mae Campbell complained of a sore throat and soreness and bruising of her inner thighs. She had also complained of men trying to hurt her. Morgan said that the complaints were not properly investigated by the nursing home.

Mae Campbell has since been transferred to another nursing home. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services issued the facility a Type A citation, which indicates that the life or safety of a resident had been endangered. Reportedly, the nursing home staff failed to report the sexual abuse incidents, which is a violation of state law.

The Campbell family sued the nursing home in May 2010 and allowed her to be identified in the press in an effort to spare other nursing home residents from sexual abuse.

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 Texas nursing home CNA faces charges that he sexually assaulted a nursing home resident.

Richard Sanchez was arrested and is being held on $120,000 bond on three charges. The Sheriff's Office received a telephone call from Community Care Center of Clarendon on April 27, 2010, reporting that one of its residents had possibly been sexually assaulted. Authorities investigated the charge and subsequently obtained an arrest warrant.

The investigation found one victim of sexual abuse that had occurred during the last two months.

For more information about sexual abuse in nursing homes, go to the Terry Law Firm website.

A Virginia nursing home aide for National HealthCare (NHC) was sentenced to sixty years in prison for sexually assaulting four nursing home residents in his care. We previously blogged about James Wright and the abuse he rendered against four female nursing home residents.

According to a psychological evaluation read at Wright's recent court hearing, he blames his victims for the sexual abuse they endured. The psychological evaluation also describes Wright as a manipulative hedonist with tendencies of voyeurism and exhibitionism. His personality is ranked in line with a rapist or molester. "He holds the victims responsible...because the accuser wanted and liked the sex play that happened."

In January 2010, Wright entered an Alford plea to the four counts of aggravated sexual battery that he faced. An Alford plea acknowledges that evidence in this case is sufficient for a conviction without an admission of guilt, although the court treats it as a guilty plea.

NHC-Bristol supervisors have been accused of ignoring and failing to report Wright's suspected abuse. The former Director of Nursing, Elizabeth Franklin, was fined and reprimanded. The current facility Administrator, Charlotte Wilson, and Nursing Supervisor Helen Roberts both face possible sanctions against their licenses.

For more information about sexual abuse in nursing homes, go to the Terry Law Firm website.

A Coralville nursing home faces up to $92,400 in state and federal penalties after it attempted to cover up the sexual abuse of an elderly resident.

Windmill Manor nursing home faces stiff fines and its former director of nursing, Karen Etter, faces criminal charges.

The problems stem from a November 2009 incident wherein a male resident was found in bed with a female resident and both were completely undressed. On Christmas Day, the two residents were found having sexual intercourse in the male resident's room. The woman, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, is and was unable to provide consent.

According to the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals , director of nursing Karen Etter reportedly threatened staff members not to tell anyone about the incident if they wanted to keep their jobs. One worker told inspectors that she was instructed not to report the incident to the head of the dementia unit because the facility could face a fine from state inspectors. That same employee felt that the attitude of her boss was such that she could be fired for reporting.

Iowa law requires caregivers to report all suspected abuse. The Christmas Day incident went unreported to the state, although the male resident's physician ordered medication for him to decrease his sex drive.

Etter is no stranger to problems with the state. In March, the State of Iowa alleged that she threatened seven employees if they reported quality of care concerns.

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.

A California nursing home caretaker accused an eighty-eight year old elderly woman of "enticing him into bed". Fifty year old Humberto Carrizales Rodriguez was the caretaker at Wild Rose Living Facility in Santa Rosa. On August 7, 2009, Rodriguez forced himself on his victim after she had gone to bed, while she begged him to stop. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to six years in prison for her rape. Sadly, the victim's children testified at the sentencing hearing about the worsening of their mother's condition, how she is afraid of other men who live and work at the facility, and how they will find her crying for no reason at all. Rodriguez did not express remorse for his actions and basically blamed the victim for "enticing him into bed".

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.

We discussed Caesar Ulloa and his alleged abuse of defenseless nursing home residents in previous blogs. Ulloa, who is only 21 years old, was charged with one count of torture and seven counts of elder abuse. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Reportedly, Ulloa preyed on defenseless nursing home residents under his care at the Silverado Senior Living facility in Calabasas, California. A co-worker, Adelina Campos, testified that she watched in horror while Ulloa jumped from a dresser onto a male resident, landing with his knees in the resident's stomach. Another former co-worker, Luz Alvarez, saw Ulloa punch a combative wheelchair-bound resident in the stomach while asking "Haven't you had enough?" Ulloa reportedly also attacked a 78 year old woman by body-slamming her and encouraging two wheelchair-bound residents to fight.

Ulloa finally came under suspicion in the death of resident Elmore Kittower. The day after Mr. Kittower was buried, his widow received a call from Aldeina Campos' mother, who told Mrs. Kittower that her husband had been beaten to death. His body was exhumed and several broken bones were discovered. An autopsy found that blunt force trauma contributed to cause his death.

Ulloa, a former employee of the month, was fired from the facility in 2008 for reasons unrelated to resident abuse and has been in jail since his 2008 arrest.

Asbury Place, a nursing home facility located in Maryville, Tennessee, is facing a lawsuit after a resident, who was a registered sex offender, allegedly abused another resident.

James Strickland moved into Asbury Place in need of care. He had been convicted of rape and incest in 1992. According to the attorney who filed the lawsuit, the facility knew that Strickland was a registered sex offender but did not notify any of the residents or their families. The facility also did not develop a policy or procedure to address the situation. He said, "Our complaint is the knowledge they had beforehand and the lack of developing any sort of plan or policy to make sure people not only knew about it but that the safety and welfare of the residents is protected."

On March 13, 2009, Strickland entered another resident's room and sexually abused her. A facility employee heard the resident screaming and found Strickland in the resident's room with his pants down.

The lawsuit is asking for $13 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Asbury Place and James Strickland, who died in July 2009. The attorney is asking the court to establish probate so that the attorney can sue the estate.

The victim's family hopes to see an award of enough money to care for the victim by an in-home nurse. According to the attorney, "It's not about money, it's about change, and the only way you're able to make a change in civil litigation is by going after someone's wallet or pocketbook. It's only as a result of these sorts of lawsuits and this sort of public attention that nursing homes will hopefully straighten up and start providing the care that the residents deserve."

In one of the largest jury awards ever awarded for emotional trauma without evidence of physical injury, a California jury sent a message loud and clear to nursing homes around the country: we won't tolerate it.

The jury heard evidence related to the sexual molestation of a ninety-four year old dementia resident at Oakdale Heights of Santa Clarita. Sophie Schwartz was the victim of a sexual assault in her room by an illegal immigrant hired as a dietary aide at the facility on December 16, 2007. Jose Vazquez reportedly was allowed to work at the facility without a background check and no training for dealing with elderly residents with needs. The facility provided Vazquez with a master key that allowed him the access each resident's room. Vazquez is serving an eight year sentence for the sexual assault.

A California jury awarded Ms. Schwartz $6 million in general damages and $6 million in punitive damages. According to her attorney, Gregory Owen, "This was a very emotional trial on many different levels. The jury sent a loud message to elder-care providers who choose profit over people and ignore laws designed to protect our community's most vulnerable members. This type of conduct will not be tolerated."