Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

A careless teenage prank is being blamed for the death of a 101 year-old nursing home resident.

Mildred Ellefon was injured when a car crashed through a wall at Palisade Manor, a nursing home in Garretson, South Dakota. Ellefson initially was treated at a local hospital and returned to the facility, where she later died.

The accident happened as three people were waiting on the parking lot of the nursing home for a friend to get off work. The eighteen year old driver, Clarrissa Kutil, decided to play a trick on the two sitting on the trunk of the car and revved the engine. She accidentally shifted the car into reverse and crashed through the wall of the facility. She was cited for careless driving and no driver's license but could face more charges.

We discussed Castle Manor Nursing Home in Hot Springs, South Dakota in our previous blog. In March 2009, the state Division of Criminal Investigation investigated accusations that a former Castle Manor male staff member had sexually molested several elderly female residents.

Following an investigation, prosecutors have determined that no criminal charges will be filed against the male nursing assistant, who was fired from the facility. The daughters of one victim alleged that the man continued to work after the abuse was reported, but the board chairman said he was fired after the first substantial allegation.

Civil litigation is expected.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home sexual abuse. Please contact us with any questions or concerns at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit our website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

We discussed Castle Manor Nursing Home in previous blogs. Castle Manor is facing allegations of sexual abuse after a contracted male CNA allegedly improperly touched an elderly resident.

A Family Council meeting was held on April 23, 2009 and both the Director of Longterm Care, Teresa Miller, and Fall River Health Services Administrator, John Miller, say that the reports they are receiving from staff members are "far different than those being told to family members". Rich Nelson, the Chairman for Fall River Health Services, said, "We have tried to find out what is happening through DCI (Division of Criminal Investigation) and the State's Attorney's office. We are still waiting for any report, because we are taking all the heat, for an investigation we aren't doing." Nelson questioned the families in attendance at the meeting about what they knew about the investigation because "there are many things that you have heard that we haven't."

One resident's family member, JoAnne Pflaeging, thought that the meeting sounded "like it was kind of a fishing tool; 'Tell us what you know'".

Wes Bledsoe, spokesman for A Perfect Cause, alleges that the incident of January 14 "was not the first time management was notified" concerning the allegations of abuse and said that he had received more calls from staff and former employees involving additional abuse charges, as well as allegations of neglect and billing issues.

The Terry Law Firm is experienced in handling cases of nursing home sexual abuse. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 with any questions or concerns or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

We had discussed Castle Manor Nursing Home in Hot Springs, South Dakota in our previous blog. Recall, news outlets were reporting that officials at Castle Manor Nursing Home in Hot Springs, South Dakota were accused of covering up sexual abuse allegations at the facility. The accusations date back to January 2008. The suspect? A contracted male CNA.

Sisters Sharon Deboer and Gwendolyn Ketterer placed their mother, who suffers from dementia, at Castle Manor two and a half years ago. They were pleased with the care that their mother received until recently. In January 2009, the 84 year old resident reportedly began acting out of character - right around the time the male CNA was assigned to care for her. On January 17, 2009, an unidentified facility staff member contacted Sharon Deboer and told her she needed to talk to her, that she had something to tell her. She told Sharon that the male CNA had been molesting her mother.

The sisters did not receive any other type of notification from Castle Manor, even though an abuse report had been filed with the Department of Health three days beforer. Castle Manor allegedly kept the man employed for several more weeks before firing him. The sisters believe Fall River Health Service, who operates Castle Manor, was trying to cover up the abuse.

Three victims have currently been identified and there may have been as many as six women abused.

Now, A Perfect Cause, a nursing home advocacy group headed by Wes Bledsoe, hosted a two hour town hall meeting on April 7, 2009, in response to the overwhelming number of telephone calls A Perfect Cause received after their previous meeting. A Perfect Cause is calling for the resignation of the Administrator of Castle Manor and group officials say that more allegations of abuse, neglect, medical malpractice, and billing issues have surfaced.

Fall River Health Service officials, the operator of the facility, feel they responded appropriately to the alleged abuse claims and said there was no delay in reporting the alleged abuse.

The Terry Law Firm has successfully handled nursing home cases involving the sexual abuse of elderly residents. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

News outlets are reporting that officials at Castle Manor Nursing Home in Hot Springs, South Dakota have been accused of covering up sexual abuse allegations at the facility. The accusations date back to January 2008. The suspect? A contracted male CNA.

Sisters Sharon Deboer and Gwendolyn Ketterer placed their mother, who suffers from dementia, at Castle Manor two and a half years ago. They were pleased with the care that their mother received until recently. In January 2009, the 84 year old resident began acting out of character - right around the time the male CNA was assigned to care for her. On January 17, 2009, an unidentified facility staff member contacted Sharon Deboer and told her she needed to talk to her, that she had something to tell me. She told Sharon that the male CNA had been molesting her mother.

The sisters did not receive any other type of notification from Castle Manor, even though an abuse report had been filed with the Department of Health three days prior. Castle Manor kept the man employed for several more weeks before firing him. The sisters believe Fall River Health Service, who operates Castle Manor, was trying to cover up the abuse.

Three victims have currently been identified and there may have been as many as six women abused.

The Terry Law Firm has successfully handled nursing home cases of sexual abuse to conclusion. Please contact us at 1 (888) 317-2525 or visit us at www.nursinghomejustice.com.