Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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."

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.

We discussed the controversy surrounding fines Rosewood Care Center is facing after a resident's death and a recent decision by Sangamon County Circuit Judge Leo Zappa in a previous blog. In February 2009, Judge Zappa ruled that the IDPH had illegally inflated nursing home fines and imposed a $10,000 cap for each "Type A" violation, the worst violation possible.

Attorneys for Rosewood Care Center argued in front of Illinois' Fourth District Appellate Court of Appeals concerning a recent ruling by Sangamon County Circuit Judge Leo Zappa. Springfield attorney Daniel Maher argued that state officials should not be allowed "absolute discretion" in deciding how much to fine nursing homes for substandard care. Instead, Maher feels that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) should be limited to a maximum fine of $10,000 when imposing a flat fine on a nursing home facility.

State officials maintain that the enhanced fines are legal. A 1991 state law calls for fines "not less than $5,000" and "not less than $10,000", depending upon the severity of harm to the nursing home resident. Illinois Attorney General Jan Hughes holds that the $10,000 cap hinders the department's ability to protect defenseless nursing home residents.

The Appellate Panel has the option to throw out the $25,000 fine due to a technicality connected to the IDPH's delay in issuing a final fine against the facility. If the panel opts to throw out the fine, then the panel is also obligated to void Judge Zappa's ruling for the $10,000 cap on nursing home fines. The panel, which consists of Judge Carol Pope of Petersburg, Judge Sue Myerscough of Springfield, and Judge John Turner of Atlanta, is expected to rule on this matter within the next few months.

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.

According to a recent report from Minnesota's Office of Health Facility Complaints, a recent nursing home death has been tied to medication error.

According to the report, a patient was admitted to Faribault Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation following a hospital stay for spinal surgery on June 2, 2009. The resident was to receive rehabilitation therapy and had orders for a daily Lovenox injection, a medication prescribed to help prevent blood clots.

The resident received the injection as ordered for three days, but facility staff reportedly failed to give the injection over the weekend. The resident was given the injection for four more days before treatment was abruptly halted due to an apparent transcription error. According to the report, a nurse wrote that the Lovenox treatment was to cease on June 11, instead of July 11 as ordered.

Sadly, the resident suffered a massive stroke on June 17 and was hospitalized. The resident died on June 24, 2009. The facility was cited for neglect and the nurse who made the error was terminated.

Ninety-five year old Helen Jensen was found dead outside Wesley Homes Health Care Center in Des Moines, Washington.

Ms. Jensen was last seen by facility staff around 11:30 p.m. on Monday, December 7, 2009. Three hours later, police were summoned after facility staff could not locate Ms. Jensen. Security camera footage revealed the elderly woman left the facility by its main door around 11:45 p.m. Four hours after she disappeared, Ms. Jensen was found lying on her back approximately 100 yards away in the garden of Wesley Terrace, a neighboring facility. Her wheelchair was just a few feet away, one of the wheels off of the main path.

Ms. Jensen did not have a history of wandering, yet earlier that evening she had been found in a different wing of the facility and escorted back to her room.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office has not yet officially determined the cause of death.

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.

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.

A Columbia Heights nursing home facility was cited by the Minnesota Department of Health after an investigation into a July 31, 2009 resident death determined that neglect on the part of the facility attributed to the resident's death.

According to a state report just released, a male admitted to Crest View Lutheran Home on July 30, 2009 for rehab was found not breathing at 5:30 a.m. on July 31, 2009. The man's body was warm, but he was not breathing and had no pulse. An LPN and her nurse supervisor were not aware of resuscitation orders for the resident, so no one tried to revive him. The resident was "full code" and resuscitation efforts should have begun immediately.

At 7:00 a.m., the man's wife and family had gathered at Crest View. The family heard sirens and suddenly the fire department rescue squad entered the man's room - two hours after he died. A day-shift supervisor called for help when she came in and discovered the situation.

The facility was cited for neglect by the state in failing to promptly try to revive and three rule violations were assessed against the facility in connection with the confusion, failure to take action, and lack of emergency training for workers.

Crest View has been one of four Minnesota nursing home facilities on the federal Special Focus Facilities list, which is a list of approximately 156 facilities nationally that have repeated or multiple serious rule violations. Crest View was placed on the list on March 2 and has been cited for 58 violations since January 2008 (the state average is nine per inspection). It will take two good inspection cycles for the facility to be removed from the list.

Seventy-four year old Jesse Brown had been a resident of Alden Meadow Park Health Care Center in Clinton, Wisconsin since March 2006. On February 21, 2007, Mr. Brown complained of severe abdominal pain and was taken to Beloit Memorial Hospital and died there on February 22, 2007 from a severely impacted bowel.

According to court documents, Printess Pritchard, Mr. Brown's son, is suing the nursing home for failing to hire qualified staff and negligence. The lawsuit also alleges that the nursing home facility failed to adhere to the regulations of the federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987.

Ninety-one year old Gladys Gall and her husband were residents of Presbyterian Homes of Arden Hills in Minnesota in April 2008, when she suffered a mysterious injury that led to her death.

Gladys Gall suffered what is known as a "hangman's fracture", which according to a neurosurgeon, could only be caused by severe trauma. She died two weeks after her injury.

The Minnesota Office of Health Facility Complaints (OHFC) investigated and determined that Mrs. Gall was the victim of maltreatment. Yet, in May 2009, the OHFC revised its finding after the nursing home facility appealed the initial decision, stating that while the evidence did show severe trauma, there was no evidence that the trauma was the result of maltreatment.

The nursing home hired a nurse to investigate Mrs. Gall's death. The nurse found that Mrs. Gall had fallen on her own, injured her neck, and put herself back in bed. Her son, Kenneth Gall, rejects the nurse's conclusion saying, "She couldn't get up on her own, couldn't stand on her own. It took all that she had to sit up in bed." One nursing home employee even told the OHFC investigator that Mrs. Gall could not put herself back into bed if she had fallen and her husband could not have assisted her either. Mrs. Gall suffered from dementia and could not tell anyone what had happened.

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 the website at www.nursinghomejustice.com.

Grand Village nursing home in Grand Rapids, Michigan is the focus of a wrongful death lawsuit involving resident Rudella Reiners.

In 2006, Ms. Reiners was a known fall risk. Suffering from dementia and advanced osteoporosis and with a history of falling, the nursing home took many precautions for her safety, using a bed alarm, motion sensor, sound monitor, and a perimeter mattress. Staff kept a light on at night for her and even moved her to a room where she could be observed more easily. Somehow, she still managed to get up and walk. In fact, alarms were going off and no one heard when Ms. Reiners moved her trash can into the hall and fell, breaking her right hip.

Reportedly, the night of Ms. Reiners fall, the facility only had two nurse aides and one nurse to care for 48 residents in that unit. One of the aides had been sent to another part of the building to cover staff breaks and the other two employees were helping a resident in a different wing. No one was around to hear Ms. Reiners screams and the alarms sounding.

Steven Reiners, Rudella Reiners' son, went to the nursing home facility that night to talk to facility staff about what happened. It took more than ten minutes for him to find anyone.

Meanwhile, surgeons tried to repair the 89 year-old woman's hip, but she never recovered. She stopped responding and eating and died five days after her fall. The ensuing state investigation found that Grand Village was neglectful. An investigator determined that two alarms could not be heard at the nurse's station or other wings of the unit.

Steven Reiners has filed a lawsuit against the facility and wants nursing homes to be held accountable for their actions. "Someday I'll probably be in that same rest home," he said.

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