My name is Alex Woodyard. I’m an associate attorney here at the Law Offices of William K. Goldfarb. Today’s Legal Lunchable is about nursing home abuse and neglect cases. Every nursing home abuse and neglect case is different. What many people need to understand is that a facility has a standard of care that is required of them by the profession that they have to adhere to whenever they are giving care to your loved ones. If they fall below that standard of care and they injure your loved one then you may have a case against them for nursing home abuse and neglect. We have a team of nurses here that review our cases and they tell us what the applicable standard of care was that the facility was required to adhere to and they also let us know if they fell below those standards. So if you or a loved one have been injured while under the care of a nursing home facility please give us a call today. We would love to help.
WSOC_TV A9: Nursing homes say they should be able to ban suing
Suing Nursing Homes 1-10
If you’ve visited our Facebook page, you likely saw a video about nursing homes and their contracts.
There’s a battle brewing over whether patients in a nursing home should be able to sue if something goes wrong. It’s an issue that you should be familiar with before checking in yourself or a loved one. And you’ll find the crux of it in the fine print of your contract.
Many facilities have language in their contracts that would prohibit you from taking the facility to court if, for example, your loved one was abused or neglected. It requires instead that you submit to mandatory binding arbitration – no exceptions.
But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently reviewed that clause and kicked it to the curb. That means you no longer have to give up your right to having a court and a jury hear and decide- on your claim.
“This rule change is a win for consumers,” said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. “Nursing home residents and their families will now have access to the courts to address misconduct such as neglect, sexual assault and wrongful death.”
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the federal government, says the change will improve the care and safety of the nearly 1.5 million residents in 15,000+ long-term care facilities in the United States. Among the other rules changes:
Ensuring that long-term care facility staff members are properly trained on caring for residents with dementia and in preventing elder abuse.
Improving care planning, including discharge planning, for all residents.
Allowing dietitians and therapy providers the authority to write orders in their areas of expertise where allowable by law.
Update the facility’s infection prevention and control program
All the new rules took effect on November 29, 2016. But the battle we referenced? The nursing home industry is suing….to keep you from having the right to sue. So stay tuned. We’ll keep you updated on this case.
In the meantime, if you or a loved one are having care issues with a facility, let us know about it and we’ll see if we can help. You can call us at 704-296-0055 or fill out the “Contact Us” form on this website. There’s no fee for the initial consultation and we’ll do our best for you. If you want to see a video about this issue, please visit our Facebook page.
1 in 14 cases of abuse of a senior citizen goes unreported? A couple of warning signs that something may be amiss:
Frequent arguments or tension between the elderly person and the caregiver
Changes in personality or behavior of the elder
It is difficult to take care of a senior. And it’s difficult to be elderly. Age brings infirmity both physical and mental. And both the caregiving and the needs can create situations ripe for abuse.
Abuse can take a number of different forms – each with warning signs that you should be aware of. Visit our blog post on this website to learn what to watch out for – and what to do about it. You’ll also find where you can review inspections and rating of nursing homes in your state.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of adults over the age of 60 are abused, neglected or exploited. That’s one out of every ten, according to the Center for Disease Control. But only 1 in 14 cases of elder abuse is ever reported to authorities. In the majority of those cases, the abuser is a family member. But there are many cases also reported from nursing homes, assisted living and other facilities.
So how can you tell if your family member may be the victim of abuse?
Emotional abuse: Unexplained withdrawal from normal activities, a sudden change in alertness, or unusual depression; strained or tense relationships; frequent arguments between the caregiver and older adult
Financial abuse: Sudden changes in financial situations
Neglect: Bedsores, unattended medical needs, poor hygiene, unusual weight loss
Verbal or emotional abuse: Belittling, threats, or other uses of power and control by individuals
Senior citizens who have been abused have a 300% higher risk of death. And elder financial abuse costs older Americans nearly $3 billion per year.
The National Council on Elder Abuse has found a number of disturbing statistics through its research regarding abuse and care facilities like nursing homes:
Complaints coming from care facilities usually involve abuse, gross neglect or exploitation
State regulatory surveys understand problem in licensed facilities
70% of state surveys miss at least one deficiency
15% of state surveys miss actual harm and immediate jeopardy of a resident
Women are more likely than men to be victims
And, as you may suspect, the elderly are the least likely to report the crime. That makes them even easier targets.
North Carolina has over 400 nursing homes with over 30,000 residents. But only about 18% of those have an overall 5-star rating. South Carolina has 188 nursing homes; about 22% have a 5-star rating. (These statistics are provided by Medicare.) You can find inspection results, ratings and penalties on line at the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
So if you have a loved one in a care facility, be on guard. And if you need help or guidance with a suspect issue, feel free to contact us via this website or by phone at 704-296-0055. It costs you nothing and may give you some peace of mind.
More than 13 million senior citizens in this country are hospitalized every year. And some studies show that hospitals are not equipped to handle their unique needs. In some cases, older patients are discharged in worse shape than when they were admitted. Interrupted sleep, unappetizing food and days on end in bed can have detrimental effects on a senior patient’s physical and mental well-being. Young people can bounce back but those conditions can cause lasting damage to older folks. So what’s being done about it? Not much…..check out our blog on this page for more information. The next time your elderly loved one is hospitalized, you may just look at their treatment a little differently.
Elderly patients arrive sick, sometimes leave disabled*
By all accounts, Janet Prochazka was an amazing older woman. At age 75, she lived alone, worked as a tutor, was active and outspoken. But in March of this year, Janet fell and ended up hospitalized. Her stay there turned out to be life-changing – and not for the better.
Janet didn’t sleep or eat well in the San Francisco hospital. She became confused, agitated, contracted a serious infection and, after three weeks in the hospital, she was discharged but was far weaker than before, shaky and unable to think clearly.
Many elderly patients deteriorate mentally or physically when hospitalized. According to research published by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA):
1/3 of patients aged 75 and older leave the hospital more disabled
½ of patients aged 85 and older leave the hospital more disabled
As a result, seniors who had been independent suddenly find themselves needing assistance with the basics like bathing, dressing, walking and feeding themselves.
Interrupted sleep (common in hospitals), unappetizing food (also common in hospitals) and days in bed can cause lasting damage to your older loved ones. Now some hospitals are treating them in separate medical units.
San Francisco General Hospital has an Acute Care of Elders (ACE) ward. It has special accommodations and care providers just for the unique needs of the older patient. Their focus is on getting the patients back home and as independent as possible.
The staff let the patients practice doing things for themselves as much as possible during their hospitalization. They encourage patients to get out of bed, move around, and eat in a communal dining room. They also continually test the patients’ memory. But there are only about 200 such units around the country and space in them is limited. So not all seniors can be admitted.
How hospitals handle the elderly is a pressing problem. Nearly 13 million seniors are admitted to the hospital every year and they stay longer than younger patients. A 2010 report by the Department of Health and Human Services found that more than a fourth of hospitalized Medicare patients suffered harm as a result of medical care. And a medical researcher at the University of California notes that hospitals face few consequences if elderly patients become more impaired during their stays. So, he says, most hospitals track those patients, adding “If you don’t measure it, you can’t fix it.”
As for Janet Prochazka, she is considering moving from California to Maine so her relatives can help with her support. “I have been somebody who has always been both mentally and physically active,” she said. “Before I fell…I was respected for what I have and what I did and all of a sudden, I’m not.”
If you or a loved one have questions about the medical care you’ve received, feel free to call our office to discuss.
*A version of this story was published by Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit health news service unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
