Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

According to Quality of Care in Nursing Homes, a recent government report, the country’s nursing homes and assisted living communities are showing a frightening trend towards increased health and safety failures. Although a number of lawsuits against communities have raised awareness about the problem, the industry still seems to be failing some residents. According to experts, there are a number of reasons why this abuse and neglect is allowed to occur:

*Lack of background checks. Currently, over half of all states require nursing home staff to get some form of background check, but no national background check is required. A 2005 report from the Government Accountability Office criticized this procedure, as it allows potentially unqualified staff to slip through into employment.

*A combination of residents. Recently, this blog reported on a nursing home resident who was violently assaulted by a fellow resident. That story highlighted a common problem: various residents are often placed in one home. Some residents may have criminal records or violent pasts and may be placed with little supervision alongside residents who may not be able to resist. This can lead to assault and resultant personal injury.

*Lack of training and monitoring. Most staff are carefully trained, but some do not get the monitoring and special training they need to deal with specific situations. When this occurs, slip and falls accidents and other serious injuries can occur to residents.

*High patient to staff ratios. In cases where homes are crowded, there may not always be enough staff to properly devote enough time to each resident. In cases where workers have case loads that are too large, negligence can occur. Improper management of care facilities is a related cause of some cases of negligence and abuse.

*Lack of family involvement. According to some experts, this is one of the biggest factors leading to abuse and negligence. In many cases, it is family and friends who are able to spot warning signs and either prevent abuse or stop it. Many experts advise friends and family to visit care facilities regularly and ask questions about care received.

If you have a friend or loved one who may be suffering from nursing home abuse or neglect, contact the authorities. Also consider contacting a qualified Florida attorney. A qualified Florida lawyer can represent your loved one and can ensure that they get all the assistance and help due to them under the law.

Many cases of nursing home abuse and neglect continue on simply because friends and loved ones overlook warning signs that indicate that something is wrong. It is important to never overlook these signs, as abuse and neglect can lead to serious personal injury and even to premature death. The red flags of neglect and abuse in nursing homes are :

*Weight Loss. Staff of a nursing home should offer nutritious food and water that helps keep weight steady. For the elderly, sudden weight loss can lead to weakness and an inability to fight off illnesses. Although some medications and conditions can cause weight loss, it is important that staff make every effort to keep weight steady.

*Bruises. Any mark or bruise should be brought to the attention of staff and a full explanation should be offered. An analysis of why the bruise occurred is important. In the elderly, bruising can take a long time to heal. Bruises and marks can also be a sign of inadequate monitoring, of abuse, or of unreported slip and fall accidents.

*Falls. Slip and fall accidents are not a normal part of growing old. In a nursing home, care should be taken that residents are not prone to these sorts of accidents. For the elderly, slip and fall accidents can cause brain injuries, serious hip injuries, spinal cord injuries, and in some cases, can even prove fatal.

*Bedsores. Like falls, bedsores are a clear sign of negligence. Bedsores are red marks on the skin caused by poor nutrition and by prolonged time spent in bed. They are a sign that patients are left unattended for long periods of time. In severe cases, untreated bedsores may become infected or may eat through skin and muscle all the way to the bone. They are painful and completely preventable.

*Restraints. Some nursing homes use restraints to physically not allow an elderly resident full mobility. Homes may use physical restraints or may simply tuck blankets or sheets so tightly around patients that movement is hampered. Heavy sedatives are also sometimes used to keep residents quiet and not as mobile. Restraints show in attention and can be a form of abuse. They can have serious side effects, as well. Physical restraints can cause physical injury and can prevent a resident from indicating when they need help.

*Inattention. When staff are not able to give full attention to each resident – because of overwork or understaffing, in most cases – mistakes can occur. Patients may not be given the right care, mistakes in medication may be made, and patients may not be given the exercise and help they need. Inattention can be fatal, since inattentive staff can overlook signs of serious injury or illness. Inattention can also reduce the quality of life for residents, since residents do not get the attention and care they deserve.

If you notice any of these symptoms, bring it to the attention of the staff of the facility where your loved one is. If you feel that your loved one is being neglected or abused, do not hesitate to act. The sooner you can help, the sooner the abuse will stop. One solution is to contact a qualified Florida attorney. An experienced Florida lawyer will have the expertise needed to stop the abuse.

40 years ago this week, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) instituted National Nursing Home Week. Meant as a time of education and awareness, the week aims to help people think about care options for the elderly. This week has been National Nursing Home Week, and the AHCA hopes that people will continue to discuss and think about nursing facility life not only this week, but in the weeks to come.

The AHCA suggests that this week is a perfect time to visit loved ones in facilities, as many facilities around the country will be hosting special events. According to the AHCA, the week aims to honor not only those who live in care homes, but also the caregivers, nurses, and staff that enrich nursing home life.

Florida attorneys think that National Nursing Home Week is a great idea. There certainly should be a celebration of the dedicated staff and nurses who work at care facilities. However, Florida lawyers who see cases of personal injury, slip and fall accidents, and instances of nursing home abuse and negligence, know that this week can be an important week of prevention, as well.

Although most staff who work at care facilities are caring, instances of abuse and neglect can occur, and some staff at care facilities are not adequately trained or hired. Family members who regularly visit friends and loved ones in care – as the AHCA suggests – can often see signs of abuse and work to stop it.

Signs of neglect and abuse can include physical evidence (bruises, marks, injuries, unkempt appearance), emotional evidence (a loved one seems withdrawn, unhappy, frightened), or financial (a loved one seems to be spending inordinate amounts of money on care without clear evidence of where that money is going).

Loved ones who see signs of abuse should contact the authorities immediately. They may also want to contact Florida attorneys. Florida lawyers can help take an elderly loved one out of a bas environment and can gather evidence. Most importantly of all, qualified attorneys can offer an abused or neglected elder all the protection the law affords.

We recently reported on nursing home abuse and negligence. It’s a difficult subject. Many families have a hard time making the decision to put an elderly family member into a nursing home or other care facility when caring for that family member is difficult. While nursing homes can provide an excellent level of care and comfort, many families worry that their loved ones could become victims of abuse and negligence. The best way to prevent this, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is to consider every potential nursing home with a checklist. Families should look for nursing homes and facilities that are:

*Medicare-certified.
*Able to offer needed special services in a separate unit. This ensures that patients with special needs are offered the additional help they need.
*Close enough for visits. Frequent visits from friends and family are important to nursing home residents, and family and friends are also the first ones to notice and raise alarm when abuse or negligence seems to be an issue.
*Clean. The nursing home should appear well-maintained and should be free from unpleasant odors. Residents themselves should also be well groomed, clean, and appropriately dressed for the temperature and the time of day.
*Kept at a comfortable temperature.
*Able to provide good lighting – this is crucial in preventing slip and fall accidents.
*Able to restrict smoking to specific areas and are able to keep noise to comfortable levels.
*Pleasant and safe. There should be accessibility features such as ramps and bars on the sides of bathroom tubs. Furniture should be sturdy and not easily moveable, but should be attractive and pleasant to use.
*Hiring the right staff and training them well. Staff should have name tags and should be respectful, polite, and kind to residents and their families. Training and continuous training programs should be available (and mandatory) for staff members. Background checks should be run on all staff before they are hired.
*Sensitive to patient needs. Staff should knock before entering residents’ private rooms and plenty of privacy should be offered for bathroom use. Residents should always be referred to by name.
*Able to offer a full-time Registered Nurse (RN) in the home at all times. A good facility should also be able to offer the same Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) to work with the same residents 4 to 5 days per week. These CNAs should have reasonable work loads and should be able to get to know each resident well.
*Able to offer a full-time social worker and a licensed doctor on staff. Both these professionals should be reached at all times and ideally should be in the home daily.
*Well-established. A good nursing home should have a management team that has worked together for at least one year and should have an established record of treating residents well.
*Comfortable for each resident. Each resident should have a room with store space, personal belongings, furniture, water pitchers, a personal telephone and television. If roommates are necessary, each resident should be able to select their own roommate.
*Clear on policies. Polices about personal possessions, shared rooms, privacy, and resident rights should be posted and made clear to each resident and family.
*Safe. Exits should be clearly marked. A nursing home must have smoke detectors and sprinklers. There should be an emergency evacuation plan and regular fire drills. Preventative care – such as flu shots – should be available to all residents. Residents should continue to have access to their regular doctors as well as access to nursing home staff health professionals. A nearby hospital should be available for emergencies. Care plan meetings with family should be held regularly. A nursing home must have met all Federal or State requirements on its last state inspection.
*Able to offer healthy food items and snacks that are nutritious and varied. Residents should have a choice of items for each meal and assistance with eating, if it is required.
*Active. Residents should have a number of activities to choose from. There should be an outdoor area and indoor recreational areas, as well as an active volunteer program and staff who can help residents take part in the activities of their choice.

Sandra Banning’s mother Virginia Thurston was placed in a nursing home after Thurston’s dementia become difficult for her family to cope with. However, inside Jacksonville’s Southwood Nursing Center, Inc, in 2002, Thurston was raped by a fellow nursing home resident, Ivey Edwards, a man with a history of sex crimes.

Banning sued Southwood and was just recently awarded $750,000 in damages. However, Thurston had passed on before she saw justice done. She passed on in 2003. Edwards now lives in a Florida mental institution. He is currently 87 years of age and was deemed unfit to stand trial for the 2002 rape.

The case has raised a number of questions, specifically the steps taken to reduce Florida nursing home abuse. Banning and her lawyers maintain that the abuse that Thurston suffered was entirely preventable, because Edwards showed a number of signs that he posed a danger to other residents of the nursing home. Despite this, no action was taken by the nursing home to prevent the abuse that Thurston suffered.

While at the Southwood home, Edwards threatened his roommate, stabbed a social worker, and hit a staff member. In the 1960s, Edwards stood trial for sexually molesting children and spent a year in jail for the crimes. Edwards also had a history of 59 arrests since 1945. All these indicators, Thurston’s family asserts, should have told staff that Edwards was a threat to residents. Even staff at Southwood were afraid of him, testimony at the Southwood trial revealed.

Banning ahs stated that she will now petition Florida lawmakers to pass some of the same laws that Illinois has in place to prevent such nursing home abuse. Last year, Illinois passed a law that makes it mandatory for the Illinois Department of Law Enforcement to perform background checks on any person who is applying to enter a nursing home. The law also requires that nursing homes post signs telling nursing home residents when a sexual criminal is admitted among them. Although Illinois is currently the only state with such legislation, Banning believes that such a law could have prevented her mother’s abuse. She could have an uphill battle -- Florida Sen. Durrell Peadon introduced a bill last year that would have seen mandatory FBI background checks performed on nursing home residents. The bill was not passed.

Continue reading "Florida Nursing Home Abuse Case Settled – But a Little Late for the Victim’s Family" »

The National Center on Elder Abuse has reported that more than 2.5 million elderly persons are victims of maltreatment annually. This maltreatment can range from neglect to abuse. The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates that of all maltreatment, 15.7% is physical abuse, 0.04% is sexual abuse, 7.3% is emotional abuse, 58.5% is neglect, 12.3% is financial exploitation, 12.3% consists of other types of maltreatment, and 5.1% is and 0.06% is an unknown type of maltreatment. These statistics are a cause for concern, since the maltreatment that is most likely to be overlooked is also the most common form of abuse.

While physical abuse leaved physical evidence that loved ones may notice, many others kinds of maltreatment – including neglect and emotional abuse – leave few clues. While there may be few outward signs of abuse or neglect, though, The National Center on Elder Abuse reports that the effects of abuse and negligence can be far more harmful for the elderly. Elderly residents in facilities may feel more isolated than a younger generation with an active social life, and this can make it harder for the elderly to get emotional support and help for the abuse they have suffered. The elderly have bones that break more easily and take longer to heal, making any accidents or abuse very traumatic. Finally, the elderly are often on a limited budget and may not be able to easily save or recover financially from financial abuse.

According to The National Center on Elder Abuse, there are a number of factors that can make the elderly especially vulnerable to neglect and abuse:

*Dependence on caregivers.
*Problems with mobility can lead to lack of access to services and courts
*Fears of losing independence. Many people would rather not report a crime rather than be seen as frail and therefore subject to increased dependence.
*Lack of awareness about rights and supportive services.
*Distrust of help and support.
*Sense of helplessness. Unfortunately, some victims feel that there is nothing they can do and nowhere they can turn to for help.

One of the best ways to ensure that abuse and neglect do not occur is to choose facilities carefully and to observe care closely. Abused or neglected residents may seem withdrawn, may lose weight, and may not be washed regularly. Careful monitoring and a working relationship with the facility can help ensure good quality care.

Continue reading "Preventing Nursing Home Abuse & Negligence" »