About the Nursing Home Law Center

The focus of the Nursing Home Law Center is to provide information to families so they can make informed decisions about their loved ones. Frequently, this means reporting on issues involving medical and legal developments in the area of nursing home negligence.

We invite you to browse the material in this ‘news’ section, where we have a virtual encyclopedia related to skilled nursing facilities and elder care.

Should you have any questions about this content or a situation involving a family member, please contact us. All consultations are free and confidential.

Our attorneys have experience representing families across the United States in matters involving abuse and neglect. Put our expertise to work for you.

At some point in our lives, we all must deal with the loss of someone we love. The loss may come after a lengthy illness, or it may come suddenly. Our loved one may have spent months or years in a hospital or nursing home, or they may live in our home. However it happens, we must cope with the person’s absence and deal with our grief.

It is widely accepted that people move through five distinct stages as they deal with grief over the loss of a loved one. The five stages of grief are sometimes called the Kubler-Ross model after the Swiss psychiatrist who developed the theory, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. This model set forth a series of emotions people go through as they grieve, including denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. She introduced this model in her book On Death and Dying. Her model was developed as a result of work she did with terminally ill patients. The stages are not a linear progression, and some people may not experience all of them, but they are a framework to understand what we are feeling when we experience a profound loss.

Denial

Nursing Home FinesIt is a reasonable assumption for many people that nursing homes caught in the act of neglecting patient needs, disregarding safety standards and limiting their staff to levels deemed inadequate that fines and sanctions would be a deterrent from future abuses. This would be logical if the fines themselves had teeth and enforcement was both quick and consistent. For many states, however, this is not the case and civil litigation has become the only major deterrent left to motivate nursing chains into improving the quality of the care they provide. Lobbying has helped insulate many chains in certain states through the implementation of caps on compensation so that even civil action is becoming a less effective vehicle toward change.

Pennsylvania Auditor Offers Key Criticism Concerning Sanctions and Enforcement

As lawmakers in Illinois consider a bill that would propose prohibiting anonymous nursing home complaints, Pennsylvania is emerging from a three year trial of an identical measure which ended in failure. The number of nursing home complaints dropped by two thirds when the ban on anonymous complaints went into effect and the use of fines and other punitive measures was scrutinized by the state’s Auditor General, Eugene DePasquale.

Nursing Home NeglectA wrongful death lawsuit filed against a nursing home in Richmond, Virginia highlights the dangers of pressure ulcers and reveals the pain and suffering patients go through when their caregivers ignore their conditions. Donald Shelton eventually developed respiratory distress and went into septic shock after multiple wounds across his body were allowed to fester and become deeply infected.

Allegations include the failure of the nursing home to wash Shelton, provide clean living quarters or to take measures to treat Shelton’s wound despite being made aware of their presence. Our nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys recognize the sad reality that this type of treatment is not an isolated event; and we are here to fight on behalf of victims everywhere.

Nursing Staff Completely Ignored Patient’s Condition

Understaffing in Nursing HomesOne of the nation’s largest nursing home chains suffered a legal setback that could eventually send ripples throughout the nursing care community at large. Despite aggressive attempts to have a lawsuit thrown out alleging that the systemic understaffing of facilities has resulted in numerous deaths and the pain and suffering of countless patients under the company’s care, a judge denied the motion to dismiss the case. The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys of Nursing Home Law Center LLC are monitoring this case closely because its result could have an influence on many related cases in the future.

In a Stroke of Irony, Defendants Claim Lawsuit is due to Greed and Opportunism

Preferred Care Partners Management Group is playing the role of victim by alleging that New Mexico’s attorney general is unfairly targeting the company for abuses committed at facilities prior to their assimilation into the Preferred Care Partners Management Group organization. State Attorney General Hector Balderas has offered the counterpoint that elderly patients living in New Mexico have suffered at the hands of greedy nursing corporations that place profits over people and safety for far too long and that Preferred Care Partners should be culpable for any of its businesses despite their dates of acquisition.

For over 40 years, Extendicare has built its network of nursing homes and assisted living care into one of the largest of its kind in North America. With a total of over 244 facilities in Canada and in the U.S., they have over 26,000 residents in their care. While primarily specializing in nursing care and assisted living, they also have other types of care facilities as well.

Locations

In the U.S., Extendicare is its own indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Canadian born company. Under the name Extendicare Health Services, Inc. (EHSI), they operate 160 senior care facilities in the U.S. with over 15,000 available beds. They have facilities in 12 states including Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The majority of nursing homes are in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

While it is becoming more common these days to hear reports of nursing home negligence and abuse, many facilities never receive the justice they truly deserve for systemic understaffing and policies that prioritize profits before human life. It is important to understand that cases falling under the realm of medical malpractice are very difficult to win due to the many protections put in place for healthcare providers to defend against frivolous lawsuits. Unfortunately, it is these very protections that may prevent victims with legitimate claims from receiving the compensation they deserve.

Family of Deceased Patient Loses Legal Battle against Negligent Nursing Home

An 84 year old man’s family brought a lawsuit against Kindred Healthcare and Greenbriar Terrace, located in the city of Nashua, New Hampshire after he died due to complications later linked to the worsening of multiple bedsores. His family argued that there was no excuse for the delayed discovery of the sores and that caregivers failed to provide adequate treatment and preventative care.

Improper Wheelchair TransferWhen nursing care center staff members are worn thin due to limited resources and understaffing, it is very likely that they will make mistakes which have serious consequences. Regardless of their intentions, it is important that the people who are injured due to their negligence receive the compensation they deserve for things such as medical costs and the physical and emotional suffering the victim has endured. The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys of Nursing Home Law Center LLC occasionally witness the devastating toll that these mistakes have on families when the victim does not survive following an accident.

Inability of Staff to Supervise Patient Cited in Lawsuit

Carmello Rufo fell when attempting a transfer from her wheelchair on March 14 of 2016 and was pronounced dead on April 2 due to complications directly related to her injuries. Marilyn Rufo has since brought a lawsuit against the nursing home and management agency tasked with Carmello’s care and safety alleging that Carmello’s death was due to the failure of caregivers to provide appropriate and attentive care. In addition to claims that Rufo’s accident was due to negligent care, Marilyn Rufo has also alleged that facility staff refused to evaluate her condition after the fall.

Illinois Nursing Complaint Anonymity BillWhen nursing abuse victims fear for their safety due to threats and repeated abuse; their anonymity can be the difference between reporting their plight to authorities and choosing to suffer in silence. Illinois has indicated in the past that it takes abuse very seriously and is one of the states in the country that still allows unlimited damage limits for those who sue because of mistreatment. For profit nursing corporations are seeking to insulate themselves by backing an Illinois bill that would remove the ability of those who complain to remain anonymous and our Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys agree with many opposed to the measure that the bill would only scare abuse victims into silence.

Ways the Bill Would Benefit Large Nursing Care Companies

Republican lawmakers are overwhelmingly in support of the nursing industry backed bill, which would require anyone who complains about nursing concerns to provide contact information. They would also be presented with a warning that they could be fined for submitting false complaints or deceptive claims. Considering all of the disadvantages for complainants, it is important also to understand the advantages that nursing homes would have if this measure ever became law.

Selecting a Nursing Home Takes Time and PatienceMany families face the undesired position that their loved one no longer has the ability to live on their own safely and without assistance. As a result, they are required to find a safe and loving environment and place their trust into the hands of strangers who have competency and training to provide much-needed health and hygiene assistance. But choosing the right nursing facility is not easy. Without proper research and advocacy, making the wrong decision could have serious consequences.

Choosing the Right Nursing Home

Often times, placing a loved one in a nursing facility is one of the most challenging decisions the family will ever face. The need for a nursing facility often occurs at a time when the loved one is suffering some serious medical crises. Other factors might also be involved that limits the possibility of where the loved one can reside. This is especially important if payments will be made by Medicare or Medicaid that require the facility to be certified. However, other factors are also involved including:

Charges Against a NurseThe disabled and elderly patients in nursing homes often live lives at the mercy and kindness of their caregivers. Unfortunately, physical assault, sexual abuse and mental anguish are often common occurrences to many vulnerable residents at nursing facilities nationwide. One purported attack involved a 50-year-old “non-verbal” woman staying at a Bethlehem Pennsylvania ManorCare Rehabilitation Center who was an alleged victim of sexual assault by a caregiver.

Victim Unable to Consent

The incident allegedly involved 45-year-old Quakertown resident Robert Poindexter who has is facing charges of aggravated indecent assault against a woman noted to have “extremely limited movement.” The charges were filed after an extensive investigation that presented witnesses and testimony before a Lehigh County investigative grand jury. Court records indicate that the sexual assault against the victim reportedly by Poindexter occurred without her consent and that the woman would have been “unable to consent” due to her physical limitations.

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