Lawyer Resources for Nursing Home Abuse

When 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.

A Canadian nursing home chain, Extendicare, has decided to do business anywhere but in Kentucky, where it just leased all 21 of its facilities to another company. The decision was made after the company failed to sway the Kentucky legislature to pass a measure into law that would make it more difficult to sue nursing homes for negligence and neglect. Some people see the action as evidence that Extendicare officials are aware of its own wrongdoing and have pulled the company out of the state in order to avoid being it being held accountable for its actions.

Previous Incident

In 2008, three nurse’s aides were involved in the abuse of a nursing home patient in a facility that was owned by Extendicare at the time. The incident was caught by the placement of a hidden camera and the defendants received diverted sentences for their crimes by 2010. Since the incident, Extendicare has shown a greater interest in politics— by attempting to persuade lawmakers to make it more difficult for the abused and neglected to file lawsuits against nursing homes.

Elderly people who have succumbed to a disease or illness are vulnerable and frail. They are in a very precarious state, where the slightest aggravation to their body can cause severe health damage. Family members are usually not equipped with the expertise and resources to care for their ill loved ones, so they decide to admit their elderly family members in nursing homes.

When an elderly individual is admitted to a nursing home, family members are assured that their loved ones will be taken care of. The nursing home staff guarantees optimal care and tells the family members not to worry. However, once the family members leave, the situation becomes quite different.

The Reality of Nursing Homes

Nursing homes are increasingly becoming a place of distrust and oversight, rather than what they were created to be, a safe and comfortable home for the elderly.

Recently, many nursing homes have been fined for their oversight of patients and the lack of care of patients. Elderly individuals are admitted to nursing homes in the hopes that they will be cared for with the best resources. However, most often this is not what elderly patients receive. In contrast, they are neglected and given very little attention.

Need to oversee fragile patients

Someone once told me that a society should be judged on how well it takes care of its poor, its veterans and its elderly. We are currently failing when it comes to the overall regard that we have for the elderly in our society. After making severe cuts to the Medicare/Medicaid system and other cuts that have specifically targeted nursing homes and the elderly, Republican lawmakers wish to enact even more cuts— while so many nursing homes remain understaffed. We’ve taken so much already from our elderly and need to ask how much more they should be forced to pay while others receive breaks or avoid responsibility because of loopholes that allow them to.

Cuts Already Enacted

Since 2009, nursing home care has been the target of cuts on both a state and national level. Here are the cuts we have seen in the last three years so far and their impact on nursing care.

One of the most controversial medical practices impacting patients of all ages is the use of feeding tubes. These medical devices are often used as a means to provide nutrition and hydration to residents who are unable to consume food on their own. Increasingly, however, nursing homes are resorting to the use of feeding tubes as a way to provide nutrition to residents. The issue is that families of nursing home residents are often not well-informed about the risks associated with the use of feeding tubes.

The Harmful Effects of Feeding Tubes

When a stomach tube is implanted in an individual, it can cause serious, harmful effects. Only in recent years have medical studies started to address the emotional impact that feeding tubes have on patients. Residents may suffer from depression and anxiety when they receive feeding tubes. They can experience sadness in realizing that they have lost a major functionality of the human body.

According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, numerous elderly members of society suffer from physical, emotional, mental and verbal abuse every year. The NCEA posts statistics on elder abuse that are readily available to the public. The NCEA has found that the majority of senior citizens are abused by family members, however, statistics indicating the occurrence of abuse in long-term care facilities are still staggering. Over 3.2 million individuals reside in long-term care facilities. A 2000 research study indicated that 44 percent of the 2,000 interviewed residents stated that they had been abused at some point in the facility.

A Problem Society Can No Longer Ignore

Elder abuse has become a national problem that has even captured the attention of President Obama. A law introduced by Gov. Pat Quinn will give individuals the ability to file online abuse complaints with the Illinois Department of Public Health. Those with complaints will be able to file the complaints on the IDPH website. Illinois politicians believe that the new law will assist experts in analyzing senior abuse trends in the state and nation.

In June 2014, the justices of the West Virginia Supreme Court slashed the $90 million verdict awarded to Dorothy Douglas in her Charleston nursing home abuse case. Even though the justices called the conduct of the nursing home “reprehensible,” the estate of Ms. Douglas was awarded $32 million instead. When ruling on the nursing home negligence verdict, it was the justices’ claim that the nursing home placed corporate profits ahead of the needs of the Charleston residents.

In an opinion by Chief Justice Robin Davis, claims were made that the nursing home owners denied authorization of using additional staff to ensure basic life-sustaining requirements were met for the plaintiff and all of the nursing home residents. It was Justice Davis’ opinion that the residents in the Charleston nursing home are West Virginia’s “most vulnerable” citizens.

A Duty to Provide Care

As work continues on a 23,000-square-foot memory care center in Weston Wisconsin, it is important to remember that this is just one of the many facilities currently being built throughout the country. Because of the increased number of people who have memory-related illnesses, these types of ‘memory care facilities’ are only going to increase in number.

In fact, the number of people in Wisconsin alone who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease are expected to be around 202,000 by the time 2035 comes around, almost double the number of the current 120,000 Wisconsin residents with Alzheimer’s disease in 2011.

Defining memory care

An increasing number of people are slowly but surely accepting the fact that we live in a new ‘economic reality’. However, the recent release of the annual Genworth Cost of Care Survey may raise a few eyebrows. This survey represents the median cost of long-term care at home, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes. The survey shows that elder care may be even more expensive than most people realize.

How expensive is it?

According to the latest figures from Genworth, the annual cost of a private room in a nursing home is going to cost around $87,600. This would represent an increase of more than 4 percent (4.35) in just one year. Assuming that the costs do not increase (which seems unlikely given these statistics), a three-year stay would cost about $262,800. Semi-private homes are no bargains either, prices are up 2.62 percent compared to 2013 and stand at $77,380