Has your loved one suffered neglect or abuse at the hands of caregivers or other residents? If so, the Tennessee Nursing Home Law Center attorneys can provide immediate legal assistance to help your family seek justice and obtain financial compensation to recover your damages and losses. Our dedicated team of lawyers has helped countless individuals in Shelby County, and we can help you too.
Let us use our experience and skills to serve your legal needs. We can take immediate action to remove your loved one from mistreatment and work on your case to ensure your family returns to the right path for health and financial recovery. Time is of the essence. All documentation must be filed in the appropriate county courthouse before the state statute of limitations expires.
This facility is a 114-certified bed "for profit" long-term care home providing services and cares to residents of Collierville and Shelby County, Tennessee. The Medicare/Medicaid-participating long-term care (LTC) center is located at:
490 West Poplar Avenue
Collierville, Tennessee, 38017
(901) 854-8506
The investigators for the state of Tennessee and federal nursing home regulatory agencies have the legal responsibility of penalizing any facility that has violated rules and regulations that harmed or could have harmed a resident. These penalties often include monetary fines and denying payment of Medicare services. Typically, the higher the penalty, the more egregious the problem.
Within the last three years, Poplar Oaks Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center has been fined once by the government on March 2, 2017, for $11,460. Also, the nursing Home received fourteen formally filed complaints and self-reported two serious issues that resulted in citations within the last thirty-six months. Additional documentation about penalties and fines can be found on the Tennessee Department of Health Nursing Home Reporting Website concerning this nursing facility.
Families can review comprehensive research results on the Medicare.gov and Tennessee Department of Public Health nursing home databases that detail all safety concerns, opened investigations, incident inquiries, health violations, dangerous hazards, and filed complaints. The information is valuable to determine the level of health, medical and hygiene care long-term care facilities in the local community provide their residents.
According to Medicare, this facility maintains an overall rating of one out of five stars, including one out of five stars concerning health inspections, three out of five stars for staffing issues and two out of five stars for quality measures. The Shelby County neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center have found serious deficiencies and safety concerns at Poplar Oaks Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center that include:
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 21, 2018, the state survey team documented that the facility had failed to “follow their policy for neurological (neuro) checks on one of three routes sample residents reviewed for falls.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Falls and the facility’s Neurological Checks Monitoring policy that read in part:
“If a fall occurs, the following actions will be taken. Neuro checks will be completed on residents that experience an unwitnessed fall.”
“Protocol: Neurological checks (neuro checks) will be completed upon any unwitnessed fall every fifteen minutes times four checks, every thirty minutes times four checks, every one hour times four checks, every four hours times four checks, every eight hours until seventy-two hours or completed.”
The investigators reviewed the resident’s medical records and respiratory therapy progress Notes dated December 29, 2017. The notations document that the resident was found on the floor and that a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) assisted the resident and placed them back in bed. “Emergency medical technicians arrived to take the patient for evaluation at [the local hospital].”
A review of the facility Incident Report dated December 29, 2017 documents an unwitnessed fall. In Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) believes that the resident “could have slid [but that] no witnesses were found.” The resident appeared to be lethargic (drowsy).
The hospital Computed Tomography Report dated December 31, 2017, in the early morning hours revealed that there was “no evidence of acute infarction, hemorrhage is identified, small foci of hemorrhage were seen within the right frontal peritoneal region and unchanged” from a prior exam. The doctor’s impression was that there were “no new areas of hemorrhage identified.” The resident was discharged from the hospital and returned to the nursing home.
The investigators observed the resident and interviewed the resident’s roommate. The resident appeared to be “clean, well-groomed, with no odors.” The resident “was lying on an air mattress in a low bed with fall mats on both sides of the bed.” The resident “would open his eyes to the noise and voices but was unable to speak.”
The resident’s roommate “who was in the room at the time of the fall” stated that he “heard him fall out of bed” and that the staff “came in a while later and found him. I heard the noise, but I did not know he fell or I would have used my call light. No one was in the room when it happened.”
The investigators interviewed the Assistant Director of Nursing and asked: “where would written neuro checks be found?” The Assistant Director replied, “in the computer” stating that the nurses “would not handwrite them, they are on the computer.”
The survey team interviewed the Certified Respiratory Therapist who was asked about the resident’s fall. The therapist stated “I was in the room with another patient [and was there] long enough to suction him. The other patient was on the door side, and the curtain was pulled. Then I went over, and that is when I saw [the injured resident] on the floor. He was still connected to the ventilator and the pulse oximeter. He was between the ventilator and the bed. His head [the right side] was lying on the ventilator base. I called for the nurse, and the nurse aide also came in. We got them back into bed.”
The investigators interviewed the Director of Nursing and asked where the neuro checks are documented for the resident. The Director replied, “I do not see an evaluation (neuro valuation) done. I do not see any documentation of neuro checks.” The Director confirmed that there “should have been neuro checks done on [the resident] from the time of the fall until he was transferred to the hospital (approximately five hours [later]).”
The Director also confirmed that according to the policy, neuro checks should be done stating, “I have this thing out on the floor how often to do it. We do not have a policy about neuro checks.” The Director agreed that “neuro checks should have been done on [the resident].”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 2, 2017, the state investigators documented that the facility had failed to “ensure privacy for one of one sampled resident of the forty-seven residents in the Stage II review.” The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Notice of Privacy Practices that reads in part:
“Medical information about you and your health is personal. We are committed to protecting medical information.”
The survey team observed the dining room at noon on February 28, 2017, and saw the resident’s “family being interviewed by a Care Coordinator [for an insurance company] in the dining room discussing personal information, living arrangements, and medical conditions.” The interview “could be overheard by ten residents present in the dining room, three visitors, and staff members.”
The surveyors interviewed a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in the dining room and asked: “if it is normal for meetings to be conducted in the dining room?” The CNA replied, “No.” During an interview with the facility, Administrator was confirmed that “the interview should have been conducted in a private place.”
In a summary statement of deficiencies dated March 2, 2017, the state investigator noted the facility's failure to "report an allegation of verbal abuse timely, the facility also failed to conduct a thorough investigation for one of six sampled residents reviewed for abuse/injury of unknown origin.”
The investigators reviewed the facility’s policy titled: Reporting of Alleged Abuse to Facility Management that reads in part:
“It is the responsibility of our employees to properly report any incident or suspected incident of neglect or resident abuse, including injuries of an unknown source to the facility management.”
“Injury of an unknown source is identified as an injury that meets both of the following conditions: The source of the injury was not observed by any person, or the source of the injury could not be explained by the resident, and the injury is suspicious because of the extent of the injury.”
“The Administrator and Director of Nursing Services must be immediately notified of suspected abuse or incidents of abuse. If incidents occur or are discovered after hours, the Administrator or Director of Nursing Services must be called at home or must be paged and informed. An immediate investigation will be made.”
The incident in question involved a severely cognitively impaired resident who “was totally dependent on staff for all activities of daily living.” The resident’s Care Plan documented and onset problem on January 9, 2017, of a fracture with pain and complications related to the fracture of the right ankle.”
At some point, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) providing the resident care noticed the resident’s “right ankle was swollen and red. The resident grimaced when the ankle was touched.” Documentation shows that there is no known cause for the injury or incident. The resident was seen by a Nurse Practitioner who noted that the right foot was swollen and “had an x-ray of the right foot and ankle” with results revealing “an acute right ankle fracture.”
The resident received care in the hospital emergency department who found the patient “chronically debilitated and noncommunicative.” The resident “was found this morning at the nursing home to have swelling in the right ankle [with an] unknown mechanism of injury.” The “x-rays were done which showed an ankle fracture.”
The investigators interviewed the Social Services Director (SSD) and asked: “about the incident regarding [the resident’s] ankle fracture.” The Director stated, “I just knew that he had a fracture” stating that she had not been involved in the investigation.” However, the SSD confirmed that their office “should be involved in an incident” if there “is in an abuse allegation.”
The survey team reviewed the facility’s investigation but found “no documentation that any other residents were interviewed or received a physical examination other than the alleged victim.” There was also “no documentation that Social Services participated in the investigation, nor followed up with [the resident] to assess his well-being during or after the incident.”
If your loved one was victimized while residing at Poplar Oaks Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, call the Tennessee nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center at (800) 926-7565 now. Our network of attorneys fights aggressively on behalf of Shelby County victims of mistreatment living in long-term facilities including nursing homes in Collierville.
Our seasoned attorneys represent residents who were harmed by caregiver negligence or abuse. We have years of experience in successfully resolving recompense claims to ensure our clients receive the compensation they deserve. Contact us now to schedule a free case review to discuss how to obtain justice and resolve a financial compensation claim. We can start working on your claim now to ensure your rights are protected.
The attorneys accept all personal injury claims, nursing home abuse suits, medical malpractice cases, and wrongful death lawsuits through a contingency fee arrangement. This agreement will postpone payment of our legal services until after our lawyers have resolved your case through a negotiated settlement or jury trial award. We can start on your case today to ensure you receive compensation for your damages. All information you share with our law offices will remain confidential.
Attorney Cameron Jehl
Licensed in Tennessee
Tennessee Nursing Home Injury Lawyer Nursing Home Law Center LLC Home