November 20, 2010

Sensor Monitors Help Seniors Live Independently & Safely

As many seniors reach a certain age their risk of suffering an injury while alone slowly increases. This presents a particularly potent danger because it is in those circumstances when they are out of the reach of the immediate assistance. That is exactly why many seniors end up in nursing homes--so that they can be assured of having close, consistent contact with caregivers. However, as we have often documented on this blog, far too often many nursing homes fail in even this basic regard, providing inadequate oversight of residents leading to their injury and death.

There is never any excuse for a nursing facility's failure in that regard. That is true now more than ever as advances in technology have allowed for even more methods of monitoring the activity of vulnerable seniors. These monitoring systems provide warnings any time that help may be needed. CNN News recently published an article that discusses new technology that is being used to help care for elderly Americans. Sensors monitors are now used to track the daily activity of many nursing home residents and senior Americans who live on their own.

The monitors are growing in popularity. They currently allow tracking of wide variety of information, from when seniors take medications to when they use the restroom or enter the kitchen. The information is relayed to friends, family, medical professionals, or any others who the senior may want to be involved in helping provide care. Different sensors are placed throughout a senior’s living space, allowing for real-time safety checks at all times.

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October 17, 2010

Developments in Nursing Home Medication Kickback Lawsuit

We have previously reported on a complaint that was recently filed against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson alleging that they paid millions of dollars so that more nursing home residents would receive prescriptions for their own drugs.

The Associated Press explains that the complaint filed by the US government and two whistleblowers at the company allege that Rispersal, the schizophrenic drug prescribed to those with early signs of Alzheimer’s, was illegally given to an increasing number of nursing home payments. The prescriptions were written by pharmacists for Omnicare Inc., which in turn received the payment from Johnson & Johnson.

The drug was eventually found to have increased the risk of death in dementia patients.

According to government lawyers, the anti-kickback law forbids contracts that create an agreement with strings attached, like this one between Johnson & Johnson and Omnicare. It is alleged that Omnicare faxed thousands of doctors asking them to switch patients onto Risperdal; they also visited nursing homes to promote the use of the drug. Between 1994 and 2004 the drug use increased by $90 million through Omnicare prescriptions alone.

This is the second leg of this case, as Omnicare already agreed to a $90 million settlement with the federal government and several states because of its liability in the matter. In the case against Johnson & Johnson, the company could ultimately be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars for false claims charged to Medicaid.

Our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti continue to be shocked by the actions taken by so many that sacrifices senior nursing care for the sake of profit. There is a clear problem with elder care when the thousands of vulnerable residents are treated as pawns in games played by big business to boost their bottom line. When our nursing home lawyers hear repeated stories like this one, we become even more dedicated to the cause of spending each day to ensure that elder abuse is stamped out in all its forms.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues

May 21, 2010

Sexual Abuse in Nursing Homes

According to a report on KOMU.com , one Missouri nursing home admits sex offenders but does not inform the families of the other elderly residents who reside there. There are currently 18 registered sex offenders that live at the nursing home, with sex offenses ranging from child molestation to rape. The owner notes that elderly residents are separated from the sex offenders and that staff is also trained on how to deal with those patients who have psychiatric issues and therefore management does not view this as a security threat. According to the report, there is no legal responsibility of the nursing home management to inform other residents and their families about the background of their residents, so the nursing home does not feel the need to disclose the information.

Sexual abuse in nursing homes is an important issue to address in Illinois nursing homes. Family members want to feel secure when placing a loved one in a nursing home. Elderly nursing home residents are targets of sexual predators because they are often weak and defenseless. They might have dementia or might not be able to speak to report the assault. All nursing home residents are protected from abuse and neglect under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and homes have a duty to protect residents from predators. Many times, cases of sexual abuse fall at the hands of other residents, who are able to bypass security measures. In other instances, staff members are to blame. Nursing homes must operate with sufficient staff in order to properly monitor sexual offenders and elderly residents. Nursing homes must also investigate and report sexual abuse when it occurs. When a nursing home fails to protect the residents under its care and they are injured or killed, ownership and staff must be held responsible for their negligence. To learn more about the Illinois laws that protect nursing home residents from abuse and neglect, follow the link.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Sex offenders and parolees in nursing homes

March 13, 2010

Chicago, Illinois Nursing Home Attorneys Warn Against Bedrail Entrapment

The New York Times recently published an expose that questions whether beds in nursing homes are safe for nursing home residents. They discussed the death of one patient who found with his neck entrapped between the mattress and the bedrail. The patient wrongfully died from asphyxiation. The family filed a nursing home neglect lawsuit against the hospice organization, the manufacturer of the bed and the medical equipment vendor.

While bedrails are supposed to be safety devices, experts believe that they oftentimes create more problems than they solve. Rails decrease a patient’s risk of falling by 10 to 15 percent, yet they increase the risk of injury by about 20 percent. This happens when confused or demented patients who try to climb over the rails fall from a lower level and land on their knees or legs. These patients are then apt to fall further and strike their heads. However, the biggest danger is entrapment. Nursing home residents can get stuck within the rails or between the rail and the mattress. The FDA had tallied 480 deaths and 138 injuries from nursing home bedrail entrapment incidents. A resident can roll into the slot next to the rail, which slides the mattress to the opposite side. The patient will drop to the gap causing the mattress to press against his/her chest making it impossible to breathe.

The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti recently reached a settlement in a nursing home bedrail entrapment death. The victim’s family was awarded $570,000 in the case. To read about this incident of nursing home neglect in Chicago follow the hyperlink.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Bedrails

October 9, 2009

AARP Report Concerning Background Checks on Home Care Workers

American Association of Retired Person’s Public Policy Institute just released a new report on federal and state approaches to background check screening of home care workers to protect vulnerable from harm. Currently states increasingly require criminal background checks for home care workers to protect vulnerable adults from harm. Forty-six states mandate some form of background check for Medicaid-funded workers, however there is no uniform protocol for screening and disqualifying candidates. There also needs to be robust scholarship on the relationship between criminal behavior and the risk of elder mistreatment. The paper offers an up-to-date assessment of practices including: implementing promising state-level practices to increase accuracy, speed, cost-effectiveness and fairness to job applicants. Also, states should use multiple, complementary screening tools, not just criminal background screening. Criminal background checks will greatly reduce nursing home abuse. To read more about background checks, please click the link.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Useful publications

July 27, 2009

Support Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009 (S. 512/H.R. 1237)

Last week, two of the country’s largest arbitration firms said they are no longer handling consumer arbitration cases. In the Wall Street Journal, Ed Mierzwinski of U.S. PIRG said “In the long run, I think that this is the beginning of the end of forced arbitration in all consumer contracts, from credit cards, to nursing homes to cell phones.”

While this development is encouraging, it is still important to speak out in support of the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009. This Act would invalidate all current and future arbitration agreements that many people entering into nursing homes and assisted living facilities unknowingly sign. These agreements take away one’s right to argue their case in front of a jury. Follow the link to learn more about nursing home arbitration. To find out how to contact your U.S. Representatives and Senators to show your support for this bill, click here.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, National Nursing Home News

April 28, 2009

Chicago’s Latinos Face Cultural and Financial Barriers When Accessing Quality Nursing Home Care

A Brown University Study shows that more than 74,000 nursing home residents have bed sores in five states with high Mexican-American populations. This study mirrors conditions in Chicago, Illinois long-term care facilities. The report concluded that residents in nursing homes with overwhelmingly Latino patient populations are more likely to suffer from bed sores than those in nursing homes with mostly while patients. Experts say that there is a very limited methodology available to understand the course of life for Latinos in the U.S. and the stress that causes high mortality rates in an older Latino population. Chicago’s Latinos tend to be quite young, thus senior care is not the foremost health concern in the community. The large number of illegal Latino immigrants creates problems when many facilities are paid by Medicare. Governor Pat Quinn stated that he will commit $1.7 billion to help repay the state’s $2 billion in overdue Medicaid bills to health care providers. To read more about the nursing home study and it’s relation to Chicago, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Hot Button Issues, Pressure Ulcers, Useful publications

April 21, 2009

Break the Silence on Elder Abuse

“Break the Silence” has become a phrase used to raise awareness to raise awareness for the reporting of elder abuse. People should report to the local authorities if they are suspicious of any elder abuse. Many times callers can remain anonymous as investigations are conducted. Oftentimes when a person becomes older and increasingly frail and isolated they oftentimes become a victim of elder abuse. There are several types of elder abuse. The types range from physical and sexual to emotional abuse. Additionally, financial exploitation has become quite common in places like Chicago, Illinois. If you believe you or a family member is a victim of elder abuse, contact a nursing home abuse lawyer. To read more about types of elder abuse, please click the link.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Elder Caregivers, Nursing Home Abuse

April 6, 2009

Elderly Woman’s Death was not one with Dignity

An expert on geriatric medicine testified that an 84-year-old Illinois woman did not die a dignified death under the care of her two daughters, both of whom are on trial in Kane County for criminal neglect. The two women are charged in connection with the wrongful death of their mother, who was found in squalid conditions in the Geneva, Illinois house that the three shared. The elderly woman, who had serious bedsores and weighed about 70 pounds, died a few days later in a hospital. The doctor, an expert on bedsores, testified that the woman’s two daughters failed to provide adequate care. The testimony focused on the serious pressure ulcers that were discovered once the elderly woman was brought to the hospital. The most serious ulcer was one that caused her vertebrae to be visible and resulted in damage to bone. This indicates the bedsore would have taken months to form and that the victim spent long periods in bed without being repositioned. To read more about the elderly neglect trial, please click the link.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Elder Caregivers, Pressure Ulcers

January 12, 2009

Nursing Home and Hospital Injuries and Errors May not be Covered by Medicare and Medicaid

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may increase the number of events they refuse to reimburse nursing homes and negligent hospitals for carrying out. Currently nursing home residents who develop pressure ulcers and urinary tract infections are not able to have Medicare and Medicaid cover their treatment costs. This is an effort to require adequate nursing home care and to prevent nursing home abuse on elder patients. Currently, CMS is discussing the addition of hospital errors and surgical errors to the list of events that are not redeemable via insurance. If this passes nursing home residents may be impacted since many undergo pressure sore debridement in hospitals relating to the poor elder care they receive in nursing homes. To read more about the possible changes to be implemented by CMS, click here.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Medical Malpractice, Tort Reform, Elder Law Attorneys News

December 22, 2008

Levin & Perconti files negligence lawsuit against Illinois nursing home for failing to prevent and treat pressure sores

Steven M. Levin and Margaret P. Battersby of Levin & Perconti filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit against an Illinois nursing home last week. The nursing home lawsuit was filed in Cook County and brought on behalf of a 77 year-old woman. The Illinois nursing home lawsuit alleges that the nursing home failed to monitor and treat pressure sores that ultimately contributed to the 77 year-old’s death.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Hot Button Issues, Incidents, Levin & Perconti in the News, Nursing Home Abuse, Pressure Ulcers

November 11, 2008

Falls Merit Complex Care in Elderly

Once considered an inevitable part of aging, falls are now recognized as complex often preventable events in the elderly. Additionally, falls have multiple causes and consequences which call for a wide range of both psychological and physiological interventions that many patients never receive. Even falls that cause only minor injury “need to be taken as seriously as diabetes” says a professor of geriatrics and adult development. He states that falls can be a warning sign that something serious is wrong. Another expert states that falls are comparative to strokes in their harmfulness and added that people do not always report them or seek help for fear that their families will put them in nursing homes. Each year, 1.8 million Americans over the age of 65 are injured in falls. Some can rebound but for others the fall sets off on a downward spiral of physical and emotional problems which include pneumonia, depression, social isolation, infection and muscle loss. In 2005, 4333.000 people over 65 were admitted to hospitals after falling, and 15,800 died as a direct result of the fall. These statistics are alarming, and nursing homes should be well equipped to evaluate any patient who has experienced a fall. To read the full story, click here.

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November 7, 2008

US Agency Finds the Monitoring and Sanctioning of Deficient Nursing Homes Lacking

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a press release today indicating that it had created a new administration-transition website with a list of 13 “urgent issues” requiring the attention of President-Elect Barrack Obama and the 111th Congress. In addition to these urgent issues, the website also details what it considers to be “major challenges” affecting 28 different federal agencies. According to this list, the oversight of patient care in nursing homes is one of the major challenges facing the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS). In particular, the site calls out the CMS’s management relating to the enforcement of federal nursing home requirements stating that its efforts are “hampered by its fragmented and incomplete enforcement data system and a policy that allows some homes with the worst compliance histories to escape immediate sanctions.” To remedy these problems, the GAO recommends that the CMS “address quality-of-life concerns” for nursing home patients, that it improve its monitoring of nursing homes which have records of serious care problems, and that it reinforce its enforcement of sanctions against such facilities.

Click here to view the GAO’s recommendations regarding patient care and safety.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, National Nursing Homes, Government Reports

July 17, 2008

Nursing Home Arbitration Act is One Step Closer to Becoming a Law

The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act, also known as the Nursing Home Arbitration Bill has been passed by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial Law and Administrative Law. The nursing home legislation, if passed by the Senate will prevent nursing homes in Illinois and all across the nation from requiring the elderly residents in nursing home to sign an arbitration agreement to gain admission. Amendments did not pass that attempted to exclude nursing home employees and nursing home physicians from the bill. To read more about this piece of nursing home legislation that may bring a change to Illinois nursing home residents click here.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, National Nursing Homes, Tort Reform, Legislation, Legislation

June 20, 2008

A Family Puts a Face on the Nursing Home Arbitration Clause Issue

Many nursing homes require residents or their families to sign arbitration clauses, whereby they sign away their right to bring suit in court for any abuse or neglect by the nursing home. A Senate committee is currently investigating the issue and heard from the family of William Kurth on Wednesday. Kurth fractured his hip and leg and received numerous pressure ulcers while living out his final months in a nursing home. His family attempted to sue for negligence, but the case was dismissed on account of his wife having signed an arbitration clause when her husband was admitted. Arbitration clauses benefit nursing homes because of their speed, cost, and, most notably, their confidentiality. The problem, however, is that most families are not thinking about suing a home when they admit their family member or loved one into the nursing home. Kurth’s wife, for example, was distressed about her husband’s recent stroke and overall condition and was, herself, taking medication when she agreed to arbitration. The Kurth family attorney called that day one of the most stressful in her life, and states that she would not have signed those papers if she knew what she was giving up: the right to a trial by jury. Kurth’s children allege that their father got infections because excrement and urine were left on his bed sores without being cleaned for multiple days in a row. While there is mounting support for banning arbitration clauses for nursing homes, the issue is still hotly contested and far from decided.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, National Nursing Homes, Knowing your rights, Legislation, National Nursing Home News, Pressure Ulcers

June 16, 2008

Illinois Nursing Home May Lose Public Aid After State Inspection Finds Neglect

A recent state inspection of Alden Town Manor Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Cicero, Illinois revealed one resident who broke a wrist after a preventable fall, another with a pressure sore, and, finally, three more who had experienced unhealthy drops in weight. In December of 2007, the facility had been found to be in non-compliance with the laws that govern Medicare and Medicaid services, having six months to comply or have its public aid terminated. The six-month term is coming to an end and two weeks from now public aid services will no longer be available if the facility fails to become compliant. While termination of public aid is not necessarily a death knell for nursing homes, it is very detrimental as, on average, 90 percent of money for residents is provided by Medicaid. Facilities whose aid has been terminated have to turn to private funding, and existing solely on that is practically impossible. The original inspection came after complaints about two residents who had bed sores, a result of not being moved for a long period of time. This inspection led the Illinois Department of Public Health to give the nursing home a level 3 citation, on a scale of 1 to 4, 4 denoting such severity that a death has occurred or a resident is in danger of dying because of substandard care. In the most recent inspection, the resident who broke her wrist was known by the staff to be at risk for falls at the nursing home because of her behavioral history of wandering around the nursing home hallways and trying to move without the use of her wheelchair. It is not yet known whether the families of the victims will seek to file nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits against Alden.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Hot Button Issues, Alden Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect, Failure to supervise, Medicaid and Nursing Homes, Pressure Ulcers

June 6, 2008

Nursing Home Denies Wrongdoing in Response to Lawsuit over Death of Resident

Joyce Earline Bigelow, a patient at MontVue Nursing Home, died last October after taking a fall in the nursing home. Bigelow suffered complications after she fell while trying to use the restroom without assistance. The fall came after repeated instructions from Bigelow’s family to the nursing home staff that she required assistance when using the bathroom. After the fall, Bigelow suffered complications and died a few weeks later. As a result, Bigelow’s daughter sued the nursing home’s parent company for $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The parent company denies any negligence and claims that Bigelow did not fall, but instead that staff was helping her use the restroom when she became unable to support her own weight so they lowered her to the floor. The home claims that the staff then took her to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries. The family’s lawsuit allegations involve wrongful death and nursing home negligence.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Failure to supervise

June 2, 2008

Boy Dies from Neglect by Mother and Nurses

On May 15 a 13-year-old Illinois boy died at University of Chicago Hospital after being brought there with very severe signs of neglect including ulcers, one of which was seeping pus, a black crusted patch on his tongue, and hair, skin, and nails that were flaking and dirty. His mother and two nurses were charged with his home care, where over an extended period his condition slowly deteriorated. Despite finding him when she started her shift lying in his own feces and urine, one of the nurses, Morris Lee Brinkley, failed to make a call to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which could have saved the boy’s life. The other nurse, Loren Brown, knew that the boy’s mother was not taking him to doctor’s appointments, yet she did not call the Department of Children and Family Services either. Although both nurses claim to have notified their supervisor, she claims to have had no knowledge about the boy’s condition. The boy’s mother is far from without fault, however, as she had missed at least five medical appointments last year, had left him at a hospital once past his discharge date, and admitted to not bathing him in more than a year. The boy’s death has been ruled a homicide, and his mother and the two nurses have been charged with felony neglect and failure to report a neglected child. This boy's neglect is similar to nursing home abuse and neglect deaths where extreme neglect leads to severe injuries and even death.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Failure to Report Abuse, Pressure Ulcers

May 30, 2008

Nursing Home Nurses Accused of Neglect in Deaths

Penny Whitlock, a former nurse and director of nursing at the Illinois nursing home, Woodstock Residence, now called Crossroads Care Center of Woodstock, requested that three charges against her related to nursing home abuse and neglect be thrown out. The charges allege that she neglected three nursing home residents by failing to blow the whistle on the mistreatment of another patient. Whitlock filed a motion asking the judge to throw out three charges for neglecting long-term care facility residents, claiming she cannot be charged for neglect of patients other than the one who she allegedly knew was being mistreated. In total, Whitlock is charged with five counts of criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident and two counts of obstructing justice. Additionally, former Woodstock Residence nurse Marty Himebaugh was charged with, and pleaded not guilty to, four counts of criminal neglect of a long-term care facility resident, one count of obtaining morphine by fraud, and one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. At the heart of the issue is whether Whitlock failed to take action after receiving complaints from other staff members alleging that Himebaugh was overmedicating nursing home patients with morphine and whether Whitlock urged Himebaugh to continue being an “Angel of Death.” The charges touch on nursing home abuse , nursing home neglect, medication errors, and physical or chemical restraints.

In a related suit, Levin and Perconti has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Woodstock Residence, Whitlock, and Himebaugh.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Hot Button Issues, Bad nursing homes, Care Centers Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect, Failure to Report Abuse, Failure to supervise, Incidents, Nursing Home Abuse, Staffing Issues

May 30, 2008

Nurses Declare Lack of Staff at Nursing Homes and Hospitals

A new survey has revealed that nurses working at nursing homes feel that there are fewer staff members than needed. Nearly three-quarters of nurses surveyed declared that at the nursing homes and hospitals they worked for, the staff numbers were inadequate. A lack of staff members can lead to neglect, and even abuse, as recognized by those surveyed, half of whom reported feeling that quality of care is on the decline. The problem of inadequate numbers compounds itself as more nurses leave their positions because of concerns about sub-par care resulting from the low numbers of staff. Most shockingly, little more than half of the nurses felt comfortable about the idea of one of their loved ones being treated at their respective facilities. This announcement by nurses shows that there is a rising danger of hospital injuries and nursing home injuries, especially medication errors, wrongful death, and other nursing errors as existing staff members are unable to keep up with high demands which can lead to medical mistakes.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Medical Malpractice, Abuse, Failure to supervise, National Nursing Home News, Nursing Home Staff News, Pressure Ulcers, Staffing Issues

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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.

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