March 7, 2010

Illinois Nursing Homes Must Carry Insurance

The Clarion Ledger has recently posted an article discussing the needs of nursing homes to carry insurance. The article points out that many nursing homes do not carry enough liability insurance to cover damages caps if a nursing home abuse lawsuit is filed. Many nursing homes face lawsuits after physical and sexual abuse or nursing home neglect. Nursing homes should be required to carry enough insurance to cover a vulnerable person that is injured, mistreated or abused while a resident at the home.

In Mississippi, a current House Bill 536 would require non-government nursing homes to carry $500,000 in liability coverage which is equivalent to the amount that the government nursing homes must carry under the Tort Claims Act. While this out-of-state legislation may seem like an obvious need to those who believe in elderly rights, many insurance companies and nursing home lobbyists are working diligently to try to kill the bill before it reaches the Senate. Since nursing homes have received the damage caps they believe are so important, it is imperative that they carry insurance. The elderly need and deserve the accountability afforded to them with the passage of HB 536. To read more about the nursing home legislation, please check out the link.

Illinois is one of the states that does not require nursing homes to carry liability insurance. We hope that new Illinois nursing home reform legislation will require homes to operate with insurance. The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti encourage people to ask if a nursing home carries insurance before entrusting a loved one to the facility. Researching a nursing home’s insurance information is an important step to ensuring your family members rights in the event of an injury caused by negligence.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, How to choose a home, Legislation, Legislation

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March 5, 2010

U.S. Supreme Courts Rules Nursing Home Resident has a Private Right of Action Under FNHRA

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certioria in a case where the Third Circuit Court of Appeals said that a nursing home resident and Medicaid recipient may sue their facility under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of the Federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments (FNHRA). The plaintiff in the case was a nursing home resident and Medicaid recipient. After the victim wrongfully died her daughter filed a nursing home lawsuit against the facility under a §1983 action. The nursing home lawsuit claimed the facility violated the FNHRA by not providing proper care. The nursing home tried to commit the complaint by claiming that the FNHRA does not provide an enforceable right of action through §1983. They argued that FNHRA only sets forth requirements that a nursing facility must comply with in order to receive federal Medicaid funds. The district court did agree with the nursing home, and the victim appealed the ruling.

Luckily, the Third Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling and held that the FNHRA does give Medicaid recipients rights and remedies under §1983. Elder Law Answers reported that the appellate court reasoned that both as a nursing home resident and Medicaid recipient, the victim was an intended beneficiary of the FNHRA. The court believed that the language of the FNHRA laid out specific enforceable rights for victims of nursing home abuse. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the writ of certioria and rested on the Third Circuit’s ruling. They believe this will cause all nursing homes to rethink patient’s rights. The Chicago nursing home lawyers agree the rulings of both the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court and thank them for their support of nursing home rights.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Legislation, National Nursing Home News, Verdicts and Settlements

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March 3, 2010

Staffing Ratios at Nursing Homes Must be Mandated

It has been well documented that nursing home staffing ratios and quality of care go hand in hand. According to a recent article from My Elder Advocate, sufficient nursing home staff are needed to ensure that residents have proper nutrition, disease management and that they are turned and repositioned frequently to prevent pressure sores. A 1996 study from the Institute of Medicine found that staffing ratios have a great effect on the nutrition of nursing home residents. Understaffed nursing homes are more likely to have patients who suffer from dehydration, malnutrition and associated conditions.

It is time that nursing home legislation reflect the need for greater staffing. Since the over 65 population will increase by 60% between 2004 and 2030, this is the time to enact such legislation. Nursing home legislation should require ratios to patients in order to ensure that there is sufficient staff to care for our aging population. Unfortunately, nursing home legislation to require ratios has not passed nationally. This is because people argue that this would increase the cost of running a nursing home. Yet, how can you put a price on patient care?

Studies show that raising staffing ratios can cut down on operating costs. It has also been found that understaffing in nursing homes does not help the nursing shortage. Many nurses refuse to work in nursing homes because of the poor working conditions prevalent in understaffed homes. Many nurses have changed professions or gone to part-time due to the poor working conditions. Therefore, new nursing home legislation must be enacted to ensure that there is proper care in all nursing homes, regardless of their monetary position. To read more on nursing home staffing, follow the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation, Nursing Home Staff News

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February 25, 2010

Nursing Home Provisions Present in White House Reform Bill

The new healthcare reform proposal contained a number of provisions that hold a significant interest in those concerned with long-term care professionals. The first is the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act which would seek to assess nursing home quality and provide consumer information about facilities. The Elder Justice Act is another part of the bill that will greatly help improve the life of seniors. Also there is a provision that would require nursing homes to provide more stringent background checks on potential caregivers contained in the bill. This has been labeled the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act. The president’s proposal will furthermore include incentives for home-and community-based care programs that will expand the senior care workforce. Finally, the bill contains the CLASS Act which creates a payroll deduction system for long-term expenses. To learn more about the long-term care legislation, please check out the McKnight’s newsletter.

Currently there are problems between the GOP and the Democrats on many of the provisions of the health care bill. Republicans are trying to block many of the provisions that would help improve elder care. This is important legislation that must be passed in order to better safety for nursing home residents. The NCCNHR has been working around the clock in order to ensure that this important legislation is passed. Currently, 51 votes are needed to pass in the Senate. The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti applaud NCCNHR and Sentor Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Their hard work has hopefully made this important legislation a reality. In order to aid their efforts, please contact your Senator and voice your support for long-term health care legislation that would protect nursing home residents.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation, National Legislation

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February 17, 2010

Facility Faces Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Allegations

A nursing home investigation is being launched against a home that is alleged to have committed elder neglect. The investigation began after a daughter found her 86-year-old father slumped in his wheelchair. The elderly man was then taken to the hospital where officials reported that he was wearing three soiled diapers and they believed he had not been washed for days. Additionally, DCFS has received seven allegations of elder abuse or neglect since the month of December at this nursing home. These investigations can take up to 60 days to determine if there was elderly neglect. Another family member found her father bruised with feces running down his legs. There were reports about bad rashes from some of the patients. It is imperative that nursing homes constantly monitor patients to ensure that they are clean and safe. Abuse allegations such as these oftentimes occur when nursing homes are understaffed. Keeping patients clean and happy should be a top priority of all nursing home agendas.

The nursing home in question has only been granted one star by the Center for Medicare comparison ratings. This specific nursing home had 21 deficiencies. This is compared to the state average of nine. The nursing home compare website is a useful tool that will aide those in choosing a nursing home avoid those homes that may commit elderly neglect. The website gives home a star rating, with five being the best and one being the lowest. This was an important step that the government took to decreasing nursing home abuse.

To read more about this specific allegation of nursing home abuse, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse

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February 15, 2010

Family Claims Nursing Home Neglect Led to Sepsis

The family of a deceased man is blaming the doctor and medical staff at two local rehabilitation centers for the man’s wrongful death following a motorcycle accident. The family filed a nursing home lawsuit against the two rehabilitation centers claiming that their deceased family member arrived at the facility for post-trauma medical care after he sustained severe injuries in a motorcycle accident. During his hospital stay the doctors had inserted an intravenous line into his chest. They then transferred him to the rehabilitation center where he was supposed to work with a doctor for his post injury rehabilitation.
Unfortunately, during his stay the victim developed a staph infection and became septic. He had to be transferred back to the hospital where he was diagnosed with MRSA sepsis due to an infected catheter. He had to be taken to another outpatient facility where he received antibiotic IV therapy and was finally released to his home. At home he continued to suffer from recurrent MRSA and had to go back to the hospital with septic shock. He died less than two months later from congestive heart failure and renal failure. The nursing home lawsuit alleges that the facilities failed to prescribe the proper antibiotic treatment that is needed to combat the infection and failed to properly control that infection. They also allege that they failed to properly diagnose the condition, failed to prescribe appropriate therapy and failed to remove the central line.

MRSA has the potential to easily spread and cause infections in nursing home. The presnese of MRSA in a facility may lead to fewer treatment options for patients when infections occur, with more adverse effects and increased ocsts. Nursing homes must utilize infection control practices that dismantle MRSA in order to protect their patients.

To learn more about the nursing home lawsuit, click this link. To read more about MRSA in nursing homes, check out this link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Sepsis

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February 2, 2010

Nursing Home Employee Charged with Financial Abuse

A nursing home employee was stealing from nursing home residents. The 44-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of fraudulent use of credit cards, petit theft, financial exploitation of the elderly, bank fraud, grand theft and fraudulent use of personal identification information. At first nursing home residents reported missing checks at the retirement community. However, later there were many more items missing from the home. One elderly victim reported that the employee stole a $5,000 14-karat charm bracelet and a $2,5000 ring from her. Another elderly victim had an expensive necklace and gold chain taken. The woman then is accused of taking the items to a pawn shop. Financial exploitation of the elderly has become a common form of elderly abuse. If you or someone you love has been a victim of nursing home theft, consult a Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer. To read more about this specific nursing home employee, please check out the link

Continue reading "Nursing Home Employee Charged with Financial Abuse" »

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Financial abuse and exploitation

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January 31, 2010

1 in 5 Nursing Homes Get Low Stars

The USA Today has released a report stating that one in five of the country’s 15,700 nursing homes were found on the lower end of the five-star scale. It seems that almost all of the nursing home receiving one or two stars are owned by-for-profit corporations. The stars reflect inspections performed in the nursing homes as well as complaint investigations. Most owners must take responsibility for the consequences of the poorly performing nursing homes. The lowest-rated facilities have averaged about 14 deficiencies per site. These deficiencies include nursing home abuse and safety violations. You may visit the nursing home compare website by clicking on the link. Many Chicago nursing homes only have one star. These include: Alden Princeton; Avenue Care Center; Belhaven Nursing & Rehab Center; Kenwood Healthcare Center; and Waterfront Terrace. The nursing home negligence attorneys at Levin & Perconti have filed numerous lawsuits against one-star nursing homes in Chicago. They have also noticed that many of these homes have not improved their ratings and continue to commit Chicago nursing home abuse.

To read the story concerning the low star nursing homes, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, Government Reports, Chicago Nursing Homes, How to choose a home

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National LTC Ombudsman January Gazette on Nursing Home Abuse

The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care has released their January Gazette. This newsletter includes important articles on nursing home abuse. The newsletter highlights the Chicago nursing home abuse that occurs when felons live in facilities. The newsletter also discusses eviction rights and the U.S. News and World Report highlighting the benefits of Resident-Centered Care. This gazette is a must read for all nursing home lawyers. To read the Gazette, Please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Ombudsmen and Resident Advocates, Elder Law Attorneys, National Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Useful publications

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Nursing Home Closes After Incidents of Neglect

A nursing home has been closed after inspectors found disgusting conditions. The health inspection showed that the facility had a number of problems with nursing home negligence. One of the residents’ family members believed that her son’s bed looked pretty crumby. Also, the only water line froze. The toilets would not flush and human waste was on the floors of the nursing home. The county executive called the conditions “appalling.” Nursing homes must have cleanly conditions in order to avoid lawsuits involving nursing home abuse. To learn more about this particular nursing home negligence, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes

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January 29, 2010

Nursing Home Abuse: Using Antipsychotic Drugs as Chemical Restraints

A new study has found that newly admitted nursing home patients are more likely to be prescribed antipsychotics if the nursing home has a high prescribing rate for antipsychotics. The FDA has recently advised that nursing homes should decrease their use of atypical antipsychotic in elderly dementia patients. More than 29 percent of residents received at least one antipsychotic medication, even though 32 percent of them had no clinical indication for the medication. It is important that elderly people are not overly medicated by antipsychotic medication. Nursing homes cannot use these medications in order to chemically restrain their patients. To learn more about the nursing home studies, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Chemical Restraints

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January 28, 2010

Some Nursing Homes have Bad Track Records

Among the 15,547 nursing homes in a set of U.S. News ranking, there are 131 that have been tagged as “Special-Focus Facilities.” They are red flagged as SFFs. These nursing homes have long histories of inconsistent or subpar health inspections. A nursing home is labeled as an SFF if first there are consecutive inspections with deficiencies; second that that deficiency affected many residents; finally that that problem remains unresolved on follow-up inspections. If a home is labeled as an SFF it can lose its Medicare and Medicaid credentials. If you are looking at a nursing home labeled as an SFF stay armed with questions.

Alden Wentworth and International are just two examples of nursing home conglomerates in Illinois that have had bad track records. To discover what makes a nursing home bad, please check out the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, How to choose a home, How to tell if your nursing home is bad

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January 27, 2010

Nursing Home Focus of a State Investigation

Two nursing home abuse lawsuits were filed alleging physical and sexual abuse of residents with dementia. The nursing home was the focus of state investigations and widespread publicity about elderly abuse in early 2008. Six aides were charged with abusing the seven residents. Officials at the nursing home said they were never aware of the alleged elderly abuse until another aide reported it. The criminal complaints along with the Health Department reports stated that the aides spat in the residents’ mouths, poked and groped their breasts and genitals and at times taunted them until they screamed and then laughed. To learn more about the nursing home abuse, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse

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January 25, 2010

Care Centers Nursing Home Avoids Closure

A Merrillville nursing home with a history of safety problems has avoided a likely closing by finding a buyer. The state health department had issued an emergency order requiring the Northlake Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to hire a state-approved nursing home administrator in order to monitor patient care. The nursing home is on its third and final probationary license and would not win a permanent license when that probationary experience expires. The nursing home had previously been owned by Care Center, Inc. This is a for-profit company based in Evanston, Illinois and owned by operator Eric Rothner. Many of the nursing homes owned by Rothner have suffered patient safety problems and are being investigated by Illinois authorities. The poor care given to the elderly at nursing homes owned by Care Center, Inc. has been a topic of past Chicago nursing home negligence blog posts. Additionally, the nursing home abuse attorneys of Levin & Perconti have filed nursing home lawsuits against many of their nursing homes. To read more about the Care Center nursing homes, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, Care Centers Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse

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January 24, 2010

Sunwest will Sell 134 Nursing Homes to Blackstone Group

Sunwest Management has signed a deal to sell 134 of its nursing homes to a group led by private equity giant Blackstone. The deal appears to be controversial considering that Blackstone is offering a lowball price. Even federal criminal investigators are looking into the case. When nursing homes change management, many problems ensue, and residents' care may be compromised.To read more about the nursing home sale, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes

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January 23, 2010

Nursing Home Transparency Should be Part of Health Care Reform

NCCNHR is urging House and Senate leaders to ensure that nursing home transparency and improvement, along with requiring criminal background checks, are in both health care bills. Currently, the Elder Justice Act is in the Senate bill only. Advocates are working to ensure that this Act will be included in final health care legislation.

If passed, the legislation will include public disclosure of the entities that own, govern and operate nursing homes. There will also be more in-depth information on the Nursing Home Compare website. Training in dementia care for nursing assistants is also an important provision in the legislation and will improve care for nursing home residents who suffer from complex medical issues, such as dementia and Alzheimer's.

The Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti encourage you to contact your congressman and voice your support for the legislation that will help to protect families and individuals from nursing home abuse and neglect. To see more provisions of the nursing home bill, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

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January 22, 2010

Woman Charged with Identity Theft at a Nursing Home

A nursing-home worker is accused of stealing the identity of a resident living under her care. Employees at the nursing home contacted the Sheriff’s department when they received credit card statements for the resident with charges that had not been authorized. She supposedly bought furniture, a television and other items with the resident’s credit card and forged the resident’s signature to steal money from two bank accounts. She is accused of taking $16,000 from the elderly resident. Financial exploitation of nursing home residents has become all too commonplace. To learn more about this incident of financial exploitation and elder abuse, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Financial abuse and exploitation

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January 19, 2010

Mandatory Arbitration Should be Banned from Nursing Homes

The American Association for Justice won a long fought battle when Congress banned defense contractors from including mandatory arbitration in their contracts. Now it is time for Congress to rule that binding arbitration should not be allowed in nursing home patient contracts. This is the centerpiece of the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009. Oftentimes people are rushed and emotional when signing nursing home contracts. They oftentimes forget to look at every line of the 500-page document. There are many incidents when people are forced into arbitration. To learn more about the nursing home legislation, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

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January 18, 2010

Nursing Home Transparency Important Aspect of Health Care Reform

The most discussed legislation of late is the pressing health care reform bills currently being debated in Congress. Two important aspects of this legislation are nursing transparency and improvement and criminal background checks. Currently the Senate bill contains the Elder Justice Act and advocates are working to ensure that this is a provision that is included in the final legislation. The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act will include Public disclosure of the entities that own, govern, operate and profit from nursing homes. It will also give those looking at nursing homes better information about the quality of care. Most importantly the bills authorize a new program of criminal background checks on long-term care workers who have access to residents or patients. The nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti greatly support this nursing home legislation.

Please contact your local congressman and voice your support for the Elder Justice Act. To find other ways to support this nursing home legislation, please visit the NCCNHR’s website.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

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January 17, 2010

Johnson & Johnson Receives Kickbacks for Nursing Home Prescriptions

A recently filed Justice Department lawsuit alleges that Johnson & Johnson paid tens of million of dollars in kickbacks to boost sales of its drugs in nursing homes. One of these drugs included an antipsychotic that can be used as a chemical restraint. The payments were disguised as grants or educational funding. They were funneled through Omnicare, which is a pharmacy company that dispenses drugs in nursing homes. They used their influence with doctors to have prescriptions switched to name Johnson & Johnson. This puts profits ahead of medical care and can distort the judgment of health care professionals. This is just another case in a series of nursing home lawsuits that allege companies have used illegal inducements to skew medical decisions and promote their products. The biggest problem is that Johnson & Johnson allegedly caused false or fraudulent claims to be filed with Medicaid. The patients at issue include those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. This recent case greatly effects how pharmaceuticals are dispensed in nursing homes. To learn more about the nursing home kickbacks, please check out the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Medicaid and Nursing Homes

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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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