Elder abuse takes many forms. It can involve physical, psychological, sexual, and financial mistreatment and can be found in private homes as well as residential care facilities such as nursing homes. It is generally defined as the knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver that causes harm to a vulnerable adult.
If you have a elderly family member who is receiving care at a nursing home facility, it is important to be familiar with what characterizes different forms of abuse:
Although any resident can potentially be a victim of abuse, opportunity and vulnerability increase the risks. Residents reporting very low social support face a three-fold greater risk of emotional mistreatment and a heightened risk for all other types of abuse. Residents needing assistance with daily life activities are also at increased risk. If you or a family member has been a victim of Iowa nursing home neglect or nursing home abuse that has resulted in injury, it is important to seek help immediately. The Des Moines Law Offices of John T. Hemminger has over 30 years of experience in handling nursing home neglect and abuse cases. We hold nursing homes and their staff accountable for their actions. Contact our offices for help today 515-283-2116.
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Arbitration agreements are proliferating in the senior care industry. Hundreds of nursing homes and assisted-living centers request that elderly people sign arbitration clauses on admission to limit their liability. Although many residents and their families find themselves lost in the fine print of these agreements, they often sign for fear of losing their place at the facility.
The clauses require residents to forfeit their right to a court hearing in cases involving abuse or neglect and sometimes even in cases of wrongful death, opting instead for a more secretive process for resolving claims. However, the recent breakthrough federal rule barring some 15,000 long term care facilities who receive funding from medicare and medicaid from forcing residents and their families to sign arbitration agreements has called attention to the unfairness and lack of transparency of these clauses for many. Families and their attorneys across the country are seeking to have arbitration clauses thrown out, particularly in cases where elderly residents appear or have been coerced into signing them. In a recent case, the Kentucky Supreme Court summed it up for many when they refused to enforce arbitration agreements in three wrongful-death cases, ruling that legal representatives of nursing-homes lack the authority to waive another’s “God-given right” to a jury trial. If you or a family member has been a victim of nursing home neglect or abuse, contact the Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for help. With over 30 years of experience holding nursing homes accountable, Attorney John Hemminger has help many Iowa families pursue justice on behalf of their loved ones. Call today at 515-283-2116. Neglect is one of the most common forms of abuse in nursing home facilities. Neglect occurs when a resident does not receive the care he or she needs. Neglect often includes issues regarding basic hygiene, mobility assistance and help with eating. When people do not receive the care that they need and, indeed are entitled to, they can suffer significant physical and psychological damage.
To protect your loved one from neglect, it is important to recognize the signs because a combination of red flags may signal a problem worth investigating. Something to look for is a resident’s poor personal hygiene. Residents of nursing homes often need help with the basics such as a dressing, brushing their teeth, bathing, grooming and more. Unfortunately, some nursing homes are short on staff or do not provide proper training, which often results in a resident’s basic needs not being met. Nursing homes are required to provide safe and clean living conditions. If you detect unsanitary conditions, the facility is not complying with federal regulations possibly signaling an overall disregard for their resident’s well-being. Report your concerns to the nursing home administration. Poor nutrition affects millions of elderly people in nursing homes across the United States. Malnutrition and dehydration can lead to serious medical issues and often arise when there is a lack of individualized care because of inadequate staffing. Ask your family member what they have had to eat and drink regularly to see if they are receiving meals. If they are unable to communicate look for signs of emaciation and dehydration such as thirst, dryness of the skin and fatigue. It is essential for the elderly to get up and move around regularly and any nursing home worth its salt will make sure that residents stay active for good health. If a person is neglected they may spend long periods of time in bed, which could very well result in a total loss of mobility and infections. Checking in with your family member about their day and asking questions of the nursing home facility regarding activities that your family member is participating in is key. Drop in at different times during the day unannounced when possible to see what your family member is doing at different times of the day. Injuries that are left untreated may be a sign of neglect. Seniors who are not receiving the assistance they need will often try to do things independently at the risk of injury. Falls, cuts and bruises may result and, left untreated by inattentive staff, can quickly become larger problems for an elderly resident. We place our loved ones in the care of nursing home facilities and expect that they will be treated with the greatest care and respect. Unfortunately, the elderly sometimes are taken advantage of intentionally or unintentionally because of their vulnerability. If you or a family member has been a victim of nursing home neglect or abuse, contact the Des Moines Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for help at 515-283-2116. Illness, disability and cognitive impairments due to advancing age can make seniors vulnerable to financial abuse. It could be any number of predatory schemes targeting the elderly and sometimes it can be maleficence on the part of someone entrusted with their care such as a nursing home employee or other caregiver.
To protect your loved one, family members and care professionals should take steps to prevent financial abuse. It is important to take preemptive action to discourage those looking for an opportunity to commit fraud. Oversee Your Loved One’s Accounts By looking at monthly financial institution statements or having online access to accounts, a family member can look for unusual activity signaling a problem. It may be sizable checks being cashed, ATM withdraws or other transfers that don’t add up. Staying on top of your loved one’s accounts will discourage predators from striking or at least keep fraud from going too far. Consider a Joint Account or a Trust You may want to consider opening joint bank accounts with your elderly family member, which will make keeping an eye on things more routine. Another option is a revocable trust, which will give you access to your elderly relative’s accounts in trust and the ability to step in if he or she should become disabled. Unlike a joint account, it does not give the trustee any ownership interest in the account, but offers a level of protection against fraud. Stay Involved in the Care of Your Loved One Not everyone is able to live close to their aging family member, but if you are able to visit frequently and get to know the people who are coming into contact with your family member, this goes a long way in discouraging would-be thieves from targeting your loved one. Alternatively, keeping in regular contact by telephone with your family member, their caretakers and the administrators of the care facility will communicate your high expectations regarding the care of your elderly loved one to prevent potential abuse. Get the Help of an Experienced Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Unfortunately, despite your best intentions to protect your elderly family member, they may be taken advantage of financially or otherwise. It is important to get justice not only for your family, but also those who may be victimized in the future if nothing is done. If your elderly family member has been a victim of abuse, contact the Des Moines Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for help today. Deaths of people who leave senior-care facilities undetected, also called “elopement,” are not uncommon. Recently a Minnesota man walked away from an assisted living facility and succumbed to the frigid overnight temperatures. In 2013, an elderly woman with dementia perished after she walked out of another assisted living facility because the door she used was not attached to an alarm system.
Supervision is a critical component to a safe nursing home facility. Elopement is a specific example of nursing home staff failing to meet supervision and security expectations resulting in the endangerment of residents. Many deaths and injuries that result from negligent supervision can be prevented by providing proper training to staff and exercising vigilance. It is important for nursing home staff to be well-versed on the habits of residents and be aware of the specific mental and physical issues that residents may have, particularly when it comes to concerns regarding dementia. Exits which are not intended to be operated by nursing home residents should be either locked securely or equipped with alarms. In addition to keeping a close eye on residents, it is important for nursing home staff to check alarms periodically to ensure proper functioning and to respond promptly if there is an alarm. If your loved one has been a victim of neglect or abuse in a nursing home or assisted living facility, contact the Des Moines Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for help. John has helped many Iowa families in holding elderly care facilities accountable for their actions. Call today at 515-283-2116. Elder sexual abuse is generally defined as any unwanted sexual conduct against a person over the age of 60 and, not surprisingly, the largest percentage of elder sexual abuse (around 70 percent of all cases) occur within nursing homes.
The abuse is often a result of tricking, manipulating, or coercing the elder person into undesired sexual contact. Other times, the elderly person is simply unable to communicate consent or disapproval. In fact, in many instances of nursing home sexual abuse, residents are victimized because their medical conditions make it difficult for them to communicate with others and express what’s going on. Indicators of abuse may include both physical and behavioral changes that cause concern for family members and caretakers. It is important for loved ones to become knowledgeable regarding the warning signs of abuse and remain alert, especially if something feels a bit off. Keeping an elderly family member in the care of a nursing home facility safe from sexual or physical abuse is critical to their health and well-being.If you suspect that your family member has been abused or neglected in an Iowa nursing home or other care facility, it is important contact the proper authorities with your concerns immediately. In addition, you should seek the help of an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer to seek justice. Contact the Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for helptoday if your family member has been a victim of Iowa nursing home abuse or neglect. Unfortunately, all too often we see accounts of nursing home neglect and abuse that result in injury to elderly residents. Common problems include the mistreatment of residents; failure to assist residents who need help with eating, drinking, grooming and personal hygiene; and failure to provide proper care to treat or prevent bedsores.
The enforcement of nursing home regulations is managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who depend on state health departments to investigate complaints and report deficiencies to the federal government, who is empowered to impose penalties. However, because significant fine reduction is a standard practice within state and federal agencies that oversee nursing home regulation, regulations have become ineffective in deterring nursing home misconduct. In fact, fines imposed on offending nursing homes are reduced so routinely that they have become widely considered a cost of doing business rather than an incentive to provide quality care. If nursing homes decide to appeal a deficiency report instead of ‘making a deal’, the long, drawn-out court process results in delays and future appeals, which make it easy to ignore regulatory action. It can take five years or more to exhaust all the steps in an appeal and, along the way, fines may be reduced at each step through settlement or court decision, again diluting the consequences for neglect and abuse of the elderly. If you or a family member has been a victim of neglect or abuse at an Iowa nursing home, it is important to seek the help of an experienced nursing home injury attorney to hold nursing homes accountable for their actions. John T. Hemminger has successfully represented victims of nursing home neglect and abuse and their families for over 30 years. Call John today at 515-283-2116. From 2011 to 2014, more than a hundred nursing home residents were hospitalized or died as a result of errors in administering Coumadin, a blood thinner used to prevent strokes and heart attacks.
Coumadin, or its generic version Warfarin, has been called the most dangerous drug in America. Too little, and patients run the risk of developing life threatening clots; too much can lead to uncontrollable bleeding. In the hands of the wrong provider, it can be deadly. According to an American Journal of Medicine study, nursing home residents suffer nearly 34,000 fatal, life-threatening, or serious events related to the drug each year and some states link Coumadin to most medication errors at nursing homes. Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services identified Coumadin and other anticoagulants as a drug category most frequently implicated in adverse drug events. HHS is calling on government agencies to work on solutions hoping to raise awareness of the dangers the drug can present to nursing home patients if not properly administered and monitored. Des Moines Iowa Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer If you or a family member has been injured in a nursing home or care facility because of a medication error, abuse or neglect, contact the Iowa nursing home abuse and neglect Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for help. Yesterday, an agency within the Health and Human Services Department issued a new rule that bars any nursing home using federal funds from requiring residents to enter into arbitration agreements.
The move will provide residents and their families with more robust legal options, especially when in cases of elder abuse, nursing home neglect, sexual harassment and wrongful death. Arbitration agreements are viewed by nursing homes as a way to reduce legal costs by keeping disputes out of court. In exchange for forfeiting their legal rights by signing one, residents gain access to a desired facility and get the care they need. However, many residents and their families are negatively affected because arbitration clauses limit their ability to get justice in cases of wrongdoing. Following numerous reports of rampant abuse and neglect in nursing homes across the nation, calls to end government funding for nursing homes requiring arbitration agreements rose, resulting in the new rule which will be effective this November. The rule will provide more transparency, helping prospective residents and their families to choose a safe and healthful nursing home. It also “restores a fundamental right of millions of elderly Americans…their day in court.” If you or a family member has suffered abuse or neglect in an Iowa nursing home or other care facility, contact Attorney John T. Hemmminger for help. John has represented nursing home residents and their families for over 30 years in personal injury or wrongful death cases. Contact our offices today for a free consultation regarding your legal issue. Source; New York Times, “U.S. Just Made It a Lot Less Difficult to Sue Nursing Homes”, By Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Michael Corkery, September 28, 2016 Are your parents, grandparents, or relatives safe in retirement homes? Not according to a recent congressional report released on the issue. According to the report, nearly 1 in 3 of our nation’s nursing homes (5,283 facilities) have been found to abuse the elderly (ABC News). Of these cases, 1,601 of them were “serious enough ‘to cause actual harm to residents or to place the residents in immediate jeopardy of death” (ABC News). The type and degree of the reported cases was wide ranging, however. In some cases, “a member of the nursing home’s staff was accused of committing physical or sexual abuse. In others, staff were cited for failing to protect people from abuse by other residents” (ABC News).
One report, for instance, documents an attendant who struck an elderly woman in the face resulting in a broken nose. Another case involved attendants bribing an elderly man with an intellectual impairment “with cigarettes to attack another resident, then watched the two fight” (ABC News). Unfortunately, these incidences of abuse of the elderly at resident homes appear to be on the rise. As the congressional report indicates, there is a growing trend in abuse cases since 1996. Part of the problem with many of these retirement homes is that they are run like a business enterprise bent on profit rather than ensuring quality care for its residents. Although correlation does not equal causation, there appears to be a relatively strong connection between the cases of abuse and whether or not a resident home is a for-profit business entity or not. Another potential cause of the rise in resident abuse is the lack of quality staff on hand. Those who work within the nursing home industry claim that these problems are, in part, due to a “nationwide difficulty in attracting and keeping quality, skilled staff” (ABC news). Regardless of the causes, it is clear that something must be done to ensure greater accountability in our nation’s retirement homes so that the elderly remain safe. If you or a family member has been a victim of nursing home neglect or abuse in an Iowa nursing home or other residential care facility, contact the Law Offices of John T. Hemminger for help today. Source: ABC News, “Elderly Abused at 1 in 3 Nursing Homes: Report”, by David Ruppe, July 30, 2016. |
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