New York Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

A Kings (Brooklyn) County jury recently returned a $19 million verdict in favor of the family of 76 year-old nursing home resident, John Danzy, who developed more than 20 bedsores (pressure sores/decubiti) at Brooklyn-Queens Nursing Home. The award included $3.75 million for pain and suffering and $15 million in punitive damages. Mr. Danzy died from sepsis the source of which was the infected bedsores.

At trial, it became apparent that staff members at Brooklyn-Queens Nursing Home had falsified records in Mr. Danzy's medical chart in attempt to cover-up the neglect. In addition, the nursing home staff reportedly failed to turn and position Mr. Danzy at appropriate intervals (the standard is that those "at risk" to develop bedsores should be turned and positioned at least every 2 hours).

The jury deliberated for two days after the four week trial before returning the verdict. The verdict is reportedly the first in New York to assess punitive damages against a nursing home.

Website Resources:

Senior-home hell, NY Post, Alex Ginsberg, December 28, 2009.

New York State Veterans Home in Queens (NYC) received immediate jeopardy deficiencies (immediate jeopardy are the most severe) resulting from incidents of substandard quality of care for failing to keep the facility free from accident hazards, and for failing to implement policies and procedures related to resident smoking practices. These findings were part of a June 29, 2009 NYS Department of Health survey.

The surveyors found that the Queens nursing home staff and administration failed to implement appropriate policies and procedures related to resident smoking practices; failed to adequately assess/reassess the residents smoking abilities and update care plans; failed to provide supervision for residents who smoke in the designated smoking areas; failed to ensure that the residents were utilizing the appropriate receptacle to extinguish cigarettes/smoking materials; and failed to ensure that the designated smoking area was maintained free of litter of cigarettes butts.

As a result of the deficiencies, New York State took the following action according to a Long-Term Community Care Coalition report:

1) Civil Money Penalty: State recommends to CMS;
2) State Monitoring: state sends in a monitor to oversee correction;
3) Directed Plan Of Correction (DPOC): A plan that is developed by the State or the Federal regional office to require a facility to take action within specified timeframes. In New York State the facility is directed to analyze the reasons for the deficiencies and identify steps to correct the problems and ways to measure whether its efforts are successful;
4) In-Service Training: State directs in-service training for staff; the facility needs to go outside for help; and
5) Denial of Payments for New Admissions (DoPNA): Facility will not be paid for any new Medicare or Medicaid residents until correction is in place.

Beth Abraham Health Services, a Bronx (NYC) nursing home facility, was recently fined $21,150 by the federal government based on findings of substandard care in a April 27, 2009 inspection, according to a Long-Term Care Community Coalition report. The facility was sanctioned due to its failure to properly monitor and act upon a 66 year-old resident's PT/INR levels.

The staff at the Bronx facility failed to obtain PT/INR readings for a 7 day period. The resident was administered her normal Coumadin doses over the 7 days. Coumadin is an anticoagulant with a known risk of causing bleeds. The resident presented at a nearby hospital with critical lab values (an INR of 10 - normal range is 2-3), and then died at the hospital 2 days later from a bleed in the brain.

The facility was also cited for not having a written policy in place regarding the reporting of critical lab values.

The U.S. government estimates that over 5 million people are victimized by elder abuse each year. Furthermore, it is estimated that 84% of cases go unreported. Elder abuse comes in many forms including, physical or sexual abuse, neglect and financial exploitation. Below is a video promoting the passing of the Elder Justice Act.

A recent study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA) indicates that surveyors routinely failed to detect quality care issues with respect to the assistance provided by nursing home staff members at mealtime. As we have discussed many times on this blog, malnutrition and dehydration are two of the most common and most important issues facing nursing home residents.

According to the JAMDA website, "Guidelines written for government surveyors who assess nursing home (NH) compliance with federal standards contain instructions to observe the quality of mealtime assistance. However, these instructions are vague and no protocol is provided for surveyors to record observational data. This study compared government survey staff observations of mealtime assistance quality to observations by research staff using a standardized protocol that met basic standards for accurate behavioral measurement."

The study found that nutritional care (or lack thereof) is a significant problem in long-term care facilities, and noted that it is underdetected in the survey process. The researchers that conducted the study call for surveyor training on this issue that fosters more accurate and consistent observation of feeding assistance issues and a "standardized protocol to organize and guide" surveyor observations.

The family of a resident at a California nursing home, Fillmore Convalescent Center, was recently awarded $7.75 million in a case involving nursing home abuse. The resident was a 71-year-old stroke victim.

The attorneys for the resident and her family showed the jury a secret videotape of the woman being abused. Members of the residents family became suspicious after they noticed that their mother was bruised. They complained to management at the facility, but apparently the facility failed to investigate. As a result, the family took it upon themselves to set-up the hidden camera.

She videotape reportedly showed a member of the nursing staff slapping the resident, pulling her around by the hair, bending her neck, fingers and wrists, and treating her violently in a shower chair. The jury deliberated for two days before announcing the verdict: $2.75 million in actual damages and $5 million in punitive damages.

Website Resources:

$7.75 million awarded in abuse case - Elderly victim a patient at Fillmore facility, Ventura County Star, Stephanie Hoops, December 11, 2009.

In a March 9, 2009 survey conducted at Rivington House - The Nicholas A. Rango Health Care Facility , a Manhattan (NYC) nursing facility, surveyors found that the NYC facility failed to develop and implement policy and procedures to track and monitor laboratory orders and results. The 52 year-old resident that was the subject of the investigation was admitted to the facility with a medical history of Coronary Artery Disease, status post a bypass graft, and Hypercholesteremia.

The resident had been prescribed Coumadin for DVT prophylaxis after the bypass graft surgery. However, PT/INR (Prothrombin Time/ International Normalized Ratio) tests were not performed for two consecutive weeks as ordered. Once recognized, the resident was admitted to the hospital with critical lab values, and then subsequently expired at the hospital due to a cerebral hemorrhage.

The surveyors found that the NYC facility had no system in place to ensure that all physician laboratory orders, specifically standing orders, are completed. They also found that Rivington House failed to implement a system to ensure that the labs were actually drawn and the results subsequently obtained. As a result of the surveyors' findings and the facility's neglect, Rivington House was fined $45,750 in federal sanctions.

A former nursing assistant in an Illinois nursing home recently admitted in court that she failed to properly ascertain the whereabouts of all residents after a door alarm sounded at approximately 2 am in the winter. Instead of conducting a bed check after the alarm sounded, the nursing assistant returned to watching television. She later conducted a bed check at approximately 5 am and found that an 89 year-old resident was missing.

The resident's frozen body was discovered in the courtyard of the facility. She had fallen and injured her chin and leg, and eventually died from hypothermia. Local police also reported that the aide tried to cover-up the incident by returning her to her bed and changing her clothes. A civil lawsuit has been commenced by the resident's family alleging nursing home neglect and abuse and wrongful death.

Four additional employees at a Long Island, NY nursing home, Medford Multicare Center, have been arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a patient and falsifying business records in order to conceal neglect. Two of the arrests were made as part of the New York State Attorney General's ongoing use of hidden cameras.

Attorney General Cuomo stated, "Today's arrests highlight this office's ongoing effort to investigate and prosecute individuals who shamelessly mistreat Long Island's most vulnerable patients. My office will continue to use innovative techniques, including surveillance cameras, to expose and bring to justice anyone jeopardizing those who cannot care for themselves. Let me be clear that this is an ongoing, expanding investigation and the charges brought today underscore my commitment to protect elderly patients at nursing homes across the state."

LPN Janet Coleman, 49, of Moriches, New York, allegedly, among other instances of neglect, allegedly falsified medical records to conceal the fact that she failed to provide treatment to a resident's gastrostomy tube site. CNA, Marie Pierre, 35, of Elmont, New York, allegedly failed to perform Range of Motion exercises on a resident to prevent his muscles from contracting; failed to turn and position a resident to prevent skin breakdown and pressure ulcers (bedsores, decubitis ulcers); and failed to change a resident every two hours.

Another CNA, Paulette George, allegedly failed to bathe a resident for weeks and falsified records to indicate that the resident had been showered. LPN Kim Purdum, 36, of South Beach, New York, allegedly falsified a resident's chart to conceal that she had not performed necessary blood tests to monitor dosage of Coumadin, a blood thinning medication. The lack of this routine testing and monitoring resulted in the resident suffering internal bleeding and extensive external bruising.

Website Resources:

New York State Attorney General, Cuomo's Hidden-Camera Investigation Nets More Employees of Medford Multicare Center for Endangering Patients and Falsifying Records to Conceal Neglect, October 30, 2009.

Continue reading "NY Elder Abuse: Attorney General Uses Hidden Cameras To Bring Charges Against Four Long Island (NY) Nursing Home Employees" »

Medford Multicare Center For Living, a Suffolk County, Long Island, NY nursing home must pay a $35,300 civil penalty due to neglect of a resident that was caught on videotape.

Two certified nurses' aides (C.N.A.'s) at the nursing home transferred a 94 year-old resident from her bed to a wheelchair without using a hoyer lift as called for in the resident's care plan. The resident complained of pain and two days later an x-ray confirmed that she had a fractured femur. Both employees provided false written accounts of the incident to the facility.

Website Resources:

Long-Term Care Community Coalition, Enforcement Actions

Continue reading "Suffolk County (NY) Nursing Home Fined For Cover-up And Falsification Of Records After Resident Breaks Hip" »

A nursing home neglect and wrongful death case involving the development of a Stage IV bedsore (pressure sore, decubitis ulcer) has been postponed by an Oregon court until 2010. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim that during a 49 day admission to Evergreen Milton Freewater Health & Rehabilitation Center, Alice Train, a 90 year-old diabetic, lost the ability to walk, suffered significant weight loss, developed a severe pressure ulcer and contracted pneumonia.

Barbara Dickinson, Ms. Train's daughter, reportedly "found her mother sitting in a wheelchair soaked in her own urine." On a later date, while changing her mother's diaper, she found a wound under a dressing on her tailbone. When she removed the dressing she "discovered a wound that contained necrotic (dead) tissue and exuded a putrid odor."

Defense attorneys for Milton-Freewater requested additional time to prepare their defense.

Website Resources:
Family seeks $7.5 million in wrongful death lawsuit, East Oregonian, Phil Wright, November 17, 2009.

Continue reading "Bedsore (Pressure Sore, Decubitis Ulcer) Trial Postponed" »

Sepsis can be the result of a bedsore (pressure sore, decubitis ulcer) that is allowed to develop and progress. Sepsis occurs when bacteria enters the bloodstream through the broken skin and spreads throughout the body. Not surprisingly, then, nursing home residents with pressure sores are at risk for developing an infection, and ultimately sepsis if left untreated. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that can lead to septic shock, a sometimes fatal drop in blood pressure and/or organ failure.

In order for sepsis to be treated effectively, immediate intervention is necessary. IV antibiotics, vasopressors and/or corticosteroids are the routine options for treatment. Unfortunately, in many cases we have seen, by the time sepsis is diagnosed after a transfer from a nursing home to a hospital, no intervention implemented by hospital physicians and staff can prevent the patient's untimely death.

Website Reources:

Sepsis - Mayoclinic

Bedsores (pressure sores): Complications - Mayoclinic

Continue reading "Sepsis And Its Relationship To Bedsores (Pressure Sores)" »

The family of an 87 year-old Orange County, NY nursing home resident recently settled a case involving allegations of dehydration, malnutrition and the development of multiple bedsores (pressure sores, decubitis ulcers) for $525,000. The plaintiff was reportedly admitted to St. Teresa's Nursing Home in Middletown, NY with a history of dementia, heart failure and hypothyroidism.

The Estate claimed that the nursing home failed to provide the decedent with appropriate hydration and nutrition over a three month period, which resulted in the development of three Stage IV bedsores (pressure sore, decubitis ulcers). The bedsores became infected and the plaintiff died from sepsis. A lawsuit was filed claiming gross negligence, medical malpractice, and violations of the New York State Public Health Law Section 2801-d.

Continue reading "Bedsore Lawsuit Against Orange County (NY) Nursing Home Settles For $525,000" »

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have given East Haven Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in the Bronx, NY its lowest rating (one out of five stars) due to below average findings in three categories: 1) health inspections, 2) nursing home staffing and 3) quality measures. Based on a June 15, 2009 survey, the Bronx facility was found to have failed to provide each resident with the highest quality of life possible, failed to provide professional services in accordance with each resident's written care plan, and failed to meet a professional standard of quality.

More specifically, the Bronx facility failed to monitor resident's bowel status to prevent fecal impaction, which resulted in actual harm to the resident.

Continue reading "East Haven Nursing Home In Bronx (NYC) Receives Lowest Rating From CMS" »

According to a 2008 poll conducted by the American Nurses Association, 73% of nurses polled do not believe the staffing on their unit or shift is sufficient. Over 10,000 nurses nationwide were surveyed. The survey also found the following:

• 59.8% of the nurses polled knew of someone who left direct care nursing due to concerns about safe staffing;
• Of the 51.9% of nurses polled who are considering leaving their current position, 46% cite inadequate staffing as the reason;
• 51.7% of the nurses polled opined that the quality of nursing care on their unit has declined in the last year; and
• 48.2% of the nurses polled would not feel confident having someone close to them receiving care in the facility where they work.

ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, explained in a recent press release, "Safe nurse staffing has been linked to more positive patient outcomes, decreased length of
hospital stay, and decreased number of medical errors and patient falls. It has also been shown to improve nurse satisfaction and decrease burnout, both significant factors contributing to nurses leaving the profession."

The New York Elder Abuse Attorneys at Gallivan & Gallivan have successfully represented many victims of abuse and neglect whose main complaint about their nursing home or hospital was understaffing. We have seen first-hand, that short-staffing can result in falls/fractures, bedsores (pressure sores, pressure ulcers, decubitus ulcers), malnutrition and dehydration, and or abuse.

If you or a loved one is being neglected due to a facility's decision not to hire an appropriate number of nurses and/or nurse's aides, please contact us for a free consultation.