New York Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

An investigation conducted over the past year by The New York Times highlights disturbing trends of abuse in group homes run for the mentally challenged and developmentally disabled. The emphasis of the survey, the lack of discipline imposed upon delinquent employees of such homes, underscores the importance of diligent oversight by not only authorities, but also families of the residents of these homes.

While this blog often focuses on neglect, the Times survey examines the aftermath of proactive abuse on residents of group homes. The report documents the cyclical nature of the abuse, with employees being transferred to other homes after violent, often criminal, incidents rather than facing actual sanction, dismissal, or criminal charges. This can be credited to lack of resources, diminished capacity and inability of residents to explain the circumstances of abuse or simply apathy from administration. Regardless of cause, however, the graphic depictions of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse cited in the Times investigation are less disturbing than the lack of repurcussions for those accused of these actions.

The report goes into case-specific information of several cases of abuse, transfer, further abuse, transfer, etc. The idea that employees at these homes are under-trained, under-paid under-motivated, and over-stressed does not excuse overt abuse. Inattention to this abuse makes administrators and supervisors complicit. While the report does not offer a comprehensive solution to the ongoing issue of group home abuse, making it known to the public is a good first step. Administrations of homes, law enforcement, and the judiciary must be more conscientious in enforcing the legislation put in place to protect group home residents, as they would protect any other vulnerable member of our society.

Website Resource: At State-Run Homes, Abuse and Impunity

New York Times, Danny Hakim, March 12, 2011

The Long Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC) has just released a major report, funded by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, on the state of assisted living care and oversight in New York State. The report found that many adult homes, enriched housing and assisted living residences are violating the state's care rules and are either harming their residents or putting them at risk for harm and that few facilities causing harm or risk of harm had an enforcement action taken against them unless they actually endangered their residents.

The study uncovered numerous reasons for these findings and presents recommendations for changes, including:

· The state does not require residences to train their care staff with a mandated training curriculum; better training of direct care staff must be encouraged, particularly for individuals dealing with medication by mandating a specific curriculum.

· Administrators are not required to be licensed; the state must require licensure; running an adult home or assisted living residence, especially an impacted home or one that has special/enhanced needs certification, requires specific training and competencies and oversight.

· Facilities are now only required to give 3.75 hours of personal care per week to each resident. This is not enough time to care for many residents, especially those on multiple medications; the state must require facilities to provide residents with additional hours of care per week.

· Many facilities violating the rules and regulations cannot be fined because state law does not permit the Department to sanction them if they correct within 30 days (except for an endangerment violation); social services law must be amended to permit such sanctions.

· State law permits only per day fines and only up to $1000 a day fines for violations; per violation must be permitted in addition to per day fines and the amounts must be increased.

· There are too few attorneys to prepare enforcement cases; the NYS Legislature and the Governor must allocate sufficient funds to ensure adequate inspection and enforcement in the Department's budget.

Robert Knowles, a quadriplegic from East Yaphank, New York, was left with severe brain damage and a propensity for seizures after nurses at Medford Multicare Center on Long Island allegedly ignored an alarm that his ventilator had dislodged. A lawsuit filed by Knowles' family alleges the injuries occurred after nurses waited for approximately 24 minutes to assist as the alarm sounded. According to those who have seen surveillance video, the nurses failed to respond as a flashing light on the computer monitor flashed, indicating that the ventilator had dislodged.

The Attorney General's office is currently investigating the incident.

Website Resource:

LI nurses 'ignored' gasp man, New York Post, Reuven Blau, November 28, 2010

An Arizona jury awarded $11,000,000 in damages ($2,000,000 for the decedent, $5,000,000 for his widow, and $4,000,000 in punitive damages) in a case involving outrageous incidents of abuse perpetrated by employees at Liberty Manor Residence, an assisted living facility. The verdict is the highest reported amount awarded to a plaintiff in a case against an assisted living facility.

The plaintiff-decedent, a 36 year-old male, was in a coma after suffering a brain injury in a car accident. As a result, his wife placed him in an assisted living facility while she continued to work as a teacher. One evening, Mrs. Scherer received a call from Liberty Manor indicating that her husband was vomiting. She quickly drove to the facility and took him home. Upon arrival at their home, he began vomiting black material and passed away with his wife at his side.

An autopsy found paper towels, candy wrappers, and ketchup packaets in the plaintiff's stomach. The cause of death was mechanical obstruction of the gastrintestinal tract. In addition, the jury was shown evidence of the facility's false charting (the staff had documented that care was provided when Mr. Scherer was not present in the facility).

Gallivan & Gallivan, Attorneys at Law, represents individuals who have been injured as a result of abuse and/or neglect in assisted living and nursing home facilities. Please contact us if you or a loved one has suffered such an injury.