Nursing Home Abuse

Suing Nursing Homes for Abuse, Neglect Just Got Less Difficult

November 8, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department, the agency that oversees and controls more than $1 trillion in Medicaid and Medicare funding has made a bold move to protect the rights of nursing home patients and their families. The agency has just issued a new rule that prohibits any nursing home that receives federal funding (pretty much all of them) from forcing victims of elder abuse, sexual harassment or wrongful death into private arbitration dispute resolution, rather than court.

The rule would affect nursing homes across the nation caring for approximately 1.5 million residents.

Arbitration agreements, often stuffed into the admissions paperwork, require patients and their families to settle their complaints about the quality of care or serious abuse before a private arbitrator. The outcomes of these dispute resolutions are often heavily skewed in favor of the industry. Not only are damage awards less likely, they are lower when they are awarded. Arbitrators aren’t required to follow the law and their proceedings are not made public. Although this has tremendously aided the nursing home industry in driving down litigation costs, it has proven a serious roadblock to justice for elderly patients and families of patients who have been abused and neglected. Continue reading ›

Maree v. Neuwirth – Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit Complicated by Organizational Structure

June 20, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The organizational structure of nursing homes and long-term care centers throughout the country has created challenges for nursing home negligence lawyers seeking to hold these companies and staffers accountable for abuse and neglect of the elderly.

It used to be that in most cases of nursing home abuse or neglect, plaintiffs could be relatively certain that a lawsuit naming the facility and/or its staffers would generally cover all possible defendants. What we are seeing more frequently is a situation where nursing homes use complex management structures that obscure the entities responsible for delivering care. They often set up a number of sub-companies that de-centralize ownership and separate real estate ownership from operations, etc. All that can make it difficult for residents and their families to seek compensation from the appropriate parties through litigation.

That was an issue that cropped up in the case of Maree v. Neuwirth, recently before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Continue reading ›

Court Clarifies Liability for Duty to Report Nursing Home Abuse

May 31, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

In Florida, as in many states, there are legal requirements that identify mandatory reporters who must report suspicions of abuse of children or vulnerable adults – including elderly adults residing in a nursing home. Professionally mandated reporters include (but are not limited to):

Staff at adult day care centers;

Bank officers;

Novosett v. Arc Villages – Nursing Home Arbitration Agreement Scrapped for Damage Caps

April 7, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeal scrapped a nursing home arbitration agreement because of an unenforceable damage cap contained therein – one that the court said went to the financial heart of the agreement.

In Estate of Novosett v. Arc Villages, the court decided that because this part of the agreement was not enforceable, the entire agreement was unenforceable. That leaves plaintiff free to pursue remedy through the courts, as opposed to being forced to take the case before an arbitrator.

Still, justices asked the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on whether arbitration could be compelled based on the severability clause of the contract. Continue reading ›

Report: Snapchat Increasingly Cited in Nursing Home Abuse Cases

February 18, 2016 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

If you’re over the age of 35, you could be forgiven for not being familiar with “Snapchat.” But it’s worth learning about, considering it has more than 200 million active users and is one of the fastest social media apps in the world. It’s also being cited in an alarming number of nursing home abuse cases across the country.

Take for example:

In August, two aides at a nursing home in Massachusetts were arrested for reportedly posting humiliating videos of several nursing home residents. One involved an 86-year-old woman sitting on the toilet being asked questions about her sex life. Another was a 75-year-old woman under the caption, “Chuckie’s Bride.” In another, a 99-year-old woman tries to break free of the aide who is hugging her in her bed, telling her she loves her.
In California, sheriff’s officials in San Diego launched an investigation after a Snapchat video depicted an elderly nursing home patient nude in the shower, while a worker stands behind her laughing.
In Illinois, a nursing assistant films as another slaps the face of a 97-year-old dementia patient with a nylon strap as the woman begs for the pair to stop. The workers laugh at her.
In Ohio, a nursing assistant recorded residents who were coached to say, “I’m in love with coco,” which is slang for cocaine.
Most recently in Wisconsin, a former nursing assistant at a Wisconsin assisted living facility was arrested on felony charges after allegedly taking video of a mostly naked patient and posting on Snapchat. The patient is 93-years-old and suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The 21-year-old former worker faces up to 1.5 years in prison.

Obama Administration Considers Tackling Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements

November 2, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently received a report from an organization called Public Justice addressing the problem of mandatory arbitration agreements for nursing home patients and residents of long-term care facilities.

Arbitration agreements are contracts that an increasing number of nursing homes require new patients and/or their representatives to sign upon admission to the facility. These contracts bind the parties, in the event of a dispute regarding care (i.e., a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit) to engage in arbitration, rather than civil litigation. The benefits to the process are numerous for the nursing homes, as the process tends to result in more favorable outcomes for them and proceedings are confidential. Plus, arbitrators aren’t bound by decisions made by other courts or even other arbitrators. These clauses can also block class action lawsuits.

However, by forfeiting the right to civil litigation, potential claimants lose a number of important rights. Continue reading ›

Hattiesburg Health & Rehab Center v. Brown – Nursing Home Arbitration Agreement

August 30, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Residential agreements are required by most – if not all – nursing home residents at the time of admission.

In some cases, these agreements simply lay out the financial obligation of resident seeking placement. However, an increasing number of homes are requiring residents and/or their representatives to sign arbitration agreements. These are essentially contracts that prohibit a resident from filing a lawsuit in court in the event of negligence or abuse resulting in harm to the resident. Instead, they are required to submit any claim to binding arbitration.

What many people don’t understand is that this is a forfeiture of a constitutional right. Although arbitration can yield favorable results to plaintiffs, a court of law is typically the best forum to weigh these complex cases. Plaintiffs tend to have a higher success rate in court and damages awarded are often significantly more substantial. Continue reading ›

Study: Impact Absorbent Floor May Reduce Injuries to Nursing Home Residents

April 18, 2015 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Swedish researchers recently tackled the issue of falls in nursing homes in an effort to explore outside-the-box ways of preventing serious injury.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report notes the incidence rate for falls in nursing homes is about three times the rate of those who live in the greater community. In fact, the latest figures show 1.7 falls every year per bed. That means more than likely, residents fall multiple times a year.

The consequences of these falls are serious. Between 10 and 25 percent result in a fracture, laceration or need for hospital care.
Continue reading ›

Mattox v. Life Care Centers of America – Nursing Home Fall Lawsuit

November 20, 2014 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Older adults are not only more prone to suffer falls, they are more likely to incur serious and lasting physical harm as a result of a fall.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a typical nursing home with 100 beds reports 100 to 200 falls a year. However, it’s important to note many falls are never reported. Most patients fall more than once, and about 35 percent of those who suffer falls in nursing homes can’t walk. An estimated 1,800 nursing home residents die as a result of falls annually.

Most of these incidents are largely preventable. Nursing home staffers know or should know who is at risk of falling, and take appropriate preventative measures. That is exactly what plaintiffs in Mattox v. Life Care Centers of America, Inc. alleged did not happen. Plaintiffs contend their 88-year-old mother suffered a fall as a result of negligent care. Her health rapidly deteriorated soon after the fall, and she died the following day in the hospital.
Continue reading ›

Boler v. Security Health Care – Nursing Home Arbitration Contract Not Upheld

October 30, 2014 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Many nursing homes, upon admission, put before patients and patient representatives a huge stack of papers to sign. Buried among those is likely an “arbitration agreement,” or a promise that if a dispute arises as to the level of care, it will be resolved by an arbitrator, rather than resolved in court.

What many people don’t realize is that by signing these documents, they may be signing away the right to have their case heard before a judge or jury. Arbitration can be costly, drawn out, and even if the case is decided in a plaintiff’s favor, isn’t likely to result in compensation figures as high as what a jury might have awarded. There is often little to no benefit to a nursing home resident or relative to sign these documents.

While arbitration agreements are considered legally-binding contracts, courts in many instances have found them to be void for being unconscionable. That is, they are generally written so as to tip the scales heavily in favor of the facility, and many people don’t even realize they are signing such a serious legal document, as it’s often not specially flagged within that paperwork. There are many cases too in which relatives sign on behalf of the patient when they lack the proper legal authority to do so.
Continue reading ›