South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

As a Pompano Beach nursing home abuse lawyer, I was dismayed to see a recent article about a nursing home fined for lax oversight of its patients. According to a Nov. 15 article in the Palm Beach Post, Homewood Residence was fined $7,500 by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration after a patient there died from drinking dishwashing detergent. Michael Gruen, the patient, was 93 and suffered from advanced Alzheimer’s disease when he got into the kitchen of the dementia unit and drank the solution, which was made of lye, a caustic chemical that causes burns on contact with skin. The facility admitted no responsibility when it reached the fine agreement with the state, but a spokesperson had previously said the facility could not have anticipated Gruen’s actions. It faced a fine of up to $10,000.

According to the article, Gruen got into the kitchen unsupervised late in December of 2009, while staff members were busy with another patient. The spokesperson said Gruen must have gotten into a cupboard and detached the dishwashing solution from the machine. A staff member found him standing over the container and asked if he had swallowed any, but he didn’t answer. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died 18 hours later of severe burns to his esophagus. Gruen’s case was the third leading to a fine for Homewood within two years. In 2009, the facility had paid a $3,000 fine for allowing a virus outbreak affecting 10 patients and a $1,500 fine for questionable treatment of bedsores. State records from 2008 show that inspectors had already warned Homewood about unsafe conditions in the dementia unit, where residents had access to dangerous objects like hot coffee pots, curling irons and chemicals.

I am extremely disappointed at the article’s suggestion that unsafe conditions have been allowed at this nursing home. But as a Tamarac nursing home abuse attorney, I’m also disappointed that the state hasn’t fined Homewood more harshly for Gruen’s death and its other safety violations. The average cost of nursing home care is $50,000 and rising, according to the AARP. If that’s true at Homewood, the $12,000 it’s paid in fines over two years is just under one-quarter of one resident’s yearly payment. Fines are intended to give shoddy nursing homes an incentive to change their ways, but fines this low are unlikely to make bad homes change their ways -- and they’re little comfort to victims. Nursing home patients and their families may be forced to seek justice and meaningful penalties against unsafe nursing homes by filing their own lawsuits in civil court, regardless of any professional or civil consequences the home faces.

Continue reading "Delray Beach Nursing Home Fined for Allowing Patient to Drink Deadly Dish Detergent" »

The only nursing home in the Lower Keys was forced to close its doors Dec. 11 after it lost its Medicare/Medicaid funding. The Miami Herald reported that the Key West Convalescent Center had its provider number revoked by the government agencies after almost four years of consistently negative reports on the center. The most recent report, conducted by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, found that residents were in “immediate jeopardy” from abuse as well as safety and administrative violations. The abuse cited includes verbal abuse, physical roughness and ignoring residents’ requests.

The closing uproots 78 residents. The only other home in the county, which is owned by the same parent company, has room for about 20 of them. The Herald article quotes several people -- one a resident -- who deny that there was abuse at the home. However, it also quotes family members of two other residents who suggest that the problems with the home stem from the parent company’s inaction rather than actions by the staff. If that’s the case, moving residents to the parent company’s other home in the Keys may not fix the problems. One man said he had seen years of failure to fix broken or dilapidated beds, wheelchairs and other equipment. This may not constitute nursing home abuse in Florida, but in many cases, it is clearly a form of nursing home neglect.

Although I sympathize with concerns about moving sick and fragile patients, I believe closing a home with such consistent neglect is the right move. As a Florida nursing home neglect lawyer, I know that neglect can make existing health problems worse or create new ones that complicate the patient’s overall health situation. Preventing bedsores, one of the most common injuries from nursing home neglect, requires staff to help disabled patients change positions every two hours. If a home is understaffed or otherwise underfunded by its parent company, these tasks may be pushed to the wayside simply because staff is overwhelmed by work. The result is that helpless patients suffer, and that is unacceptable.

Nursing home abuse and neglect in Florida make headlines because they victimize the most helpless among us -- the elderly, the ill, the disabled and people who cannot speak. As a state nursing home regulator told the Miami Herald, there should be zero tolerance for that behavior in Florida. When nursing homes and their staff abuse, exploit or neglect patients, victims and their families have a right to hold them legally responsible with a Florida nursing home abuse lawsuit (in addition to any criminal charges). Cohn, Smith & Cohn can help. If you believe someone you love is a victim and you’d like to learn more about your rights and your options, please contact us today for a free consultation.

A woman employed at a Broward County nursing home was arrested on charges of elder abuse, prosecutors announced Dec. 5. Television news station WPEC reported that a nursing aide at the home is accused of grabbing a resident by the collar and dragging her by the collar into her room. The resident is 88 years old and suffers from dementia. According to the station, the incident was caught on a hidden camera in the resident’s room. The state attorney general’s office began investigating the situation after it received a tip from the Florida Department of Children and Families. If convicted, the aide faces up to five years in prison.

As a Florida nursing home abuse lawyer, I’m very interested in the fact that this abuse was caught by a camera. The article doesn’t say whether the camera was the cause or the result of the investigation by the attorney general’s office, but it certainly turned out to be revealing. Nursing home residents with dementia are in an especially bad position to report abuse because they have trouble remembering things or holding on to reality; some cannot speak. Because of this, they are statistically more likely to be victims of abuse by caretakers. In fact, research published in the Geriatric Times found that five to 11 percent of adults with dementia are abused, which far exceeds the one to four percent of all older adults believed to be abused.

Every family with a loved one in a nursing home should be aware of this risk, especially now that the holidays may be inspiring more visits than usual. Adults with dementia or another mental impairment, such as Alzheimer’s disease or schizophrenia, may be difficult for caregivers to handle -- but abuse is never acceptable. Part of the reason that families place loved ones in nursing homes is to get the full-time, specialized care that a family member can’t provide. This is an act of trust that caregivers should repay by treating their charges with the same respect that they’d appreciate if the situation were reversed. When they fail, victims and families can and should hold them legally responsible with a Florida nursing home abuse lawsuit.

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse is just half of the story. Nursing home neglect -- staff ignoring residents’ needs, allowing irrational patients to wander and allowing patients to develop bedsores -- is actually more widespread. In addition to being an assault on the patient’s dignity, abuse and neglect can both be very dangerous to older patients, because they can exacerbate existing health problems or even create new ones that have a substantial negative effect on the patient’s quality of life. If you or someone you love is a victim of abuse or neglect at a Florida nursing home, our firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, would like to help. For a free consultation, please contact us today.

The Miami Herald reports that a Miami-Dade nursing home was placed under investigation by the police and three state agencies after a pediatrician found unexplained burns on a 12-year-old resident. Doctors found second-degree burns on the hands and thigh of the girl, who has severe cerebral palsy and can't communicate. An investigator from the state Agency for Health Care Administration, which regulates nursing homes, found no evidence that the girl had been burned, the paper reported, prompting a letter from the pediatrician to Gov. Charlie Crist criticizing the investigator for "apparent lack of due diligence" and suggesting that risk to other residents in the home is high.

The AHCA, the Department of Children and Families and Florida Medical Quality Assurance Inc. were all asked to investigate, along with Miami-Dade police. Compounding the problem is the fact that the girl is very disabled and needs help to perform daily tasks. In fact, the pediatrician and investigators believe that the burns are the result of neglect rather than abuse, in part because she's not well-equipped to provoke intentional abuse. However, no caregivers at the home could explain the burns and none stepped forward to confess. State records show eight complaints of abuse or neglect of children at the home, along with 66 regarding adult residents.

Nursing home abuse and neglect is always horrifying. People disabled or vulnerable enough to need full-time care are almost always unable to fight back; many aren't even able to tell anyone about the problems. The AHCA is supposed to shut down homes that don't meet standards, but as the doctor in this story complained, the system doesn't always work as intended. That's why it's so important for families to stay vigilant when they have a loved one in assisted care. As I have written before, families can also take advantage of the AHCA's online database that collects investigations of health care facilities.

The victim in this case may be getting extra attention because she's a child, but she could just as easily have been a disabled adult. No matter who is the victim, exploiting and abusing vulnerable people placed in your care is morally and legally wrong. If you believe someone you love is a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, you can take legal action with a Florida nursing home abuse lawsuit, regardless of whether there is any concurrent criminal case. To speak with an experienced Florida nursing home attorney about your case, please contact our firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, for a free consultation.

The State of Florida is the target of a class-action lawsuit by Medicaid recipients who say the state illegally forces them to enter nursing homes when they are healthy and able enough to stay home. According to the Associated Press, nearly 8,500 people in Florida institutions (backed by the AARP, among others) are part of the federal lawsuit, which claims that nursing homes' business sides have pressured politicians to make nursing homes the easiest choice for people on Medicaid, even if they could live with relatives or at home with the help of an aide.

It's easy to see why older folks would rather live at home than in an institution. Who wouldn't? For adults accustomed to running their own lives and making their own decisions, an institution can be a nightmare, especially if it is not run with the dignity of the residents in mind. In a few cases, institutions can hide and abet nursing home abuse or elder abuse, both of which are part of my legal practice, and both of which I work vigorously to stop for my clients. Nobody should be forced to go into an institution if they have a more comfortable choice available.

In fact, the article says, a nursing home or other institution may not even be the cheapest choice. For people who can live independently, a nurse's aide who drops by once or twice a day is by far cheaper than entering an institution, which provides meals, housing and constant care. However, says the article, it's more difficult to get this type of community-based care and the waiting list is longer. So if the allegations in the lawsuit are true, not only are older and disabled Floridians being stripped of their dignity, but every Florida taxpayer is paying for it.

Helping correct these sorts of injustices is one of the most rewarding parts of my work as a nursing home abuse and elder abuse lawyer. I look forward to learning more about this lawsuit. But if you believe someone you love is a victim of elder abuse or abuse at a nursing home, now is the time to act. Contact our firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, today for a free consultation.

Putting someone you love in a nursing home or other assisted-care facility is an act of trust, especially if you can’t be there every day. Most caregivers are worthy of that trust -- but a few horrific stories of nursing home abuse have taught us to be vigilant. The State of Florida has laws and programs in place to ensure that nursing homes, hospitals and other health care facilities remain safe. The resulting reports are public information, but until recently, they were only available in physical form.

As the Orlando Sentinel reported, that changed recently, when the state Agency for Health Care Administration started posting inspection reports online. To view the reports, visit the Consumer Resources page on the AHCA’s Web site and choose “Health Care Facility and Provider Inspection Reports.” In a brief search, I pulled up two pages of reports on nursing homes alone in Broward County. Most noted minor problems, but I found one that said staff members consistently ignore residents’ requests for help. One resident was left on the toilet for 10 minutes without help getting up, while another visually impaired resident was forced to eat with his or her (it didn’t specify) hands because the staff didn’t help.

This collection of online records is a great tool for families considering a new health care facility of any type, including nursing homes. Unfortunately, because of state laws, it can’t publish the reports of the most serious mistakes -- the ones that lead to a wrongful death or a serious personal injury. It also doesn’t have too many reports from before this year. But it’s a great starting point for families trying to get the best care possible for their loved ones.

If your best research and efforts haven’t protected your family from serious medical mistakes or disrespectful and negligent treatment, you can file a Florida nursing home abuse or medical malpractice lawsuit. Contact Cohn, Smith & Cohn for help understanding more about your legal options and your rights.