Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Many families are faced with the very disturbing possibility of having to place their elderly loved ones in a nursing home or assisted living facility. With that realization comes the understanding that you must find a facility that will provide adequate care and protection for your elderly family member so that you will not have to worry about their well-being on a daily basis. Unfortunately, in many cases that is far from reality.

The victim in this Florida nursing home case was 81 years old at the time of her death. She died as a result of a large right hemispheric subdural hematoma. She had been an inpatient at a Boca Raton adult community facility for several months and had been admitted with a diagnosis of hypertension, arthritis and senile dementia, Alzheimer’s type. With the help of her children, she had signed a contract for an apartment and continuous life care. Within this adult community was not only a skilled nursing facility, but an Alzheimer’s facility to which she could be admitted if needed.

This elderly lady had sold her home up north after her husband passed away and took all of those profits to buy into the facility where she and her family believed she would be taken care of for the rest of her life; going from an apartment to a skilled facility and to an Alzheimer’s facility if necessary. Their belief of total care, as represented by this facility, was sadly not true. This victim had a very close and doting family who were quite traumatized by the method of her death. She was admitted to Boca Raton Community Hospital with decreased mental status, and a CT scan of the head showed the large right hemispheric subdural hematoma with a shift right to left, most of which was chronic with acute components. The family was devastated to learn that apparently their mother had sustained blunt trauma to her brain and head, not only once, but several times.

The family believed that this was a case of inadequate and inappropriate protective and supportive services for their mother and contacted Attorney Richard D. Schuler for his assistance. Mr. Schuler investigated the case fully and advised the facility that his investigation revealed that the facility not only consistently failed to provide adequate protective and supportive services for this victim, but that the center knew of her frequent escapes and falls and did not take appropriate preventive measures. The facility failed to move her to a locked facility, which they had available for just such a circumstance, or any other locked Alzheimer’s unit under their ownership. Furthermore, the medical facility was aware that this victim was suffering from Alzheimer’s/dementia, a condition which creates confusion and disorientation, and had impaired cognitive skills. They have recorded this in the medical records. Further, they were aware of her deteriorating mental status and documented in the chart that she had a need for a private duty aide from the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. because of the risk of injury.

An Interdisciplinary Progress Note from the facility stated that if medication could not control the patient so that she interacted more consistently with the staff and residents, her safety could not be guaranteed in their facility. It went on to say that there were locked facilities in the area that might better meet her needs. However, nothing was ever done to follow up on this problem.

In this instance, the facility’s actual knowledge of the victim’s condition from medical records in its possession, as well as pre-existing problems, coupled with the facility’s failure to provide adequate supervision to prevent this incident or transfer the victim to an Alzheimer’s unit, as had been previously recommended by her physician, enabled Mr. Schuler to settle this case with the nursing facility without the necessity of a trial, and finally bring some closure to this grieving family.

It is not always abuse that causes deaths in nursing homes. Many times, it is simple neglect. People place their loved ones in nursing homes so that they will receive medical treatment and because they are unable to care for them and be there for them at all times as in a nursing home. Unfortunately, however, many times some nursing homes are not the safest place for the elderly.

The victim in this Florida nursing home case was 72 years old at the time of his death. Two days before he had been transported via ambulance to Delray Community Hospital after he fell from his wheelchair and hit his head on the floor. As a result of this fall, he sustained a laceration to the right forehead and a right subarachnoid hemorrhage with left inferior occipital area hemorrhage consistent with contrecoup and a laceration to his forehead.

An investigation indicated that the nursing home not only consistently failed to provide adequate protective and supportive services for this gentleman, but that the facility knew and documented his cognitive losses in short and long term memory and periods of delirium with his mental function varying over the course of the day. He had also had previous falls and had tried to climb out of bed. The nursing home records reflect that from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. he had a private sitter with him. The family had hired a private sitter as they were told by the staff that they couldn’t watch him continuously. His wife, who was 70 years old, tried to be with him the other 12 hours of the day. At one point the nurses have documented that the patient was placed in a wheelchair up by the nurse’s station as the patient had tried to get up and walk alone several times.

On the morning of the incident in question, the patient was found on the floor of his room with no apparent injuries noted.

Unfortunately, despite the facility’s knowledge of the victim’s dementia, memory loss and confused state, it did not see fit to use any type of safety device to prevent him from getting out of his wheelchair. Also, the medical records reflect that the employees of the nursing home did not keep the head of this victim’s bed elevated to 45 degrees as required of a patient getting G-Tube feedings, nor did they do the other preventative measures which were the standard.

Continue reading "Inadequate Care Results in Death of Dementia Patient in Delray Beach, Florida " »

Making a decision to place your loved one in a nursing home is a very difficult decision, and the fact that there is such widespread abuse and neglect in nursing homes makes it even more difficult. It is a sad fact that abuse and neglect of the elderly happens every day and it can be either physical, emotional, or simply negligence.

Nursing homes are big business and very profitable. Total nursing home revenues have topped 55 billion dollars. Some nursing homes are privately owned, or non-profit charity-related organizations. Many of these homes are also managed by management companies for profit. It is important to ask who operates the facilities you are interested in. Nursing homes are regulated by the federal government and managed by individual states to assure that they provide adequate care and activities for their residents.

More families are currently having to rely on nursing homes and assisted living facilities to care for their family members and loved ones than ever before. It is hard to imagine that, rather than receiving the care we expect, those we love and cherish are abused or neglected in these facilities. Unfortunately, this type of horrific treatment does occur, and many elderly residents suffer in silence.

Abuse can come in many forms – verbal, physical or sexual. This abuse can be difficult to detect, especially in homes where abuse has become the norm and workers turn the other way and don’t report problems. These elderly victims are frequently unable to communicate about the ways they are abused. Many times, the victims may not even understand themselves what is happening. Family members need to be especially vigilant and look for the signs when they visit. If you suspect nursing home abuse or neglect, some of the solutions are:

• Visit frequently and vary your visits to different times of the day and week to enable you to assess the care provided at all times.

• Talk to nurses, aides, the doctor, the Director of Nurses, Social Worker and the Administrator about your concerns.

• Find out who the state licensing agency is from your nursing home. In each state there is a division of the Department of Health that deals with oversight of nursing homes and enforcement of the nursing home rules and regulations. This agency investigates complaints filed by family members and conducts yearly surveys of each nursing home.

• You can and should file a complaint with state Licensing and Certification if you believe the nursing home resident is a victim of abuse or neglect by the nursing home.

The signs of abuse range from physical signs like broken bones and bruises, to noticeable changes in a victim’s mood or behavior. It is easier to spot physical abuse, but often times, this is blamed on a fall or claimed to be the fault of the victim. It is important to note the body language of your loved one. If you observe cowering, flinching or wide-eyed looks from a victim, it could indicate that there is some form of abuse going on.

If you suspect that your loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, don’t delay calling the law firm of Schuler, Halvorson and Weisser, P.A. to discuss this matter with one of our experienced, knowledgeable attorneys. As always, there is never a fee unless we make a recovery on your behalf.

It is a very heart wrenching moment when you have to face placing one of your elderly parents in a nursing home. You hear the horror stories, but you want to believe that after you’ve done your homework and researched all of the facilities in your local area, that once your loved one is settled into the nursing home, they will be well cared for. Unfortunately, it is a sad fact that this is not always what happens, as we see here in this Florida nursing home negligence case.

This husband and wife had been living in an apartment in the assisted living portion of this well-known nursing facility in Boca Raton, Florida for some time. However, as time went on, the husband began suffering from Alzheimer’s dementia and would wander. He was also legally blind. When the decline in his cognitive abilities became quite evident to both his family and the medical staff, it was mutually decided that the husband should be moved to a higher level of care within the facility, with the wife to stay in the apartment in the assisted living section. He was allowed to visit his wife’s apartment when attended on these trips by a nursing home attendant.

However, on several occasions, he was found wandering aimlessly around the facility and would state “I got lost”, or would wander to his wife’s apartment without assistance. Several times the medical records from the nursing facility stated that he had “periods of confusion”and “wanders at times”. Because of this wandering propensity, this gentleman wore a bracelet that was connected to an alarm system within the facility.

One January evening, the couples’ daughter took them out to dinner at an area restaurant. Because the next day was her mother’s birthday, the daughter asked her mother to stay with her for the evening at her home in Tequesta, Florida. Before they left for the evening, they left voice mail messages for the head of the nursing home’s medical unit and the director of nursing, and told them that she would be away and that her husband should not visit their apartment. In addition, they also placed a note on her husband’s room in the medical unit to this effect. In spite of all this, there were security people and other nursing home employees that had seen her husband walking outside the medical unit later on that particular evening.

The next evening while the wife was still at their daughter’s home, the husband had dinner in his room at approximately 6:00 p.m. At approximately 8:00 p.m. his room was checked and he was not in his room. The records reflect that at this time, the staff started a search throughout the facility, including the apartments, parking lots, and outside the facility, but were unsuccessful in locating the patient. It was later learned that the alarm system which connected to the patient’s bracelet had not been working at the time.

Continue reading "Elderly Patient Leaves Nursing Home in Boca Raton Unattended and Dies" »

Negligence and abuse in nursing home cases is a shocking reality for thousands of older Americans, and the ultimate result is often serious and even life-threatening problems for nursing home residents.

It was a very hard decision for this wife of 27 years to have to place her husband in a nursing home, but he had started wandering away from home and at the age of 76, she felt she was unable to keep an eye on him and keep him safe from harm. So, she did the only thing she felt she could do, but she was a frequent companion to her husband while he was in the rehabilitation center and he was the light of her life. Their conversations and time together were one of her reasons for living.

An investigation into this case indicated that the nursing home consistently failed to provide adequate protective and supportive services for this elderly gentleman, and the nursing home knew that it’s facility was in disrepair to the extent that the sliding glass door in this patient’s room was broken and off track and allowed it to remain in the open position, in fact, it could not be closed. The nursing home failed to fix this problem although it had more than six (6) months’ notice of the disrepair.

The nursing home staff was fully aware that this patient was suffering from dementia, a condition which creates confusion and disorientation and was aware that he had previously left the facility, undetected, and wandered about outside the premises without the knowledge of the nursing home staff until found. In fact, the nursing home staff had previously called the patient’s wife thinking that he was at home when, in fact, they had completely lost track of him and didn’t know where he was.

The nursing home claimed to have wrist bracelets which, if used, would have electronically alerted its staff that the patient had left the facility. Unfortunately, despite the facility’s knowledge of this patient’s dementia condition, it did not see fit to use such a wrist bracelet with him and therefore disregarded its own safety device, which was available, under the very conditions it was designed for.

Continue reading "Patient Wanders Away From Nursing Home in Boca Raton, Florida and Drowns" »