Discovery of Abuse, Neglect, and Irresponsibility, in Adult Foster Care Facilities

On Tuesday, May 19^th, a state audit on The Adult Foster Care and Homes for the Aged Licensing Division revealed the agency’s disturbing misconduct and improper treatment of patients. The findings of the audit are based on a random sample of state-licensed adult foster care facilities around the state.

The summary of the audit first highlights how the agency failed to report 25% of patient neglect and abuse complaints to the Adult Protective Services (APS) from 2010-2014. Their justification for not doing so is that staff members use subjective interpretations of the facts in each case, so often a staff member of the licensing division will dismiss a case simply because he or she did not think it warranted a referral to the APS.

If by chance a staff member deemed a case worthy of reporting, there was no guarantee that it would be handled in a timely fashion. In a sample of 76 complaint investigations, 33% were not completed within the required time frame. The victims of neglect and/or abuse are often not treated with enough respect to have prompt and thorough evaluations of their cases.

The audit also found that 6 of the 44 randomly selected state-licensed facilities were not administering background checks before hiring potential employees. Current state law prohibits these facilities from hiring of individuals with felony convictions for abuse, neglect, cruelty, torture, criminal sexual conduct, prescription drug diversion, or felonious use of a dangerous weapon. Yet, several of the facilities failed to screen their employees for such convictions. In fact, at least one employee was convicted of one of these felonies and still was able to stay employed for over 2 years.

Just as complaint investigations were not completed with urgency, employee background checks took an average of 217 days (around 7 months) after hire in 5 of the facilities. The sluggishness of background check procedures endangers both the patients and employees of the facilities.

Although a majority of state-licensed adult foster care facilities do not exhibit these problems, you need to have an experienced Elder Abuse attorney on your side in case you fall victim to neglect or abuse. At Fausone Bohn, LLP, our elder law attorneys will fight to right this wrong and are prepared to go to trial if that is what your case requires. Give us a call today for a consultation on your case.

Report Shows Seniors Abused at 1 in 3 Nursing Homes

Daniel J. Williams, Esq.

The United States has over 15,000 nursing homes, and according to a report, elder abuse occurs at 1 in 3 of them. The study showed that over 5,200 nursing homes were cited for about 9,000 instances of abuse over a two year period.

In over 1,600 cases, nursing home residents experienced serious harm to place the resident in jeopardy of serious injury or death. Yet, despite the horror stories, the nursing home population is only projected to grow significantly.

Some of the most common problems in nursing homes include untreated bedsores, inadequate medical care, malnutrition, dehydration, preventable accidents, and inadequate sanitation and hygiene.

The bottom line is that no one is immune to elder abuse at a nursing home, especially given these numbers. Even the famous novelist Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, has been subject to an alleged case of nursing home abuse – check out our previous blog to learn more on that case: Click Here.

The homes cited by the study for instances of abuse accommodate some 550,000 residents, many of whom live in the 11,000 for-profit nursing homes across the country. Many of those for-profit businesses are receiving federal funds.

The federal government is the biggest contributor of nursing home care, mostly through Medicaid, a joint federal-state health care program for the poor, and Medicare, the federal program for elderly and disabled people. Federal health and safety standards are designed to protect nursing home residents from abuse.

To enforce the standards, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contracts with the states to conduct annual inspections of nursing homes. The states also are required to investigate individual abuse complaints. The report's statistics were derived from these state inspections.

The industry has cited money as an issue, in particular in their ability to attract and retain skilled staff. The average hourly wage for nursing assistants ranges from $7 to $9 per hour. Some have argued that non-profit homes, often run by community or religious organizations are better at serving residents and caring for their needs.

However, whether it is a not-for-profit home, a for-profit home, and no matter the age of your loved one, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. And while nursing home care has improved over the years, as this report shows, instances of atrocious abuse still occur and are prevalent.

Daniel J. Williams is an Elder Abuse Attorney with Fausone Bohn, LLP. The firm has former prosecutors and experienced attorneys who can help you and your family right the wrongs done to your loved one, whether it be nursing home abuse or financial exploitation. Call the Metro Detroit Elder Abuse attorneys today, at (248) 468-4536, or visit us online at www.fb-firm.com.

Read more at ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92689&page=1

Nursing Homes Requiring Families to Sign Arbitration Agreements Before Admittance

Daniel J. Williams, Esq.

Recent news out of Oklahoma shows why having competent legal representation is important if you are looking for a nursing home for a loved one. And, importantly, having such representation before making the choice of which nursing home to go with.

Many of Oklahoma’s 300-plus nursing homes require potential residents to sign arbitration agreements prior to their being admitted to the nursing home. The arbitration agreement means that the family would be bound to arbitration if a disagreement over care arose, which would effectively strip the family’s ability to sue in court. And the damages awarded in arbitration would probably be less than if a civil suit in court were filed.

Arbitration is an alternative form of dispute resolution that takes place outside the courts. While this method has its uses, it can limit the rights of victims of elder abuse.  

Other downsides of arbitration in the case of potential nursing home abuse include: enforcing an award to be paid can be more complicated, the proceedings can be made confidential, which allows the nursing home to potentially cover up their wrongdoings, and there are limited avenues for appealing a bad decision, among other negatives.

If you are considering putting a loved-one in a nursing home, you should contact a knowledgeable elder abuse or elder law attorney to review any agreements the nursing home might have you sign prior to admittance. Planning ahead of time can help prevent possibly tragic situations of elder abuse; and, you can ensure that if anything does go wrong, you will have legal recourse to seek justice and compensation.

Even if the state prohibits such arbitration agreements, as they do in Oklahoma, nursing homes could argue that such agreements are permissible under federal law. That is the argument the Oklahoma nursing homes have made.

You can read more on this issue in The Norman Transcript:

http://www.normantranscript.com/news/oklahoma/many-nursing-homes-require-families-to-sign-arbitration-agreements-before/article_09d84ebf-21c4-5b42-8f63-a3bc64d70437.html

Daniel J. Williams is an Elder Abuse Attorney with Fausone Bohn, LLP. The firm has former prosecutors and experienced attorneys who can help you and your family right the wrongs done to your loved one, whether it be nursing home abuse or financial exploitation. Call the Metro Detroit Elder Abuse attorneys today, at (248) 468-4536, or visit us
online at www.fb-firm.com. 

Big Nursing Home Settlement Provides Example of How Cooperation Brings Justice for Victims

Daniel J. Williams, Esq.

The Aristocrat Nursing Home in Naples, Florida recently settled a dispute with Florida state authorities for the failure to care for a 90 year old man who was left outside for hours in the hot sun last year.

The settlement requires the nursing home to pay $15,000 in fines to state regulators, which is in addition to the $85,000 fine levied last fall by the feds. And those fines likely do not spell the end of the nursing home’s troubles.

Because an investigation has already been done at both the state and federal levels, those reports provide a huge asset for a family member looking to take the case to a personal injury or elder abuse attorney to begin an action in civil court. While the state and federal fines penalize the nursing home, the reports from this incident in Naples can help a family’s loved one obtain justice and seek damages for the abuse and negligent acts perpetrated by the nursing home employees.

This case provides a prime example of how cooperation can help right the wrongs done by nursing homes and their employees.

If your loved one falls victim to such treatment, remember that while prosecutors may go forward with criminal charges, you can seek a remedy in civil courts and obtain monetary damages by seeking an elder abuse or personal injury attorney. 

Daniel J. Williams is an Elder Abuse Attorney with Fausone Bohn, LLP. The firm has former prosecutors and experienced attorneys who can help you and your family right the wrongs done to your loved one, whether it be nursing home abuse or financial exploitation. Call the Metro Detroit Elder Abuse attorneys today, at (248) 468-4536, or visit us online at www.fb-firm.com.