Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect

Pennsylvania Attorneys Fighting Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect

Our population is aging. Here in Pennsylvania we have the third highest concentration of elderly people in this country. When our parents and grandparents reach a certain point in their lives, we are often unable to care for them at home. At that point we are often faced with a very difficult decision about their care. We rely on nursing homes, personal care and assisted living facilities, where we expect that our loved ones will be cared for in a compassionate, competent and professional manor. We trust the care and well being of our elders to the care of trained professionals. Although most facilities are excellent, there have been instances where some have not provided the best possible care and have even caused injury.

In nursing homes, several factors have been shown to contribute to the abuse or neglect of residents, including: poorly qualified and inadequately trained staff; staff with a history of violence; inadequate numbers of staff; the isolation of residents; and, the known reluctance of residents to report abuse out of embarrassment or fear.

For all of these reasons, it is both an honor and a challenge to Marcus & Mack to represent the elderly in personal injury litigation. Specifically, these cases present the challenge of overcoming a tendency on the part of others, including insurance adjusters and even physicians, to discount an elderly person's injuries and the diminished quality of life that results from them. With a personal injury attorney's thorough investigation and effective presentation of the losses sustained by an elderly client, however, insurance adjusters and jurors can be convinced to fully compensate injured senior citizens and their families.

If your loved one has suffered an injury or a decline in their condition, and you believe that it is due to the care they have received at their nursing home, that facility may be held liable. Contact the nursing home abuse & neglect attorneysat Marcus & Mack via email for a free case evaluation or call toll free at 1-800-487-8546 to speak to someone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Some of the most common injuries to nursing home residents are not caused by individual events such as falls or violent attacks but, rather, result from ongoing neglect in the care and treatment of the elderly. Ongoing neglect has been found to result in malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores and pressure sores. Such neglect is actionable, as it may be found that the nursing home breached its duty of care in not following commonly accepted medical practices regarding patient skin care, such as regularly rotating a patient that is bedridden.

Other specific examples of nursing home abuse and neglect are:

Failure to provide a safe and clean environment
Failure to provide proper nutrition
Failure to administer proper medication (dosage or medication)
Failure to prevent bedsores & pressure sores
Failure to care for wounds and bedsores
Failure to assist in personal hygiene
Failure to provide adequate services and assistance for incontinent residents
Failure to provide adequate medical care
Failure to provide appropriate supervision and assistive devices to prevent accidents (walkers, wheelchairs, etc.)

An act of abuse, neglect or exploitation of an older person might give rise to one or all of the following types of proceeding: 1) an investigation and finding by an adult protective services agency; 2) a civil cause of action for damages; and/or, 3) a criminal prosecution. These three types of proceedings have different objectives: the objective of a protective services investigation is to provide immediate help and relief to the victim and prevent further harm; the civil action is to redress damages; and the criminal prosecution is to punish the harmful conduct.

The liability of a nursing home owner or employees can result from negligent personal supervision and care, negligent hiring and retention of employees, negligent maintenance of the premises, and negligent selection or maintenance of equipment. Other common law theories of recovery in addition to negligence may be pursued as well. For example, a nursing home resident who has been abused can pursue damages for assault and battery. Despite what many people may believe, an assault does not necessarily involve a physical attack of any kind; an assault is commonly defined as a threat of force with the apparent ability to carry out the threat. Similarly, a "battery" need not consist of a beating or severe physical attack; any intentional, harmful or offensive contact by another might be considered "battery."

Probably the most common theory of recovery against nursing homes, however, is negligence. A nursing home, or its owner or proprietor, can be held liable for negligence if the injured party can prove: 1) that the nursing home's owner or employees breached a duty of care owed to the injured person; 2) that the person's injury was caused by this breach; and, 3) that the nursing home owner's or employee's conduct caused the injury. While these elements apply equally to negligence actions brought by nursing home visitors and residents alike, the following discussion focuses specifically on issues that arise in negligence actions brought by residents.

Some signs nursing home abuse may have occurred:

Unexplained bruises, cuts, burns, sprains, or fractures in various stages of healing
Bedsores or frozen joints
Unexplained venereal disease or genital infections; vaginal or anal bleeding; torn, stained, or bloody underclothing
Sudden changes in behavior
Staff refusing to allow visitors to see resident or delays in allowing visitors to see resident
Staff not allowing resident to be alone with visitor
Resident being kept in an over-medicated state
Loss of resident's possessions
Sudden large withdrawals from bank accounts or changes in banking practices
Abrupt changes in will or other financial documents

Nursing homes that receive federal funds through Medicare or Medicaid must comply with federal laws that require the home to provide a high quality of care. The federal regulations require:

Sufficient staffing of nurses
Assessment of the patient's functional capacity no more than 14 days after admission and no less than once every 12 months thereafter
The development of a care plan within 7 days of the functional capacity assessment. The care plan includes measurable objectives and timetables to meet the patient's medical, nursing, mental and psychosocial needs.
Prevention of the deterioration of the patient's ability to perform basic life functions, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, and communicating. If a patient is unable to perform basic life functions, the nursing home must provide the necessary services to provide good nutrition, grooming, and personal and oral hygiene.
Ensure that patients receive proper treatment and assistive devices to maintain good vision and hearing.
Prevention of the development of pressure sores. If pressure sores already exist, the nursing home must provide the necessary treatment to promote healing, prevention of infection, and prevention of future sores.
Provide appropriate treatment for incontinent patients in order to restore as much normal bladder function as possible and prevent bladder infections
Provide adequate supervision and assistive devices to prevent accidents
Maintain proper nutrition and hydration
Ensure that patients are free of significant medication errors
Care for the patient so as to maintain or enhance the patient's quality of life
Ensure that the patient can choose activities consistent with his or her interests and plan of care
Provide supervised medical care for each patient by a physician
Provide 24 hour physician services in case of an emergency
Provide pharmaceutical services
Maintain proper clinical records on each patient in accordance with accepted professional standards
Administer the facility in a way that attains or maintains the highest practical physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each patient

If you suspect that an act of abuse or neglect has happened to your loved one, please contact an experienced Pennsylvania Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer via email at the Law Office of Marcus & Mack today or 1-724-471-4380 or 866-527-2161(Toll Free). Marcus & Mack will help you through every step of the legal process. Please visit our client testimonials page to see what some of our past clients had to say about our Pennsylvania Injury Attorneys.

Since 1977, our personal injury lawyers have helped people throughout West Central Pennsylvania (PA), including Armstrong County, Bedford County, Blair County, Butler County, Cambria County, Clearfield County, Jefferson County, Allegheny County, Centre County, Clarion County, Huntingdon County, Indiana County, Somerset County, and Westmoreland County, and places such as Indiana, Johnstown, Altoona, Ebensburg, Northern Cambria, Blairsville, Bedford, Greensburg, Pittsburgh, Kittanning, Ford City, Dubois, Punxsutawney, Butler, Clearfield, Clarion, Juniata, Huntingdon, Somerset, State College, New Kensington and all of West Central Pennsylvania (PA). Call us at 1-724-471-4380 or 866-527-2161(Toll Free) 24 hours a day/night or contact a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Attorney via email for a free evaluation of your personal injury, accident or wrongful death case.