Milwaukee Personal Injury Lawyer - Nursing Home & Elder Abuse

Wisconsin Nursing Homes Unsafe

Paul Jacquart — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 10:46:00 GMT

If you have a loved one in a nursing home in Wisconsin, they may be in danger. This is the frightening implication of a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigative report which shows that injuries and deaths arising from nursing home neglect and negligence are on the rise here. The distrurbing report concludes that:

Health care violations that put patients in jeopardy or resulted in harm spiked 34% the past three years. Those violations involved injuries to at least 359 elderly or disabled people.

Dozens of homes are cited repeatedly for serious violations. Often, these homes assure regulators they are correcting problems only to have new ones surface. Many of the homes cited multiple times are owned by out-of-state corporations.

Deaths and injuries are occurring at a time of significant worker turnover. In one case, a problem home reported nursing staff turnover rates as high as 257% last year while it led the state in serious citations.

Families are often kept in the dark about citations issued after the deaths of their loved ones. Four families learned from the Journal Sentinel that serious citations had been issued months and even years after their loved ones were buried.

The investigation fingers Extendicare, a large corporation that owns 26 homes in Wisconsin, as a frequent recipient of citations and provides a list of the worst violators of federal rules in the country, which includes a number of Wisconsin facilities.

The article also provides a tip list with helpful suggestions for families looking to find a good facility for their loved one.

For those that believe their loved one has been injured through the negligence or neglect of a nursing home or community based residential facility, our office has successfully handled a variety of nursing home negligence and abuse cases over the years and we are happy to consult with families who are dealing with the sorts of issues highlighted in this article.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Jacquart

Study Shows Nursing Home Quality of Care Varies By Race

David Lowe — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 08:49:35 GMT

A study published in the journal Health Affairs reveals a huge disparity in the quality of nursing home care provided to whites and blacks, with Milwaukee's nursing home disparity ranked the greatest.

The abstract of the study, appearing on the health policy journal's website, states:

We describe the racial segregation in U.S. nursing homes and its relationship to racial disparities in the quality of care. Nursing homes remain relatively segregated, roughly mirroring the residential segregation within metropolitan areas. As a result, blacks are much more likely than whites to be located in nursing homes that have serious deficiencies, lower staffing ratios, and greater financial vulnerability. Changing health care providers' behavior will not be sufficient to eliminate disparities in medical treatment in nursing homes. Persistent segregation among homes poses a substantial barrier to progress.

Clearly, poverty and the economics of nursing home care are at play here. Taking care of this vulnerable population, the sick and elderly, requires attentive and skilled care. As the African-American elderly population has a disproportionate number of Medicaid-supported nursing home residents, with low reimbursement rates, the nursing homes that care for them are unwilling or unable to spend what is needed to afford high quality staff and facilities. At the same time, these nursing home residents may have the greatest health needs because they have not had the opportunity for well-care throughout their lives, producing chronic health conditions that may be challenging to treat without adequate resources.

The study focused on data from the year 2000. But there is no reason to think that there have been improvements since then because the conditions that have created the disparities--poverty, segregation, and inadequate resources-- have not changed. As a society, we are going to have to do something about this. We have a moral obligation to do so.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Lowe

Suit Filed Over Death Of Wheelchair Bound Nursing Home Resident

David Lowe — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:04:58 GMT

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today reports about a suit filed by the widow of a nursing home resident who died on August 5, 2004 of head injuries suffered in a fall down stairs at St. Johns Home on the east side of Milwaukee.

The suit, filed on July 18, 2007, alleges that John Mellinger was wheelchair bound following an earlier hip fracture injury, and that he was also suffering from dementia. He was found by a laundry room worker in the nursing home's basement at the bottom of three flights of stairs, and died four days later. The suit alleges that the home was negligent in its care for Mr. Mellinger.

A few years ago we handled a similar case, involving a blind wheelchair-bound nursing home resident who had dementia. He was left unattended in a transit van for a few moments by the driver, who had failed to set the brakes on thewheelchair and left the rear door of the van open. The patient somehow rolled out the back of van and fell to the pavement, suffering a head injury from which he died several hours later.

Elderly patients with dementia who are sitting in wheelchairs can present a dangerous problem if not cared for properly.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Nursing Home and Elder Abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Lowe

Death of Nursing Home Resident Leads to Huge Fine

David Lowe — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:57:17 GMT

A San Francisco skilled nursing facility has been cited and fined $100,000, the largest ever imposed in California, after the California Department of Health Services determined that the poor care of an 82-year-old resident with dementia led to her death. The nursing home resident who had a history of falling and wandering, was found unresponsive on the ground outside the nursing home facility. The state agency said that facility managers failed to review, evaluate, update and implement a care plan for the resident, and failed to control the resident's history of wandering outside.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Lowe

Failure To Monitor Nursing Home Resident's Infection Alleged In Lawsuit

David Lowe — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:52:26 GMT

The daughter of a 77-year-old nursing home resident has filed a lawsuit alleging nursing home negligence in the care of her mother. The lawsuit alleges that the nursing home employees failed to report an infected ankle wound, which later required the resident to undergo amputation of the leg. The wound went unnoticed by the daughter because the resident, who suffers from dementia, was unable to explain what was wrong and the leg was always covered during the daughter's visits.

It is recognized that nursing home residents with dementia are at increased risk for earlier death. The National Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform notes that familiy visits are important as a safety net for this vulnerable population:

Family members and friends can be an important support for residents who are unable to advocate for themselves because of frailty or dementia. Frequent visits help family members and friends become familiar with the care that is being provided. This familiarity makes it easier to recognize problems with caregiving practices and can help consumers formulate suggestions for solutions based on first-hand knowledge.

This should be an interesting lawsuit to follow. It certainly highlights the important issue of nursing home abuse.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by David Lowe