Nursing home neglect leads to criminal charge against Life Care Centers of America
Life Care Centers of America, was indicted last week on charges of manslaughter, abuse and neglect in connection with the death of a 74 year old resident at their Massachusetts nursing home. While civil lawsuits are often pursued by family members as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect it is rare to see companies facing criminal charges.
>>INFORMATION: Nursing Home Lawsuits
Life Care Centers of American, based out of Tennessee, operates 260 nursing homes in 28 different states. They have approximately 30,000 employees and generate nearly $2 billion in annual revenue. While there have been prior Life Care nursing home lawsuits filed against the company resulting in multi-million dollar verdicts, the criminal charges now pending against the company are the first of their kind in Massachusetts.
In 2004, a 74 year old resident at a Massachusetts Life Care nursing home was found dead at the bottom of a flight of steps. She fell down the steps after taking her wheelchair outside of the nursing home because Life Care Centers of America failed to follow doctor’s orders to put on an electronic ankle bracelet on the resident. The device would have sounded an alarm and locked the door as she approached the exit, preventing the terrible tragedy.
Prosecutors contend that the nursing home death would not have occurred if Life Care Centers had utilized the bracelet they were supposed to. They also face criminal charges for filing a false Medicaid claim in connection with the death.
This is not the first controversy Life Care Centers of America has faced as a result of their poor care and neglect of patients. According to a state survey in Massachusetts, the nursing home operator ranked in the bottom 11% of all facilities in the state. They have also been fined in the past for various deficiencies found during routine state checks.
It is the responsibility of a nursing home operator to ensure that physician’s instructions are followed and that patients are protected against the dangers they may pose to themselves. Doctors, residents and family members place their trust in nursing homes to provide proper care, and tragic consequences often result from such acts of gross irresponsibility.
Earlier this month we posted about a New Mexico nursing home lawsuit verdict against Manor Care, another large facility manager which has been plagued by instances of poor care, abuse and neglect.
The nursing home lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. investigate cases of neglect and abuse in facilities throughout the United States. In many cases, serious and potentially fatal injuries are caused when the nursing homes cut corners and places profits above the safety of the residents. To determine if you, a friend or family member may be entitled to compensation for injuries, request a free claim evaluation.
Lifecare center of las vegas killed my mom…..they starved her and dehydrated her and insisted she have a feeding tube put in her stomach because they were to lazy to feed her. Her doctor called me and siad he was admitting to the hospital because her foot was black and had gangreen from the nursing home and he was going to let me know if he would ampitate it…he also asked me about the feeding tube and I said absulating NOT..she was eating for me…I had power of her medical…the next day I went to see my mom because I had not heard from her doctor and the nurse said her kidneys were shuting down and he had put a feeding tube in her stomache and he did not ampitate her foot… they did nothing to save her life…she died a excuinationg death for over 10 hours.. she could not talk and she died in my arms……I was devestated and heart broken and furious that the doctor did the feeding tube without my permission…I found out that they could of put a G tube down her nose….anyway her death certificate says sepis…no mention of of the wrong surgery……I think the staue of limitation is a year but I am not for sure.
Lifecare was the entity that murdered the people in Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans,they need to be shut down.
I saw people die with nothing to save them,they Lifecare abandoned the patients after they overdosed them,most of the people were geriatric long term care.I am survivor of Hurricane,this company is a disgrace to healthcare.
We now have a Life Care Center facility going up practically in our back yard. We have tried to raise objections, but to no avail. The city issued a “special permit” to allow these 3 story structures in a residential neighborhood. The mayor seem to believe this is going to be a great thing for our town, even raising our property values.
I believe that someone didn’t do their homework on checking out their reputation in other areas. Isn’t there any way of stopping this before it happens?
Life care center is a place where people care for thier resident as thier own family and ungrateful real family members that dump their ill or demented family member need to shut up. we dedicate our lives to the people we care for when you wont.you complain and talk about what we do wrong but never what is done right. the people that choose to work there do it because we have compassion when others dont including the familys. We are there 24/7/365 not just on hoildays or birthdays.
Life Care Centers of America staff is brutal, neglectful, and liars. They do what they can to form clicks. These clicks are gangs of employees all with bad working habits and they all stick together and lie for each other while providing the least most neglectful care they can. When good staff comes in, these gangs of staff that have worked for years for this company make it difficult for the new healthy employee, that employee is labeled and lies put against them to creat troubles so they quit and/or life care administrators lie and have their licenses revoked. This company says they are of christian background. that is a lie, in arizona some of the facitlites have white supremacy meetings held in secret. the administrators and charge nurses are all part of the lies. this company is a bad company for American Elderly.
I would like to write in response to the posting by Samone. I am sure that just like most organizations there are a few good employees at LCC. However, I have yet to find one. My grandmother is currently in an LCC and we do not visit her on the holidays or her birthday. We work in shifts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We love our family very much and we are shocked and horrified by the treatment she is receiving at LCC. The staff completely neglects my grandmother, doesn’t follow the doctor’s orders, treats my grandmother like she is some useless creature, and is horrible and rude to my relatives and myself. I find it disgusting that this company is allowed to take care of such a vulnerable population and I firmly believe that the government needs to step in, take action, and shut you people down. When an agency such as LCC is doing more harm than good, people need to step up, step in, and force the agency to step out. LCC makes me sick and I feel sorry for anybody that is forced to live in the conditions of this so called nursing home facility.
LCC is a company that puts PROFIT above everything else..The ruler of the day is CENSUS and they have an admitting policy of 24/7..They operate like a” Motel 6″…. The 2 Charge Nurses on the evening shift have the responsibility of 40 patients on ICF and 30 patients on skilled. On the night shift 1 nurse has it all.. The acuity leval of these paients is high with many needing gastrostomey feedings,IV therapy, wound vac dressing changes,foley cath irrigations along with numerous dressing changes Dementia patients wih difficult behaviors are mixed in with everyone else. LCC staffs at the bare minimum according to state guidelines thus avoiding fines..They are top heavy with RCM,s DNS who never do hands on care..Only when the federal government will make laws that staff nursing homes according to the leval of care the patient needs will anything change. Most of the time charge nurses do not even get a lunch break and we are screamed at if we go into overtime. The CNA,s are the most vaunerable of the workers.Many are single moms wiht little education who do the tedious really hard work for wages below $10.00..The health insurance offered is so high priced that staff can not afford it. Only when we as a society began to really value our disabled,chronicaly ill and elderly and DEMAND better of this industry will things improve. Ask youself this. How fair is it to pay a CNA $10./hr to be exosed to bacteria, feces, urine, hit, kicked, back and shoulder injury from lifting when a computer programer sitting on their tush makes $20.?? This is a corporation where greed wins….