Nursing Home Neglect Blog

While tort reform advocates argue that medical malpractice lawsuits are the cause of rising medical costs in the United States and push for further limits on the ability of consumers to pursue legal action for preventable mistakes, the total cost of medical malpractice litigation is only 0.6% of the nation’s overall health care costs and the number of payments for claims have fallen to record lows in recent years.

Read the rest of this entry »

New guidance issued by Medicare calls for nursing homes to change the way they operate, and make elderly care facilities less like hospitals and more like a warm, comforting, home environment. Improving nursing home quality of life for residents will help maintain the dignity people deserve in their final years, and hopefully reduce the incidence of nursing home neglect and abuse.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, designed to bring attention to issues of elder neglect, abuse and exploitation. Falling on June 15 each year, the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) uses this day to encourage increasing public knowledge of elderly abuse and educating the public in ways that such abuse can be recognized and prevented.

>INFORMATION: Nursing Home Elder Abuse

Read the rest of this entry »

Although the nursing home industry was pushing for a cap on damages in Tennessee nursing home neglect lawsuits, the state legislator failed to pass the proposed bill out of a House subcommittee this week. If the bill had been passed and ultimately enacted as law, it would have been a major setback for the protection of elderly and ill nursing home residents in Tennessee, as it would have removed much of the incentive for facilities to provide quality care.

>>INFORMATION: Nursing Home Negligence

Read the rest of this entry »

When a nursing home resident is injured due to the negligence of a facility or their staff, a nursing home lawsuit not only helps the family secure compensation, but also acts as an important safeguard to encourage the industry to provide the proper standard of care. However, a new rule enacted by President Bush in the last months of his administration has made it more difficult for nursing home negligence lawyers to obtain some of the information necessary to document cases for those who have been abused or neglected.
 
Read the rest of this entry »

According to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 11% of nursing home residents suffered from pressure ulcers in 2004. These painful and potentially life-threatening sores remain a serious problem at facilities throughout the country, and in many cases nursing home pressure sores can be prevented if certain steps are taken.

Read the rest of this entry »

According to a report in USA Today, the number of facilities which use nursing home restraints has dropped from 21.1% in 1991 to only 5.5% in 2007. This decline demonstrates the growing recognition that the use of physical restraints can diminish the quality of life for the elderly and ill, and in some cases it can lead to serious injuries or death.

>>INFORMATION: Nursing Home Restraint Lawsuits

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, the federal government released a new nursing home rating system which assigns an overall score to every facility inspected by Medicare and assigns one to five stars for staffing, quality and health inspections. While the nursing home industry has raised concerns about the public posting of these ratings, the system is designed help families evaluate facilities and reduce the risk that their loved one will suffer from nursing home neglect or abuse.

>>LINK: USA Today Nursing Home Rating Search Tool

Read the rest of this entry »

According to a new government report, the occurrence of bedsores in hospitals has increased nearly 80% since 1993. These serious open wounds were mainly found among elderly patients, and can have a devastating impact on their overall health and quality of life. The medical malpractice lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. investigate potential hospital bedsore lawsuits nationwide.

Read the rest of this entry »

Six teenagers working at a Minnesota nursing home face criminal charges for abusing nursing home residents over a period of several months earlier this year. The criminal complaint indicates that they harassed, assaulted, groped and even spit in the mouths of residents suffering from conditions like Alzheimers and dementia. These despicable acts beg the question of how supervisors at the nursing home were so negligent that they did not know this was occurring with their teenage employees.

Read the rest of this entry »