Articles Posted in Elder Abuse

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This is the time of year that families crisscross the country to see each other and celebrate the holidays, but it’s also a good time to check in older relatives who might be living alone, and under the care of someone. It is estimated that up to two million American seniors have been mistreated or abused by someone they rely on to provide car. For every case of elder abuse reported to Adult Protective Services, five cases go unreported.

Experts couldn’t agree more. Holiday visits, they say, offer a perfect opportunity to assess the needs and health of elderly relatives, whether they’re living independently or in a care facility. “You should visit with a checklist in your head,” says San Francisco social worker Mary Twomey. She advises people “to look for red flags: Has your parent lost weight, are they no longer interested in things they once enjoyed, are there any signs of physical abuse?”

Read more here from the LA Times here.

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Homicide detectives in San Diego were investigating the death of an elderly woman from the Palm City area. According to reports, the woman was being cared for by a professional “caretaker.” When a relative of the 83-year-old victim called police to check on the victim, police went to the woman’s home and found her dead in the bathroom.

According to police, there were no signs of trauma but that elder abuse was suspected. Police arrested caretaker Maria Moore on suspicion of elder abuse and booked her into county jail. A cause of death has not been determined.

News accounts do not state where Moore was employed by a home health agency or whether or she was working on her own. If is determined that the victim’s death was due to neglect, Moore and the agency she works with (if there is one) may face civil liability under California’s Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act.

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Peer-on-peer abuse in the nursing home setting is a problem that gets very little attention, but occurs with more and more frequency. A horrific example of this occurred two weeks ago at Chino Valley Health Care Center in Pomona. On November 23rd, John Lazzaro, a 91-year-old resident of the rehabilitation hospital, was killed after being attacked by fellow resident Matthew Harvey, who was only 47.

The details of the attack are kind of sketchy, but according to news accounts Lazarro was found in his room with severe wounds to his arm and face. So severe were the wounds to his arm it required amputation. It is very likely that Mr. Lazzaro couldn’t survive the surgery and died shortly thereafter.

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A 72-year-old woman suffered burns on her hands and feet while under the care of an Escondido woman and her son at their home-based elder care facility. Mila Labayen, 74, and her son, Steve Perez Lopez, 50, face criminal charges for elder abuse arising from their failure to seek immediate medical attention for the injuries of the resident who suffers from dementia. In addition, Mr. Lopez is charged with draining $45,000 from the bank account of another elderly resident, who suffers from schizophrenia. Mr. Lopez allegedly took the money while out on bail for charges relating to the elder abuse claim. Alert bank employees alerted authorities to the suspicious withdrawal of money.

It is unclear what caused the 72-year-old woman’s burns, but by the time her daughter learned of her injuries and brought her to the hospital, her skin was already sloughing off, and she remained in the hospital’s burn unit for nine days.

The elder care home, Liberty Care Homes III, located on the 1100 block of Via Rancho Parkway, was owned and operated by Ms. Labayan and was licensed to provide residential care for up to six elderly people. The license was first issued in 1993. Liberty Care Homes III is now closed.

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It was announced this morning that six nursing home workers were arrested for playing a cruel prank on several residents at the Valley View Skilled Nursing Facility. According to a release from the California Attorney General’s office, the employees applied a slippery ointment cream over the bodies of seven elderly nursing home residents to make them “slippery” for the oncoming shift. It is believed that the residents were selected because all suffered from advanced dementia, and could not object to the mistreatment.

“As part of a cruel and shocking prank, these caregivers abused defenseless elders,” AG Jerry Brown said. “This is despicable behavior by people placed in a position of trust.”

After an investigation by the California Bureau of Elder Abuse, the district attorney’s office has filed a misdemeanor criminal charge against each employee for injury to elder or dependent adult; battery committed on elder or a dependent adult; conspiracy; and battery committed while on hospital property.

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Disability Rights California, a non-profit that advocates for the rights of the disabled, recently released a report finding that the physical abuse of disabled adults in nursing homes are frequently not treated as crimes. The study analyzed 12 cases, including the following

• For months, a middle aged nursing home resident suffering from cerebral palsy with cognitive impairment was paraded naked and soaking wet in front of others after being forced by staff to take cold showers. Despite many witnesses, nothing was done.

• A disabled resident in his 40s was punched in the mouth by a staff member and then slapped, drawing blood. When he complained, it took days for the facility to report it to authorities. No charges were brought.

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SmartMoney.com has an article out entitled 10 Things Nursing Homes Won’t Tell You. Which has been adapted from the book “1,001 Things They Won’t Tell You: An Insider’s Guide to Spending, Saving, and Living Wisely,” by Jonathan Dahl.

Walton Law Firm thought you might like to see the list:

1. “We’re careless about the drugs we give out.”

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It took jurors only five hours to convict 21-year-old Cesar Ulloa of criminal elder abuse for his brutal treatment of residents at the Calabasas nursing home where he worked. According to prosecutors, Ulloa would laugh as he attacked his victims, many of whom were to demented to be able to call for help. He faces life in prison.

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In one of the assaults, a fellow employee witnessed Ulloa jump on the chest of a non-verbal 78-year-old woman’s chest, and throwing her on the bed as she struggled. To another elderly male resident, Ulloa jumped off a dresser and landed with both knees on the man’s abdomen, seriously injuring the man. He apparently would laugh with delight while brutalizing the patients.

Suspicion over Ulloa actions was raised after the wife of a resident received an anonymous phone call the day after her husband’s funeral. The call said that her husband had been abused, and that his death may have been related to the abuse, something the family suspected. The police were notified, and the victim’s body exhumed for an autopsy that revealed more than 24 fractures. The man’s death was determined to be caused by blunt force trauma.

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The healthcare reform bill signed by President Obama this week will have an impact on nursing homes and long-term care. The most dramatic change will come in the form of long-term care insurance, and provision that was long championed by the Senator Edward Kennedy. Under the Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act (CLASS), all Americans will automatically be enrolled in a long-term care insurance program, but will have the option to opt out.

Under the Act, individuals will start paying a premium immediately, and will be able to use the benefit after five years of contribution to the program. The benefit, though, is not much, as it is expected to be about $50 per day to offset other long-term care costs.

The healthcare reform bill will also start to close the “donut hole” in Medicare Part D coverage for prescription drugs. Patients will immediately begin receiving a rebate for drug costs that fall into the gap, and drug manufacturers will be required to provide a discount on brand name drugs. Over time, the gap in coverage will be phased out entirely.

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The Sacramento Business Journal is out with an article accusing the State of California of exposing elderly nursing home residents to dangerous caregivers because state regulators have failed to implement a 2006 law that requires the creation of a centralized database for background checks on all long-term caregivers.

According to the article, an investigation by the state’s Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes discovered at least 20 incidents where individuals who lost their certification as nursing assistance because of wrongdoing were cleared and hired in a different facility.

“There is no excuse for allowing people with known histories of abuse to work in residential care facilities for the elderly or as caregivers in any other setting,” said Michael Connors, an advocate with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, a non-profit that advocates on behalf of nursing home and residential care residents.

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