Articles Posted in Nursing Home Falls

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This is an amazing story. A nursing home video camera catches a nursing caregiver deliberately dump an 85-year-old resident out of her wheelchair and onto the floor, and then simply walk away. In the horrific video, Nurse Jesse Joiner walks over the wheelchair, and abruptly jerks it to the left, causing the frail woman to fall hard on the floor. Incredibly, Joiner simply walks away as the woman is writhing on the floor. As if that weren’t stunning enough, minutes later another caregiver notices the woman on the floor, and does nothing for more than a minute. According to the new story, the victim fractured her hip in the fall. Her current condition is unknown.

As a firm that has handled numerous fall-fracture cases in the nursing home, including several that were supposedly “accidental falls” from a wheelchair, it is stunning to see this. You can bet that the nursing notes say that the resident fell on her own, and that she had some propensity to try to get out of her wheelchair. What’s also interesting is that the nursing home looks like a pretty nice place in the video, and according to the story has a clean record with state authorities.

As we always say, any unexpected injury, illness, or death should be examined. Also, you can never the judge the quality of a home by how it looks on the outside or inside. How many times have other residents at this home been injured or killed by incidents that were noted to be simple accidents.

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A beleaguered nursing home operated by the Motion Picture and Television Fund was fined by the California Department of Public Health for failing to prevent a serious injury to an 87-year-old resident. The resident was injured in May of last year when, while transferring the resident with a mechanized lift, the resident slid out of the lift and fell to the floor, causing a wound so large that it revealed her cranium.

After its investigation, the DPH concluded that the nursing home failed to follow a plan of care that was designed to prevent the resident, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, from falling. The home was issued an “A” citation and a fine of $7,500.

The citation comes at a time when the nursing home operators, a charity, have decided to close down the home. Currently the home has only 54 remaining long term care residents, which remains open only after protests from current residents and their families.

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A Sacramento jury slammed an area nursing home with a $28 million verdict last week after it found the home liable for elder abuse and neglect. Before deliberations, attorney Ed Dudensing told the jury to, “make them feel it.” It did. The nursing home, as expected, will appeal.

What is believed to be the largest verdict of its kind, the jury hoped to send a message that if you’re going to run a nursing home, you better do it in a way that doesn’t jeopardize the health and welfare of its residents.

The jury came back with the huge punitive damages award the day after it found that the corporation Horizon West Healthcare and its nursing homes Colonial Healthcare committed elder abuse upon 79-year-old Frances Tanner. Tanner, a government worker who at one time worked for the FBI and Internal Revenue Service, was admitted into Colonial in March of 2005. After suffering a fall that went undiagnosed for days, she died seven months later for an infected bed sore.

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The heirs of an elderly nursing home resident have sued the nursing home for causing the death of their father Oliver Shrock. The lawsuit alleges that caregivers at Kindred Healthcare Center in Orange County ignored the family’s warnings that Shrock was at risk for falling, and failing to take appropriate fall precautions, such as using a bed alarm. On July 14, 2008, just two months after his admission into the facility, Shrock fell and struck his head. He died four days later.

The California Department of Public Health investigated the 77-year-old’s death and concluded that the resident’s death was caused by the nursing home’s negligent care. A AA citation was issued, and an $85,000 assessed.

According to the lawsuit, Shrock fell shortly after admission, and that while some fall interventions were taken, they were used sporadically. For example, a bed alarm was used on Shrock, but only occasionally. The visiting daughters would repeatedly after to remind the facility to use it. Sadly, on the day of the fall, the bed alarm was not in place. It was the day Shrock was going to go home.

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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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The tragic story of Barbara Fasold serves as a harrowing reminder of what happens when nursing home oversight fails. Ms. Fasold, a 76-year-old resident at a facility in DeLand, fell from her bed at 5:00 a.m., fracturing both legs and her shoulder. Despite the severity of her injuries, she lay on the floor for 12 agonizing hours before being discovered during a shift change. She passed away less than a week later.

While this specific tragedy occurred across the country, it highlights a systemic crisis that hits close to home for families in Oakland, California. From the hills of Montclair to the busy corridors of Jack London Square, families entrust Oakland skilled nursing facilities and assisted living centers with the safety of their loved ones. When that trust is broken by a fall—especially one followed by hours of abandonment—it isn’t just an accident; it is often a case of nursing home neglect.

The Alarming Reality of Falls in Long-Term Care

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When placing a loved one in a long-term care facility, families rely heavily on official Medicare star ratings to ensure their safety and well-being. Unfortunately, a groundbreaking data analysis by USA Today reveals a deeply troubling reality: the lowest-scoring nursing homes in the United States tend to stay that way year after year, trapped in a cycle of persistent subpar care.

Even more alarming is the fact that for many families, these poorly performing facilities are the only options available for miles. When geographic necessity forces families to utilize understaffed or poorly rated centers, vulnerable seniors pay the ultimate price.

The Scope of Consistent Nursing Home Misconduct

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Ninety-two-year-old Robert Doscher was admitted to Valley Gardens Health Care, a for-profit nursing home, on May 18, 2007. He came from a hospital where he was being treated for a mini-stroke, and other heart issues. Upon admission to the nursing home, he needed the use of a walker, and the plan was to stabilize his health, and transfer him to an assisted living facility.

He required the use of a walker when he was admitted, and it was initially planned that he could be discharged to a board-and-care facility when his condition stabilized. The admission assessment at Valley Gardens determined that Doscher was at “high risk” for falling, and the care plan ordered the he be checked “every one to two hours.” He was also instructed not to get up without assistance, and a tab alarm was placed on his clothing to monitor his movements.

On May 21st, only three days after he was admitted to the nursing home, Doscher fell and struck his head on the floor. He was found by staff on the floor. According to the investigation, there was no evidence that Valley Gardens was checking on Doscher every one to two hours, nor did they place him near the nursing station, as had also been recommended upon admission.

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A nursing home called Valley Gardens Health Care and Rehabilitation in Stockton, California has received an “AA” citation from the California Department of Public Health due the neglect of one of its residents. The AA citation is the most severe penalty that can be levied by the state, and is issued only when a patient’s death has occurred in a way that can directly attributed to the conduct of the facility. A $90,000.00 fine was also issued.

According to news reports, which are currently scant on facts, the facility failed to ensure a resident was adequately supervised, resulting in a serious fall, which caused the resident to die.

The California Department of Public Health has the statutory authority license and certify all of California’s nursing homes. Part of its authority is to inspect the homes annually, and respond to consumer complaints. If investigations into substandard care are substantiated, the CDPH has the authority to issue citation, and impose fines. Typically, the fine depends on the significance and severity of the substantiated violation.

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Tri-City Hospital in Oceanside was fined $25,000 by the California Department of Public Health for “failure to ensure the health and safety of a patient” who fell out of bed and fractured her hip. The hospital has modified its policies as a result.

According to reports, a 91-year-old woman who was admitted to Tri-City on December 7, 2008 because of a stroke, and paralysis on her right side, fell out of bed two days later and fractured her hip. She was taken to surgery for repair of the hip, and died the following day in the ICU.

The state investigation revealed that upon admission to the hospital the woman was rated as a high risk for falls; a rating that would require a series of interventions such as bed alarms, padding on the floor around the bed, etc. The investigation revealed that “there was no evidence in the medical record to support that these interventions were in place at the time (the patient) fell.

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