Nursing Home Lawyer & Attorney : Stark & Stark Law Firm : Elder Care, Senior Care

We wanted to inform the readers of our blog that the Mass Tort Team of Stark & Stark is now reviewing possible claims against the popular osteoporosis drug, Fosamax. Patients who used Fosamax have reported serious side effects from the drug, including Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (also known as Fossy Jaw, Dead Jaw and Phossy Jaw), low-energy femur fractures and severe and painful injuries affecting bones, joints and muscles.

If you or a loved one have suffered a severe illness or injury after taking Fosamax, you can have an experienced Mass Tort attorney from our firm review your potential case.


 

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Here is an article outlining yet another example as to how poor hiring, training and supervision allow abuse to occur in nursing homes.   In this case, a Golden Living employee actually punched a nursing home resident in the face.  Thankfully, she is being prosecuted.

Click here to read the full article.(PDF)

 

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Medicare recently announced an expansion of it's never events list.  Importantly, pressure ulcers (bedsores) in the acute care setting are formally characterized as "reasonably preventable."  To the extent that hospitals injure patients for events which never should occur, Medicare will not pay them.  Beyond that - Medicare will no longer pay hospitals for the treatment needed for the fallout of never events.
 
Most observers believe that the never event policy will soon find it's way into long term care (ie. nursing homes).  This would be consistent with the regulations already in existence regarding the mandate that avoidable pressure ulcers should never develop in nursing homes.
 
You can click on this hyperlink for more information: 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/126375.php

 

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Here is a very good website on recognizing the signs and forms of abuse and neglect that commonly occur at nursing homes across the country. The website also offers advice and tips on choosing the right nursing home. If you have a loved one in a nursing home or are considering making such a move, I'd recommend you take the time to review this website.

Click Here to view the website.

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Nursing Aide strikes an 89-year-old patient with his soiled diaper at a Woodbury Nursing Home.

To read the full article click here.

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Early this morning 3 patients were found dead at Carlton Nursing Homes located in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, NY. The 3 patients were on the same floor and died within an hour of each other. The men- ages 77, 72, and 61 were found unconscious and unresponsive in their separate bedrooms on the third floor. The medical director Lawrence Diamond of Carlton Homes located on 405 Carlton Avenue was quoted saying “ There’s nothing usual about old people dying”. Police are currently investigating these mysterious deaths.

Click here to read more at MSNBC and The Daily News.

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I recently met with the daughter of an 80-year-old woman who was left alone in blistering heat without water and wearing a fleece coat. It is uncertain how long the woman had been left unattended but it was long enough to make her pass out and suffer from severe dehydration. The facility at which this took place is a well regarded, pleasant looking facility. It charges residents $6,000 a month. The daughter, who visited her mother regularly, was shocked. She thought that type of thing only happened at the less well-to-do facilities. Sadly, she was wrong.

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The fourth annual Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study was released recently, and contains very insightful information for patients and their families when choosing a hospital. Safety in hospitals has recently become an overwhelming concern due to the rise of injuries suffered to patients during their hospital stays.

Often times this process can be quite daunting and somewhat confusing if you are not familiar with the all of the available resources provided to assist you. The study provides patient safety incident rates and associated mortality among Medicare beneficiaries, gives an overall patient safety indicator hospital performance assessment, and provides a list of the best-performing hospitals for overall patient safety across the country.

You can read the full April 2007 report here.

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Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes cannot offer the same level of care. Assisted Living Facilities do not offer specialty care. They have fewer nurses, fewer CNAs, and less overall oversight of the individual resident. Thus, Assisted Living Facilities generally have residents who are more independent. However, due to desire to fill beds and generate more revenue, Assisted Living administrators sometimes take residents they cannot necessarily care for. Such is the case with a matter our firm is currently handling. In this particular case, the resident was brought into an Assisted Living Facility even though there was documentation that showing the resident had fallen thirty seven times at a previous nursing home. This resident was clearly a high risk for falls. Assisted Living Facilities are simply not equipped to provide the kind of care that this individual needed. Consequently, within three days after being admitted to the Assisted Living Facility, this resident fell and severely fractured her wrist.

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Prevention is the key when dealing with bedsores, pressure ulcers and decubitus ulcers. Repositioning is crucial to staving off the development and/or further deterioration of decubitus ulcers (a.k.a. “bedsores”). This entails the simple act of shifting the residences body to alleviate pressure on certain parts of the body in order to avoid skin breakdown. Federal and state regulations for nursing homes require residence at risk of developing decubitus ulcers, and those who already have the ulcers, be turned at least every two hours. Due to staff shortages and/or staff incompetence repositioning often does not occur within the two hour time period. The consequences of this failure can be horrific. A small ulcer resembling a minor abrasion can quickly deteriorated into a very painful gaping wound that requires surgery.

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