Neglect on the part of doctors and staff working at nursing homes may take many forms. One may be an unreasonable delay in providing outside care from a specialist or hospital when a patient becomes injured or sick while living in the nursing facility. Too often, delays in seeking medical care for patients are completely unjustified, and in some cases, cruel. Making the problem more difficult, government investigators have found that nursing facilities regularly fail to properly record information in patients’ charts, so that the onset of a condition may be difficult to render based on a patient’s records.
In a Minnesota case, the state’s Department of Health determined that a nursing home’s failure to obtain medical care for a patient at least partially contributed to her death. The nursing home documented the woman’s strained breathing problems after she ate dinner, but used a fax machine to communicate the problem to the woman’s physician. As her condition continued to deteriorate–her pulse becoming erratic and her fingers turning blue–the staff only sought to reach her physician via fax. The woman eventually died from cardio-respiratory failure in the process of being transported to a hospital over 24 hours later. In an interview following the incident, the doctor conceded that the nursing home should have sought medical attention for the patient much more quickly.
Delays in Care Lead to Dire Consequences
Federal law requires nursing homes to notify patient’s physicians when a patient becomes ill or his or her condition changes. However, nursing home staff members frequently ignore or overlook patients’ needs for additional care or treatment.
In the case of elder abuse and neglect that we are vigorously pursing against Rancho Specialty Hospital in Rancho Cucamonga, nursing home staff failed to monitor and change our client’s catheter, causing him to become intoxicated on his own urine, and failed to provide proper medical care, including failure to address spinal fluid leakage from his head and failure to place a shunt to alleviate pressure and swelling despite his family’s request to do so. When our client was eventually transferred to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, it was discovered that he had contracted Acinetobater infection, causing skin and wound infections, urinary tract infections, and blood infections. The abuse and neglect suffered by our client while under the care of Rancho Specialty Hospital caused, contributed to, and exacerbated the medical and health conditions that led to his death.
Committed to Protecting the Rights of Elderly Citizens
If you believe that your loved one or friend is not receiving the care that he or she requires from nursing home doctors or staff, please contact the Law Offices of James R. Gillen. We take these cases very seriously, and we will thoroughly assess your concerns.
