Currently, approximately 1.6 million people live in nursing homes in the United States, and as the baby boom generation enters their senior years, there are expected to be five million nursing home residents 30 years from now. While overcrowding is the obvious negative consequence of this phenomenon, the instances of nursing home abuse will also likely rise. One out of every four nursing homes is cited for abuse every year. As the system is placed under additional strain, more and more seniors could become victims of abuse. In California, one third of nursing homes have been cited for causing serious harm and even death to patients.
Abusers Continue to Get Jobs in Nursing Homes
While this alone is frightening, too often it is discovered that nursing homes hire individuals who have previously been charged or suspected of abuse. In one case reported by CBS news, a 75-year-old woman living in a Sacramento, California nursing home was beaten by a nurse’s assistant after he came to her room and discovered that she had soiled herself. The man choked her, dislocated her neck, and broke her wrist during the attack.
This incident was not the first time that the man had been violent with a nursing home resident. He had been accused of abuse and warned about being rough with patients at another Sacramento nursing home, and was eventually fired for threatening to hit a resident. One month later, he was hired at the nursing home where he attacked and severely injured the woman. In fact, the facility had three other employees who had convictions for abuse, which under California law should have prohibited them from working in a nursing home at all.
The problem of nursing homes hiring individuals who are even more likely to commit acts of violence is exacerbated by the lax rules applying to background checks, and in some case, nursing homes’ neglect to follow the rules that are in place. Only 33 states require that background checks be done on a very small number of nursing home workers, but no state requires a national background check.
In the case we are currently taking to trial, our client suffered repeated instances of abuse and neglect at the hands of the staff at Rancho Specialty Hospital in Rancho Cucamonga. He was improperly restrained although he was paralyzed, he was made to lie in his own waste for hours, and he was subjected to physical and verbal abuse, including taunts of “you are going to die.” Perhaps with more thorough background checks and continued monitoring of staff conduct, these heinous acts would not have been committed. Moreover, reports of improper care should not be ignored, allowing problems to become worse. In our case, our client’s wife’s requests for better care repeatedly went unanswered.
Seek Experienced, Compassionate Representation
If you fear that your loved one living in a nursing home is the victim of elder abuse or neglect, please contact the Law Offices of James R. Gillen. We are committed to protecting the rights of elderly Californians.
