A Fresno nursing home was fined more than $900,000 in 2018 for poor patient care, but consumers have been hard-pressed to find any public record of the massive penalty or many other big fines.
A nursing home abuse lawsuit is a legal action taken against a nursing home for mistreatment of a resident. Most victims file civil lawsuits for compensation, though some may file criminal lawsuits for restitution. Many civil lawsuits end in settlements.
Elder abuse is not a new problem, and it’s common, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While elder abuse can occur anywhere, a growing number of nursing home residents experience abuse.
About 1.3 million Americans lived in nursing homes in 2015, according to the CDC.
Nearly 1 in 3 nursing homes were cited for violations, according to data cited by the National Center on Elder Abuse. About 1 in 10 homes had violations that caused serious injury or harm. Some of these injuries were serious enough to be life threatening.
An issue that doesn’t get enough attention in this country is elder abuse.
According to the Centers For Disease Control, more than 500,000 older adults over the age of 60 are neglected each year. And those numbers are probably low because a majority of cases likely go unreported.
Nursing home neglect is a tragic but common problem in the United States. It occurs if a nursing home doesn’t provide proper care to its residents which results in physical or mental health problems.
This winter, after I lost my footing and shattered my arm on an icy sidewalk, I knew I faced a grueling physical recovery. What I didn’t anticipate was the weeks of wrangling with an insurance company for what was ultimately a modest settlement. My slip-and-fall homeowners insurance saga offers lessons in case you, too, ever tumble to injury on snow, wet leaves, or another hazard.
My mishap happened in front of someone’s house on a January Minneapolis evening, as I was walking my twelve-year-old dog. The fall broke both the bones in my right lower arm, and a titanium plate and screws were required to put the larger bone back together. I lost about two months of work and a major gig, and I’m still having physical therapy to regain strength and range of motion in my hand and wrist.
After reviewing my claim for a few weeks, the insurance company said the homeowner wasn’t liable, and awarded me less than a fifth of the amount I sought.
Potential neglect and prolonged isolation may have caused serious harm to many people in nursing homes in the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic, Human Rights Watch said today.
Interviews with more than 60 people, as well as reports from independent monitors, revealed concerns including extreme weight loss, dehydration, untreated bedsores, inadequate hygiene, mental and physical decline, and inappropriate use of psychotropic medications among nursing home residents. Staffing shortages, a longstanding issue that was a significant problem during the pandemic, and the absence of family visitors, many of whom nursing homes rely on to help staff with essential tasks, may have contributed to possible neglect and decline. Federal and state authorities should investigate the situation and ensure accountability for abuse.
* Word-Use Disclaimer
Legal funding is not a loan. It is the non-recourse purchase of an equitable lien in plaintiffs’ legal claims. Words such as ‘loans,’ ‘lending,’ ‘borrow,’ etc., are used for marketing purposes only.
More info
Helpful Links
TriMark Legal Funding LLC
1056 Green Acres Rd #102
Eugene, OR 97408
