Roanoke Personal Injury Lawyer articles in category: Nursing Home & Elder Abuse

Over the years, nursing homes have been called upon to provide increasingly complex medical care to residents. Much of that complex care requires the use of sophisticated medical devices such as...

That is correct...it is not a misstatement. I did not mean to say that two residents died as a result of neglect or abuse. The nursing homes at issue are located near Sacramento, California. The...

As our readers have heard me say before, arbitration agreements in nursing home admission contracts are unfair and unreasonable. These agreements, often hidden in the small print, prevent the...

Knowledge is power and sometimes it is the difference between being cared for or being neglected and abused. What am I talking about? Nursing homes of course and which ones are good and which ones...

Lauren Ellerman and I spend a great deal of our professional time representing residents and their family members in cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. In today's world you no longer see the...

Do you have a relative or friend in a nursing home and on Medicaid? If so, a few minutes of your time could do him or her a world of good. I'm talking about the federal tax refund (also called the...

A Picture is worth a thousand words. Please watch this report. It may focus on California, but sadly, the problems are in every state, including Virginia: '>YOU TUBE VIDEO ON ELDER ABUSE

Nursing homes are increasingly forcing patients and their families to sign arbitration agreements prior to admission. Binding arbitration means you don't get your day in court. It means that no...

There is a disturbing trend sweeping the American landscape for nursing homes. The era of small facilities run by a single family and operating out love and concern for the frail and elderly is long gone. Today, your mother's nursing home is probably part of a 20 or 30 facility chain. The corporate owners live in another state and there primary concern is making money...not taking care of...

We often see recommendations for the use of a feeding tube (PEG tube) from Medical Directors at nursing homes for residents who have difficulty eating and swallowing. Granted, an individual cannot long survive without adequate nutrition and hydration. However, the use of a feeding tube is often used as a substitute for an insufficient number of feeding assistants or nursing aides. By...

Why does the state of Tennessee spend $1.2 billion for long-term care? That amount is 98 percent of the Tenncare (Tennessee's equivalent of Medicaid) budget, which ranks Tennessee last nationally in its funding mix of nursing homes versus home and community-based care, according to the TennCare Bureau. Why? Do you think money could be at the root of such spending?How did Tennessee get on the...

In 2 years, I have read about, or known families who have suffered the following:Loved one falls and breaks neck while in shower room, unattendedLoved one falls down two flights of stairs, while strapped into wheelchairLoved one falls while eloping from nursing home, out front door, and to the parking lotLoved one falls down back stairs of nursing home, after leaving "locked" exterior doorLoved...

We hear about it all the time - over medicating dementia patients. Why? To curb combative behavior? Make them easier to control? It is a sad state when an elderly person is given anti-psychotic medications, before an exam is done to determine what other problems would cause aggressive behavior.In Minnesota, nearly 8 percent of people 80 and older are given anti psychotic drugs -- six times the...

Most people are familiar with physical restraints. These safety devices include bed rails, lap buddies, Geri-chairs, and wrist restraints. These devices are used to prevent injury to the resident or others. But what about "chemical restraints?" Have you ever heard of them?Chemical restraints are medications used by the nursing home to "control" active residents. They are psychotropic...

A controversial new law endorsed by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democrat Sen. Herb Kohl seeks to force nursing homes to provide more information about ownership and accountability. The Act would force nursing homes to file paperwork clearly stating ownership--something that has become increasingly complicated for outsiders to figure out, as private investment groups have bought up...