The Guardian Blog : Arizona Nursing Home Lawyer & Attorney : Solomon & Relihan Law Firm : AZ Assisted Living Neglect & Abuse : The Guardian Blog

The inside of the residential property was extensively damaged and the man had suffered serious burn injuries. The investigators of the fire suggested that the fire had extinguished itself due to a lack of oxygen because there were no windows open at the time. The fire appears to have started in the lounge room because of the amount of damages that were present. While there were no cooking devices in use in that room, there were some cigarettes that were found, investigators are still looking into what caused the fire. The elderly man was said to have been in good health before the fire and was last seen by other residents the night before the fire. The man had a relative living elsewhere in the village. The management of the retirement village chose not to comment on the man’s death and police officials are still trying to figure out what time the blaze started or how long the house may have been on fire before the alarms were able to activate.

If the alarms on the property were faulty and the fire had been going on much longer before they picked up the fire, the next of kin could file a case against the retirement home whose responsibility is the upkeep of these properties. There is also question as to whether or not the man had lived alone or if someone was possibly hired for his care. Regardless of the cause, if you lose a loved one in these types of circumstances you should hire a professional to investigate the cause and find the responsible party.
 

Fischer and her husband are suing the facility for negligence because they gave Clark access to Corcoran and Murta despite a court order barring her from working with elderly. Clark had been previously charged with theft from another nursing home. The lawsuit declared that Galloway Ridge had the responsibility to check the criminal background. Clark has allegedly stolen up to $20,000 from her clients since 2001. Becky Fisher has suffered permanent disfigurement and is unable to use parts of her body since the attack. 

Nursing homes have the responsibility of checking their employee’s backgrounds and ensuring that their resident’s safety is never compromised. This incident could have been prevented if they nursing home had simply ordered a standard background check on their future employee. Elderly individuals are extremely susceptible to these dangers and their environment should be a safe haven not the danger zone in their life. If you or a loved one has been taken advantage of or attacked, then contacting a professional is your best option for compensation. 

The Minnesota Department of Health cited Bethesda Heritage Center for neglected because most of the center’s staff members were unaware of the dietary restriction for this resident that did not allow her to consume raw vegetables of any kind. The resident was admitted to the center two years prior to the incident for chronic breathing and trouble with anxiety. She was on a restrictive diet which banned her from consuming anything that was not cooked. On May 29^th, the resident began choking while she ate cucumbers in cream. A staff member performed the Heimlich maneuver, which prompted her to cough up a mouthful of food. 

The resident was taken to an emergency room where she died from respiratory failure and choking. The staff at the nursing home have stated that they did not believe they were violating the dietary restrictions since the cucumbers were soft and in cream sauce. The nursing home has since taken measure to re-educate their staff members about the dietary restrictions of all its residents. The nursing home not requires every meal to be double checked against their resident’s dietary requirements. 

Although the nursing home is now taking measures to prevent this accident it still doesn’t change that the family of this resident has to suffer the loss of their loved one from this accident.    Each resident should have been informed about the dietary restrictions to begin so this incident could have prevented. The negligence of the nursing home makes them responsible for the emotional damages and the other costs of this incident. 

 According to the police report, when the police arrived on the scene they noticed “a decomposition smell” coming from the house and when they found Johnson they concluded that she had died. She then remained on the bathroom floor for an additional three hours, until a funeral service worker heard her take a breath and saw her arm move. Johnson was rushed to the Hospice at Chesapeake, according to State Anatomy Board officials, and died 15 days after county police found her. It is unknown what measures the police officers took in order to determine that Johnson was dead. 

Although Johnson suffered from serious medical problems prior to this incident, it is still disturbing that the police officers were not inclined to being more thorough in their assessment of her death. It is possible that if the police officers had reported the incident to medical officials, Johnson’s health would not have been as compromised. It is also possible that Johnson was under some type of home care system that ensures having someone checking in on her, and they may have failed to perform that service. 

The case stems from an incident last summer in which 87-year-old Donald Oliver fell to the ground and broke his hip.  The resident died three weeks later from his injuries. The coroner's office ruled the death a homicide. Witnesses at the home claim Weatherly pushed a door open in Oliver's direction and then punched Oliver when he was on the ground. Though she originally plead guilty, Weatherly is now claiming that she and Oliver both pulled on opposite sides of the door at the same time, causing the door to swing open and knock Oliver to the ground.

This case illustrates an important issue for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities and their families: the difference between abuse and neglect. Abuse is willful actions on the part of staff members or administrators to cause harm to their residents. This is what Weatherly is being charged with, as the prosecutors and witnesses claim that Weatherly intentionally knocked Oliver to the ground and punched him. Neglect occurs when staff members and administrators are careless or do not follow proper regulations, leading to harm to their residents. In admitting she was careless, this is what Weatherly is claiming she committed.

Both abuse and neglect are serious problems that need to be combatted vigorously by nursing home and assisted living residents and their families. For example, in this case, though Weatherly is being punished for her actions, state regulators and the victim's family should take a close look at the conditions in the facility that allowed this to occur. Assisted living facilities are often more loosely regulated than nursing homes, so residents and their families need to pay even more attention to the conditions in the facility.

For more information on abuse and neglect in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, visit the Nursing Home Advocates.

Issues Discussed in this Post:

Assisted Living Centers

Nursing Home Falls

Broken Hips/Fractures

Nursing Home Deaths

Abuse and Neglect

Assisted Living Center vs. Nursing Home Regulations

The autopsy determined that Engstorm died from drowning, yet the manner of death (suicide, accident, or homicide etc.) is unknown. At around 8:40pm the Police were called to Warren Park Nursing Pavillion located on 6700 block of North Damon Avenue. The staff of the nursing home found Engstrom unresponsive in a bathtub with the water still running. She was immediately taken out of the tub where staff attempted to revive her. Unfortunately the attempts were unsuccessful and paramedics were called to the scene. She was later pronounced dead. Belmont area detectives are still investigating the death. 

These types of accidents should never occur at a nursing home. While the cause of this unfortunate accident is unknown, there are many possibilities. Defective products or even an adverse reaction to medication can be responsible for this horrific accident. The staff of the nursing home can also be held accountable for negligence if they were responsible for checking on their residents frequently, or if they were aware of their residents instability. Regardless of the situation, when a family is grieving because of a loss of a family member it can be difficult to know the right course of action to take. Contacting a professional is the best option for your family to receive compensation if another party is at fault for the accident.

The resident, who was described as being in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease, went into the dementia unit's satellite kitchen in the early morning while the two staff members on duty were caring for another resident.  He then apparently drank the dishwasher detergent and was discovered by the staff members.  Though they called 911, paramedics and doctors were not able to save him and he died 18 hours later.

Though the facility claims it did nothing wrong and could not have predicted something like this would occur, records show that the facility had previously been cited for not properly securing areas of its dementia unit, including the kitchen, beauty salon, and laundry room.  According to the report, residents had access to potentially dangerous items such as a hot coffee pot, hot curling irons, and various chemical products.

This story illustrates the inadequacy of state inspections.  Even though the facility had already been cited for not securing the kitchen, the administration was apparently not motivated to correct the problem, leading to the resident's death.  Nursing home and assisted living facility administrators should be held more accountable for their actions so that these problems can be addressed before someone dies needlessly, not after. 

For more information, visit the Nursing Home Advocates' page on Accidental Death in Assisted Living Facilities.