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What Nursing Home Facility is Right for my Loved One?

Choosing a nursing home facility is a daunting task.  There are reasons why nursing homes are deemed undesirable – many provide inadequate care, and smell like urine and death.  Here are some steps you can take to ensure that your loved one is receiving the best possible care.
First, get a durable power of attorney for medical care so that you can make health care decisions and review medical records for your loved one.

Second, request a complete facility profile from the State Health Department, Licensing and Certification Department for the facility you intend to use. For more information, visit the website for the California Department of Public Health, or call them at (916) 558-1784.

Third, visit the surrounding facilities.  Pay attention to staffing levels – are their sufficient staff meeting the needs of residents?  Notice how many people in the facility seem overmedicated, excessively sleepy or in bed or unable to walk or talk.  If many patients fall into this category, be wary of overmedication at the facility, especially with the psychotropic drugs Haldol, Thorazine, Thiothixene, Droperidol, Fluphenazine, Midazolam, Benzodiazepine, Lorazepam, Mellaril and Prolixin.

Fourth, when reviewing the Admission Agreement, do not agree to and do not initial any arbitration clause.  An arbitration clause is a provision in the admission agreement that tries to force families to waive your right to a jury trial for any potential claims you or your loved one might have against the nursing home.  You are not obligated to agree to or initial an arbitration clause as a condition to having the patient be admitted to the facility.  Arbitration clauses are not favorable to consumers, as it is a waiver of your right to a jury trial and potentially limits your ability to hold a nursing home accountable for neglect or abuse.

Fifth, visit your family member at different times during the day, including meal times. Take notice of the types of food and nutritional balance. Dehydration can lead to major problems (hypernatremia, neurological losses, increased risk of developing bed sores, death).  So always make sure that water is available at all times and that it is easily accessible to the resident.  If your loved one cannot access water due to a disability or limitation (e.g., blind, hand injury, etc.), consult with the nursing facility so that a care plan can be addressed to ensure that your loved one receives adequate fluids throughout the day.

Sixth, be involved in care conferences.  Tell the Administrator or Director of Nurses that you want to be informed of and present at all care conferences to know what the plan of care is for your loved one.

Take seriously any complaints the patient has about mistreatment by the staff, such as “they pull my hair” or “they are mean to me.” Don’t accept the facilities’ statement that the patient is old and doesn’t know what is going on.

Report any signs of bad care to the state licensing office in your state that licenses and regulates nursing homes. Be sure to follow up on the complaint to insure accountability.  The California Department of Public Health’s number is (800) 236-9747, or you can fill out a formal complaint online.  You can also contact your County hotline to report instances of abuse.

Do not be intimidated by threats from the facility such as kicking the patient out of the facility because of complaints or the facility’s refusal to cooperate with requests for information.

York Law Firm is dedicated to providing people with the knowledge to avoid nursing home abuse of their loved one.  If you do need an attorney to help protect your legal claim, we encourage you to contact us.  We specialize in nursing home abuse cases.

York Law Corporation
Sacramento, California
www.yorklawcorp.com
Call today: (800) 939-1832
Local: (916) 643-2200

Medicare Attempts to Reduce Health Care Costs and Promote Patient Safety

Certain types of medical errors should never happen.  According to the California Association of Health Plans, preventable medical errors are a leading cause of death in the United States, resulting in over $4.5 billion in additional health spending annually.  Beginning in October 2008, in an attempt to increase and promote safety and wellness and to reduce health care costs, Medicare, Aetna, and other major health care insurers have banned payments for “never events.”  Specifically, Medicare no longer provides additional payment to hospitals unless the events were present at admission. Think about it, it makes sense – why should Medicare insure hospitals and nursing home facilities for events that should never have happened in the first place?

“Never events” are conditions that could have reasonably been prevented.  There are 28 preventable adverse health events that are listed as “never events.”  To be a “never event,” an event must be characterized as the following:

• Unambiguously identifiable and measurable;
• Preventable; and
• Resulting in serious injury or disability, or even death.

Not surprisingly, among the list of “never events” is stage 3 or 4 pressure sores acquired after admission to a healthcare facility.  Pressure sores, also known as pressure ulcers or bed sores, are a result of hospital or nursing home neglect.  When a person is bedridden or in a wheelchair for an extended period of time, circulation is cut off to parts of the body and the sustained pressure creates areas of damaged skin and tissue.  Prolonged pressure on one area of the body can quickly develop into pressure sores.

So why are pressure sores listed as “never events”?  Because all it takes is an attentive caregiver to reposition the patient to eliminate the risk of developing one, along with proper hydration and nutrition.  Pressure sores are an unequivocal sign of neglect.  They wouldn’t happen were it not for the hospital or nursing homes failure to reposition the patient.  Period.

York Law Firm believes this is the first step of many steps to prevent nursing home abuse and neglect.  We understand that pressure sores are extremely dangerous to elders, as they can rapidly progress and can become infected, causing systemic infection and even death.  Unfortunately, too many of our nursing home clients have sustained bad pressure sores, and we have helped them understand their legal rights, held the nursing home accountable and have obtained compensation for their injuries.

York Law Corporation
Sacramento, California
www.yorklawcorp.com
Call today: (800) 939-1832
Local: (916) 643-2200

Adapting to Changing Needs: When a Residential Care Facility is Inadequate

Your mom and dad are getting older, and can no longer live on their own.  They can still walk, talk, and are mentally and emotionally stable, but they need assistance with daily activities that most people take for granted – eating, dressing, bathing, brushing their teeth, or need help with housekeeping.  Where do they go?

Residential care facilities, also known as assisted living facilities, are meant for older individuals who do not yet need 24 hour nursing home care but can no longer live independently.  Residents who live in residential care facilities are not allowed to live on their own but do not require constant nursing care and supervision. Nationwide, roughly 800,000 individuals (mostly elders) reside in licensed facilities, including residential care facilities.  Residential care facilities provide residents with shelter, meals, supervision of medication, and assistance in daily activities.

There are five causes for eviction in residential care facilities.  One of them is if after a formal assessment, the facility determines that it can no longer meet the resident’s changing care needs.  Often times, a resident will first be appropriately admitted to a residential care facility.  As time goes on, his or her condition may progress and worsen.  Although once minimally self-sufficient, the person may now require 24 hour care provided by a nursing home facility.  Because residential care facilities are considered non-medical facilities and are not required to have nurses, certified nursing assistants or doctors on staff, an elder who becomes increasingly frail or now suffers from an illness or disability would be better served in a nursing home facility.  In fact, if a residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE) retains a resident for whom they cannot meet his or her needs, it is dangerous and can have deadly consequences.  For example, a RCFE is not adequately staffed with nursing personnel to care for residents with Stage 3 or Stage 4 pressure sores because pressure sores that are not adequately treated by the appropriate nursing personnel can become infected, leading to systemic infection or death.  Likewise, dehydration is a serious concern in the elderly (especially those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease) and can lead to death.  RCFE personnel are not sufficiently trained to identify signs and symptoms of dehydration, which can be fatal.

If someone you love is not receiving adequate care in his or her residential care facility, contact York Law Firm immediately.  We have helped clients obtain the compensation they deserve for this horrendous error.  For example, we achieved a confidential settlement against a nursing home for an 84 year old female client who suffered severe dehydration, leading to critical hypernatremia, a stage 4 pressure sore and sepsis, all of which led to her premature death.

York Law Corporation
Sacramento, California
www.yorklawcorp.com
Call today: (800) 939-1832
Local: (916) 643-2200

Elder Care Facilities – Which One is Right for You?

Does your loved one need more care and supervision than you can provide at home?  Are you at a loss about what type of facility or home is appropriate for your Mom or Dad?  This blog is dedicated to describing the different types of homes and facilities that are available for your loved one.  The bottom line is that the type of home or facility that is appropriate for your loved one depends upon the level of care and supervision he needs based upon his medical condition and the degree of independence or dependence your family member has in their daily life activities (toileting, bathing, meal preparation, social activities).

There are several different types of elder care facilities.  They include:

Adult day care. Adult day care includes programs, services and facilities designed to assist elders who are either mentally or physically impaired.  Adult day care gives daily caregivers relief from their duties.  Respite workers take care of the elder for specified amounts of time, a concept similar to baby-sitting (except, in this case, adult sitting).  Adult day care is an option for adults who already have a primary in-home caregiver and who do not want or need to live in a residential institution.

In-home nurses. In-home nurses provide assistance for elders who are minimally self-sufficient and only need help in daily activities.  In-home nurses go to the home of the elder to assist him or her on a daily basis, but only for several hour increments.

Residential care facilities. Residential care facilities are also known as “assisted living facilities.”  They are housing options for elders who are in between stages.  They do not yet need 24 hour nursing home care but can no longer live independently.  Residents who live in residential care facilities are no longer safe to live on their own but do not require care and supervision.  Board and care homes, also known as personal care homes, residential care facilities, assisted living and domiciliary care, provides rooms, meals, laundry and housekeeping in exchange for rent.

Nursing homes. Nursing homes are the final option.  Nursing homes are also referred to as skilled nursing facilities.  Nursing homes are appropriate for individuals who can no longer take care of themselves, need assistance with activities of daily living and require 24 hour nursing care.  Nursing home employees care for residents on a daily basis, helping them with tasks such as going to the bathroom, eating, and bathing, as well as providing nursing care.  Many nursing homes provide physical therapy and rehabilitation for individuals recovering from surgery.

Any time you leave your loved one in the hands of someone else, you risk the chance that he or she will be abused or neglected.  Unfortunately, elder abuse and neglect can happen in all of the above settings.  The best way to avoid exposing your loved one to abuse and neglect is to carefully choose the correct program, nurse, or facility that you trust.  And visit your loved one frequently.  Be involved in their care plan.

If someone you love has fallen victim to abuse or neglect in a nursing home or assisted living facility, we’re here to help.  The experienced attorneys at York Law Firm have handled numerous cases of elder abuse and neglect over the years and can help you obtain justice.

York Law Corporation
Sacramento, California
www.yorklawcorp.com
Call today: (800) 939-1832
Local: (916) 643-2200

When the Numbers Just Don’t Add Up

Elders residing in nursing care and residential care facilities often do not receive the care you would expect.  Many residents are abused or neglected.  They contract illnesses, suffer from untreated wounds that become infections, and in severe cases, they may die.

One of the main causes of nursing home abuse and neglect is a direct result of a nursing home’s deliberate choice to understaff its facilities.  Most nursing homes are profit driven.  This means that they will cut corners in order to insure that they are profitable.  One of their methods is to only employ the minimum amount of people necessary for the nursing home to function, even if the level of functioning is subpar at best.

What is the result?  Patients pay for services they aren’t receiving, employees are paid (usually not very much) but have too many patients to handle, and who’s left to benefit?  The nursing home facility at both the monetary and physical expense of its elderly patients.

California has strict nursing home staffing requirements.  The law requires that nursing homes administer a minimum of 3 hours and 12 minutes of direct care for each patient.  Failure to provide the minimum care required results in nursing home patients who are neglected – they may be left in soiled linens for hours or even days at a time, or they are not repositioned.  The body cannot withstand sustained pressure for long periods of time, since circulation to parts of the body will be cut off.  This increases the risk of developing painful bed sores, a fate that no one should have to endure and can easily be avoided.

If you suspect that your loved one is receiving inadequate care due to elder care understaffing, here’s a few things you can do.

• Report the understaffing to your local ombudsman.  Ombudsmen serve as advocates for nursing home residents.  Contact the California Department of Aging for the name and number of the long term care ombudsman program nearest you.
• Also, you can contact your county Adult Protective Services (APS).  APS is responsible for investigating complaints of abuse, exploitation and neglect of adults who are elderly or disabled.  A list of Adult Protective Services’ contact information organized by California county is provided here.
• Contact the Department of Public Health and file a complaint with the Licensing Division at 1-800-236-9747.

Of course, York Law Firm can help you obtain the compensation you deserve.  We know both the Federal and California laws pertaining to nursing home abuse and neglect and will apply them strategically to bolster your claim.

York Law Corporation
Sacramento, California
www.yorklawcorp.com
Call today: (800) 939-1832
Local: (916) 643-2200

Nursing Home Chain Pays Big for Understaffing their Facilities

What would motivate a jury to award $640 million in damages against one nursing home chain?  If the violation of law is so egregious, then the verdict serves as a reminder to all other nursing homes to abide by the law or suffer severe financial consequences.

This was the case in Humboldt County.  An Orange County-based nursing home firm was ordered to pay $640 million in a class action lawsuit for understaffing their 22 California nursing homes.  California requires nursing homes administer a minimum of 3 hours and 12 minutes of direct care for each patient, something that the nursing home chain simply could not achieve with the amount of employees then employed.

This jury award signifies one of the most substantial (if not the most substantial) jury awards in a nursing home case.  The amount was calculated to reimburse each patient on each day that the chain of nursing homes did not provide the minimum staffing requirements.

Patient care suffered as a direct result of the nursing home chain’s decision to understaff their facilities.  They were forced to wait longer for care, such as changing of soiled linens and clothes or being repositioned.  If older people cannot change themselves, then they are forced to sit or lay in their own urine until a caregiver arrives.  While the elderly wait in the urine, their skin is being weakened by the moisture, making them more susceptible to bed sores.  Unfortunately, bed sores are the underlying cause of death for several thousands Americans each year.

York Law Firm takes their role seriously as an officer of the court.  We feel it is our duty to help enforce nursing home standards and regulations.  The only way to prevent nursing homes from continuing to abuse and neglect its patients is to make examples of the ones that do commit violations.  We are proud to have achieved the first nursing home neglect case that went to trial in Sacramento County for a $3 million jury verdict.

York Law Corporation
Sacramento, California
www.yorklawcorp.com
Call today: (800) 939-1832
Local: (916) 643-2200

$29 Million Verdict Serves as a Public Reminder – Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect is Against the Law!

Unfortunately, elders in nursing homes often experience some form of neglect or abuse.  While national statistics on elder abuse are currently not recorded, in 2004, the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) estimated a 19.7 percent increase in the total reports of elder abuse and neglect and a 15.6 percent increase in substantiated cases since the last survey was conducted four years prior. They also found that 1 to 2 million elders have been “injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated.”

Nursing home abuse is morally reprehensible and against the law.  However, it is still a prevalent problem.  What would motivate nursing home facilities to break the law?  Profit.  Nursing homes run like a business – they will act in a way which maximizes profits at the expense of their patients’ health and safety.

To achieve higher profits, they will often hire people who are unfit for their positions, inadequately train them, or fail to run background checks on them (thereby exposing patients to potentially dangerous individuals).  In addition, nursing homes will hire only the bare minimum necessary for the nursing home to function, resulting in nursing home employees caring for more patients and having more responsibility than they can handle.

The result can be devastating.  Elders in nursing home facilities require 24 hour care and often suffer from an illness or disability.  Many require numerous daily medications just to function at a minimal level.  Forgetting to administer proper medication or over-medicating a patient can result in severe illness or even death.  Abuse – physical, sexual, verbal, etc. – can also permanently affect a patient’s health and compromises his or her safety.

What makes matters worse is that many patients are unable to report instances of abuse or neglect.  Nursing home patients are often unable to effectively communicate.  Those who do report abuse may not be believed, or don’t report it for fear of retaliation.

So what can you do if your elderly loved one has been abused or neglected in a nursing home facility?  Find an experienced elder abuse attorney to handle your case.  Lawsuits against nursing home facilities are numerous and often involve multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts.

Sacramento County recently upheld a $29 million verdict ($1.1 million for pain and suffering and a whopping $28 million for punitive damages) for the death of a 79 year old female nursing home patient, Frances Tanner.  She was originally admitted into the Rocklin nursing home with mild dementia and died just 7 months after admittance from an infected bed sore. The patient’s death was deemed a direct result of the nursing home’s illegal understaffing of its facility, resulting in patient neglect and Tanner’s untimely and tragic death.  The $29 million verdict is believed to be the largest ever for an elder abuse case in Sacramento County.

York Law Firm specializes in nursing home abuse cases and we have obtained our clients millions for their wrongful treatment.  What makes us so successful is our desire to fight injustice and protect the rights of the “little guy.”  We will fight against the system responsible for injuring your loved one.

York Law Corporation
Sacramento, California
www.yorklawcorp.com
Call today: (800) 939-1832
Local: (916) 643-2200

The Dirty Little Secret Hospitals Don’t Want You to Know

Experts estimate that 98,000 people die from preventable medical errors each year.  Also, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that an additional 99,000 patients a year die from hospital-acquired infections. 

More Americans die each month from preventable medical injuries than died in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. 

Although these numbers are not absolute they are growing evidence of problems in the Nation’s hospitals.  There is no nationwide system of recording hospital errors.  In fact, the American Hospital Association spent $81 million on lobbying and political donations to ensure that Former President Clinton’s plan to require hospitals to make information about serious errors public died before it could even get started.

The public in California has the right to know what hospitals have committed dangerous and lethal errors in order to protect themselves from becoming the next victim.  In 2006, Stanely Stinnett became a victim of hospital error when he was airlifted to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, California for non-life-threatening injuries from a motorcycle accident.  During his stay at the hospital Stinnett developed respiratory problems that went unnoticed by hospital staff and his doctor.  On his fifth day of hospitalization Stinnett aspirated and died.  Stinnett’s death is one of many senseless deaths in California hospitals.  State Senator Elaine Alquist from Santa Clara recently passed a bill in the state that required hospitals to report 28 hospital errors to the Department of Public Health.  The belief is that this reporting system will make hospitals own up to the errors they have committed.  Although the hope is to monitor hospital errors, the reality is that some problems are being caught while most are not due to vast under-reporting.

            The York Law Firm is experienced in personal injury law and medical malpractice.  A hospital and its staff have a duty of care owed to a patient to prevent medical errors and injuries.  We go to doctors to minimize risks, not to increase risks.  When seeking medical help, a patient should not be subjected to further medical complications due to the neglect of irresponsible doctors and other hospital staff.  In the course of treatment, a patient’s safety should be protected.  In our practice, we strive to ensure patient safety and that doctors, as well as hospital staff are held responsible for preventable medical errors.

            Recently, the San Francisco Chronicle and KCRA have reported the problem of Death by Hospital Mistake.

York Law Corporation

Sacramento, California

www.yorklawcorp.com

 http://www.kcra.com/video/20324013/index.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/09/MNN9191UIJ.DTL

Do You Know Your Rights?

            According to the California Highway Patrol’s 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, there were 188,551 collisions on state highways in 2007.  Of the 188,551 collisions, 184994 resulted in injury.  Following these collisions, most vehicle owners report the accident to their insurance company and have their vehicles repaired.  Once the vehicle is repaired, the vehicle owners go on with their lives and continue to drive their cars with the same sense of security they had prior to the collision.  What most people do not realize, however, is that they are now more likely to be seriously injured in a subsequent car accident if the dealership failed to do one thing – replace their seat belts. 

            Most people do not know a vehicle’s manual requires the replacement of all seatbelts worn during a collision.  Unless a consumer actually reads the car manual cover to cover, they miss the section that states:  “If a seat belt is worn during a crash, it must be replaced by the dealer.  A belt that has been worn during a crash may not provide the same level of protection in a subsequent crash.”  (2008 Honda Civic Owner’s Manual)  If seat belts worn during a crash are not replaced they can be less effective in subsequent collisions and cause serious injuries and death.  The replacement of your set belts worn during a crash should be covered under your insurance policy and, as such, should be paid for by your insurance provider.  When you take your vehicle to be repaired be sure to tell the repair shop or dealership which seatbelts were in use at the time of the collision.  Once they know, the shop should replace the seat belts at the same time they make the repairs to your vehicle.  If the repair shop/dealership does not replace the seat belts, show them that the car manual requires replacement of seat belts worn during a crash.

            If the repair shop/dealership still refuses to replace the seat belts, contact your insurance company immediately and request that the seat belts be replaced.  Of you or someone you know has been involved in a car accident, big or small, please review your car owner’s manual to see what your vehicle’s manufacturer requires.  If necessary, contact your insurance company and request the replacement of your seat belts.  Doing so may prevent possibly serious injury from a future collision.

            Should your insurance company refuse to replace your seat belts, contact a qualified attorney. 

            The York Law Corporation is a leader in consumer class action lawsuits and personal injury law.  We have extensive experience in holding insurance companies accountable and ensuring they pay for everything they are required to pay for by law.  We strive to prevent consumers from being taken advantage of by the insurance companies’ three D’s: delay, deny, and don’t pay.  It is our goal to stop the manipulative business practices of big business.

York Law Corporation

Sacramento, California

www.yorklawcorp.com

Can the Consumer Ever Win?

             Somewhere in your cell phone or credit card contract, buried in the fine print is a mandatory arbitration clause which waives your right to a jury trial and instead binds you to arbitration if there is ever a dispute.  You may not have known that you have waived your right to hold a corporation accountable through a jury trial and instead agreed to arbitration because you did not read the lengthy contract.  Usually these sneaky arbitration clauses are buried somewhere in a tiny paragraph in the middle of the massive contract.  Now, these arbitration clauses are being quietly added to nursing home contracts.  The Nursing Home Industry is now including these pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses to their admission contracts and you need to know what you can do to protect your loved ones. 

              As you are making the difficult decision of putting a loved one into a nursing home, you could also inadvertently sign away you right to go to court to for neglect or abuse of your loved one.  With the deadly arbitration clause, if there is the death or injury of a loved one, you would be required to fight your dispute in a secret and binding arbitration process that favors the Nursing Home Industry.  When you signed the admission agreement with the nursing home you agreed to have any dispute heard by an arbitrator chosen by the nursing home, to have the proceedings held in private, and for the decision to be unrecorded.  (This has only changed in California which now requires decisions by arbitrators to be recorded.  However, arbitrations still favor the nursing homes, not the patient or their family). 

            If you bring a matter before an arbitrator or panel of arbitrators you are most likely going to lose.  Since these private arbitrators are repeatedly hired by the Nursing Home Industry, it is highly likely that they are going to rule in favor of the nursing home in order to get hired again.  Nursing homes and other large companies are going to hire arbitrators that they know to favor their side.  A recent NPR broadcast highlighted a study claiming that 94% of consumers lost in arbitration and those arbitrators that ruled in favor of the consumer were typically not re-hired by the company for future arbitrations.  This statistic is not wholly for nursing homes but gives a good indication of ones chances of prevailing in an arbitration proceeding. 

           WARNING:  Be aware that you do NOT have to sign any nursing home admission agreement!  The nursing home cannot refuse to admit your loved one into their facility just because you do not sign the contract that contains an arbitration agreement.  By no means are you required to accept an arbitration clause in a nursing home contract.  What should you do if you have put a family member in a nursing home?  If you do not want to enter into an arbitration agreement, carefully read the nursing home’s Admission Agreement and feel free to cross out or decline the arbitration clause.  Please understand that you do not have to initial or approve of any arbitration clause contained in a nursing home Admission Agreement.  You can protect your right to a jury trial should the nursing home neglect or abuse your loved one. 

            The York Law Corporation is very aware of the fact that many companies are taking advantage of consumers by attempting to sneak in arbitration clauses into their agreements.  We are experienced in nursing home admissions agreements.  We are familiar with nursing homes trying to include mandatory, binding arbitration clauses to hold secret and unrecorded sessions that are inherently unfair to the consumer.  We believe that cases of elder neglect need to be heard by a jury and be put on public record.

If you are worried about entering into an arbitration agreement and a resident of Northern California, the York Law Corporation will review nursing home admission agreements for FREE to ensure that you do not sign away your right to go to court.

York Law Corporation

Sacramento, California

www.yorklawcorp.com