Rock Hill SC Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Lawyers

Attorney Robert J. Reeves is a 25 year veteran trial lawyer who has handled almost every type of nursing home neglect and abuse case. As a former Registered Nurse (RN), he understands what is necessary to properly care for elderly and frail patients. He holds nursing homes or assisted living facilities accountable when they do not. Mr. Reeves is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and Super Lawyers. The below information is a brief summary of the causes and types of nursing home neglect cases we have seen and litigated. We hope you never need us, but we are here if you do. If you suspect someone you care about is being neglected or abused while in a nursing home, call us today at 803-554-4157. We will help you get the answers you need to make sure your loved one is safe.

Rock Hill SC has numerous “nursing homes” or “assisted living facilities.” The latter is the newer term used in the industry. Our population is aging. We are seeing more and more individuals turning to such institutions for varying degrees of care. Some “patients” or “residents” can live fairly independently and need only minor assistance. Others require full-time, round the clock professional nursing care. Rock Hill SC Nursing Home attorney Robert J. Reeves has been practicing law for 25 years and has personally handled nursing home neglect and abuse cases for years. In his practice, he has seen many examples of poor care that resulted in serious injury and death. Our case experience includes “wandering away,” falls, dehydration, poor nutrition, malnutrition, bedsores, and sepsis, and wrongful death claims.

Common Causes of Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

Low Staffing

This is the major reason for nursing home injury cases. The facilities simply do not have an adequate number of available staff. Nursing homes have more patients to attend than ever before. And, those residents who are there are more dependent and vulnerable than in previous years. And finally, nursing home insurance and/or government reimbursement payments have not kept up with rising costs. It’s the “perfect storm” for bad things to happen. Govenernment-run nursing home care is becoming the norm. Private facilities claim they cannot hire enough staffers given the low reimbursements per patient. Consequently, they have fewer nurses aides, Licnsed Practical Nurses (LPN), and Registered Nurses (RN) to care for higher numbers of more vulnerable patients. This is how bad things can happen and happen fast. Residents can fall and not be found for hours. Food and drink can be delayed. Residents can be assaulted or handled roughly by staff or other residents without being discovered. While financial constraints are an issue, caring for our aging population is a tremendous responsibility and moral charge. Mr. Reeves has litigated Rock Hill SC nursing home neglect cases due to low staffing. He continues to see this issue as an ongoing problem for the foreseeable future.

Inadequate Training

Combined with low staffing, many facilities simply do not take the time to properly train the few staff they do have. Unlike LPNs and RNs who provide skilled nursing care, nurses aides generally perform more remedial custodial care to patients. They deliver meals, clean and bathe residents, change bedding, and perform janitorial duties in facilities. Given the patient to staff ratio, they can barely complete their many tasks assigned. Unfortunately, given these time restraints, they are constantly in a hurry to get to the next patient. When moving residents from the bed to the bathroom or from a wheelchair to the bed, they often have not been properly trained on how to safely lift patients. Also, one nurses aide may try to move a large patient on their own when safety really requires at least two staff members. Poor training and inattention can result in serious injuries to older, more frail patients. Ongoing training is critical but often not made available.

High Staff Turnover

This problem really builds on the other issues of poor pay and inadequate training. Because wages are often low, nursing homes generally experience a higher staff turnover rate than other industries. In addition, the work performed is physically demanding and often involves cleaning up vomitus, urine, and feces. This is not very appealing work. Consequently, it is difficult to attract good, quality workers. People who work in nursing homes either have good hearts who want to help others or cannot find a job anywhere else. Many workers have prior criminal records and other issues that makes it hard for them to get a job elsewhere. Of course, some unscruptulous workers actually prey on the vulnerable elderly, and this is where we see nursing home abuse cases, including assault, robbery, and even sexual assault on residents.

Types of Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Cases

Falls

Falls are easily the number one cause of serious injury and even death in elderly patients. Because older residents are more unsteady and sometimes prone to falling, it is critical that a proper care plan be developed for more vulnerable patients. It is also necessary to have “grab rails” located throughout facilities and especially in bathrooms. If proper steps are not taken, residents will fall and break bones, hips, and can even sustain a serious head injury. When getting patients from the bed to a wheelchair or a wheelchair to the bathroom, there must be a sufficient number of properly trained  staff to make the move safely. If these essential steps are not taken, someone will get injured. It is really just a question of time.

Dehydration

Elderly patients tend to be inactive and sleep more hours than when younger. As a result, they can become dehydrated more easily and quickly. It is important that nursing homes properly monitor the intake, and sometime output, of vulnerable, bedridden residents. Again, with inadequate and poorly trained staffing, caregivers may not appreciate how important proper hydration is to overall health. And, while they may leave juices or other drinks by the bedside, residents may need help and encouragement to actuall consume fluids. If they do not have proper hydration, they can need hospitalization to recover. Also, hydration and proper nutritution are essential in the prevention of bedsores which we discuss more below.

Poor Nutrition

As with proper hydration, good nutrition is also vital to one’s overall health. Meals are often served late and even cold due to poor staffing. Such food is difficult to find appetizing to say the least. That is why it is imperative to serve meals on time and while they are still hot. It is also important that meals are monitored and what is actually eaten is noted so that malnutrition can be avoided. If a resident becomes malnourished, their overall health will deteriorate, and they will require  hospitalization to recover. Other health consequences can include more brittle bones and teeth as well as complications with other systemic conditions like diabetes and heart issues.

Bedsores (decubitus ulcers)

In combination with inactivity, poor hydration, and malnutrition, bedsores can form quickly in elderly residents. Staff must make efforts to ensure that residents get up and move around regularly. If they are immobile, residents must be monitored closely for skin breakdown and early signs of bedsores on typically affected areas like low back, buttocks, and heels. Once a bedsore starts to form, it can progress quickly to a very serious condition that can lead to death. Through proper care, there is never an excuse for a bedsore. They are completely preventable. The only reason they form at all is improper staff attention. While nursing homes will offer any number of justifications, they are really only confirming why bedsores formed in the first place. If assisted living facilities cannot properly care for a frail resident with many other health problems, then they should not accept them as a patient or collect the associated fees.

Sepsis and Other Infections

Sepsis and resulting wrongful death cases are becoming more common scenarios in nursing homes. These cases start to fit a familiar pattern. You start with a resident who has systemic serious health issues. They really are too frail to be properly cared for in a nursing home. But, the facility admits them and takes their insurance payments. Within a short period of time, the factors described above come into play, and a bedsore starts to form. If not properly detected or immediately treated, the situation gets worse and fast. By the time anyone gets really concerned, the resident ends up clinging to life in an intensive care unit at the hospital. Mr. Reeves was a former ICU Registered Nurse (RN) and has personally treated such patients. He knows the life-threatening nature of this condition and constantly emphasizes how important prevention is. Once a bedsore starts in a frail patient with other serious health issues, it is very difficult to treat. And, given the advanced age and weakened condition, elderly patients simply cannot survive the “total body infection” and pass. When sepsis results in death, we not only puruse a negligence lawsuit against the nursing home facility but a wrongful death lawsuit is brought as well. An autopsy is often required to prove the cause of death and that it was premature because nursing home lawyers almost always assert the resident had led a “full and rich life” and death was “natural.” To prevail, we have to show that the death was not a “natural” event and that the lack of proper care shortened your loved one’s life and caused tremendous suffering at the end.

Wandering Away Cases

As we get older, our minds start to fade, and nursing home residents are no exception. Many patients suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and do not know who they are or where they are. They can easily “wander away” from the facility if not properly monitored. Certainly, we don’t want our loved ones confined or tied down, but we do want them to be safe. Mr. Reeves personally handled such a case against a Rock Hill nursing home named “Sonshine Village.” In this case, a resident with Alzheimer’s disease got outside of the facility on a hot July day and wandered away. The facility was located on Ebenezer Road, a busy major roadway. While everyone was concerned about the resident being struck by a car, the victim was later found dead in a nearby car. The cause of death was heat stroke. The facility denied the claim, stating that they had all of the proper monitoring equipment and alarms on doors and windows. However, through depositions, it was learned these door alarms had actually been disabled because residents kept setting them off. That revelation certainly seems like nursing home neglect. Subsequently, the case was settled, and this nursing home went out of business.