317.582.0000Category Archives: Nursing Home Abuse
IN THE NEWS – NURSING HOMES FAIL TO REPORT COVID-19 DEATHS TO OSHA
Many California nursing home workers have been dying of COVID, but the industry is failing to inform state watchdogs, a Sacramento Bee review of state records shows. California’s health department regularly updates a list of COVID-19 infections and deaths at nursing homes. But only about half of the listed facilities have bothered to report… Read More »
WHEN IGNORING PATIENT CARE PLANS LEADS TO INJURY AND DEATH
A care plan is a tool that long-term care providers use to coordinate and manage patients’ health care goals, needs and services. When, unfortunately, nursing homes disregard or fail to monitor resident care plans, that is a form of nursing home neglect, which can even lead to nursing home abuse. What kinds of information… Read More »
IN THE NEWS: INDIANA NURSING HOMES SHIELDED FROM COVID-19 LIABILITY SUITS
“In 27 states, nursing homes have gotten special legal protections during the COVID-19 pandemic” reports Ina Jaffe of National Public Radio, meaning that families can’t sue if someone they love got sick or died of COVID-19 in a nursing home. The nursing homes say, Jaffe explains, that they’re doing the best they can, and… Read More »
COVID DATA FOR NURSING HOMES CAN OBSCURE ABUSE AND NEGLECT
New nursing home data just released by the state shows an additional 128 deaths than were previously reported, an increase of about 10%, according to the Indianapolis Star. Those residents, reports show, make up 53% of Indiana’s coronavirus deaths! Dr. Dan Rusyniak, chief medical officer of Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration, attributes the… Read More »
GOVERNOR ISSUES GUIDANCE ON LIABILITY FOR HEALTHCARE FACILILTIES
In a memo issued earlier this spring, the Indiana State Department of Health has declared that “facilities and individuals providing healthcare services in response to a declared disaster emergency, such as the one declared because of COVID-19, may not be held civilly liable for care provided in response to that emergency event.” There’s a… Read More »
IN THE NEWS: NURSING HOMES WITH COVID-19 CASES HAVE BEEN VIOLATING FEDERAL INFECTION CONTROL RULES FOR YEARS
After more than 40 years helping families deal with the tragic results of nursing home abuse and neglect, at Ramey & Hailey Law, we’re not surprised (appalled would be more like it) by the recent headline in the Washington Post. (Back in February of this year, we commented on the special investigative report published… Read More »
YOU NEED TO KNOW: INDIANA RANKS NEAR BOTTOM FOR NURSING HOME STAFFING
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes a “report card” detailing deficiencies in nursing homes, including staffing levels. On the February 2020 staffing levels report, Indiana got a failing grade. Again. The special investigative report published in the Indianapolis Star just two weeks ago is titled “Careless”. Staffing, the reporters emphasized, is… Read More »
REPORTING NURSING HOME ABUSE IN INDIANA
When, fifteen years ago, then-Governor Mitch Daniels issued an Executive Order requiring our Indiana State Department of Health to implement a medical error reporting system, hospitals and surgery centers were the main focus of the initiative designed to reduce the frequency of medical errors. After more than 40 years of dealing with medical malpractice… Read More »
IN THE NEWS: ARBITRATION CLAUSES ALLOWED IN INDIANA NURSING HOME CONTRACTS
It’s only just begun, and debates about whether it’s a good thing or not are fast and furious. Effective September 2019, nursing homes are legally permitted to continue their practice of inserting pre-dispute arbitration clauses into their resident care contracts. “Indiana,” the Nursing Home Abuse Guide tells us, “has the dubious distinction of being one of twelve states having… Read More »
SOUNDING THE ALARM ABOUT BEDSORES IN NURSING HOME PATIENTS
“Bedsores — also called pressure ulcers — are injuries to skin and underlying tissue resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin,” the Mayo Clinic explains. “People most at risk of bedsores are those with a medical condition that limits their ability to change positions or those who spend most of their time in a… Read More »
