This list contains the issuance of citations to Southern California nursing facilities by the California Department of Public Health over the last six months. All the citations listed are issued for reasons related to patient care. For verification of the citation, please contact the local department office or Walton Law…
A jury in Santa Ana awarded the family of Mary Adams $2 million after the 104-year-old was neglected in a Laguna Hills nursing home. The jury awarded $1 million for the Villa Valencia Health Care’s negligence, and another $1 million in punitive damages. Juror Rory Paster, a 41-year-old engineering analyst…
Nursing Home malpractice comes in many forms, and has many names. Some call it nursing home abuse or neglect, others elder abuse, but whatever the name, it’s increasingly becoming a problem in the United States. And it’s not just nursing homes. Residential facilities and home health care providers can commit…
Yesterday the Bush Administration announced that it will create a nursing home rating system by the end of the year. The criteria for ratings has not yet been established, but will likely be a combination of state and federal inspection reports, staffing reports, and resident and family satisfaction surveys. The…
A nursing home in Anaheim has received a $50,000 fine in the choking death of a resident. The resident, a brain injured man in his forties who had swallowing difficulty, choked on a piece of burrito. According to reports, a caregiver was preparing the man’s meal at Parkview Healthcare Center…
The U.S. Department of Justice is stepping up efforts to reduce nursing home mistreatment of elders through its Nursing Home Iniative. The iniative focuses on improving enforcement of existing laws, training, attention to medical forensic issues, and increasing the use of reliable criminal background checks. Through its Elder Justice program,…
The son of Maria Cobian, the elderly woman who was hit by a car and killed when she wandered away from her nursing home, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Vista Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that Palomar Heights Continuing Care Center in Escondido negligently failed to supervise Ms.…
Nursing home abuse and neglect is not always perpetrated by staff members. New research from Cornell University suggests that aggression and violence between residents may be more prevalent than abuse or mistreatment from nursing home employees. According to the study, peer-on-peer abuse is nursing home is a problem that has…
New research shows that elderly people suffering from dementia who are given antipsychotic drugs are more likely to end up in a hospital or die, even if the drugs are administered for a very short period of time. Antipsychotic drugs are frequently used in nursing homes to address the behavioral…
Washington D.C.’s most powerful lobbyists are being hired by the nursing home industry to fight congressional efforts to reform the industry. The industry is closely watching bipartisan legislation that would significantly increase oversight and enforcement of nursing homes around the country. The new legislation, recently introduced by Sens. Grassley (R)…