Southern California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

August 24, 2015

Decisionmaking in Nursing Homes for Incompetent Residents

According to a recent article from Kaiser Health News, until recently, a California law permitted nursing homes to make decisions—include about end-of-life care—for nursing home residents who have been declared incompetent. However, a state court recently held that the law, which was enacted more than twenty years ago, is unconstitutional.

Nursing Homes Cannot Violate Patients’ Rights

The law remained in effect until Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio M. Grillo ruled that the law is unconstitutional in a decision that came down at the end of last month. As the judge explained, “the law violates patients’ due process rights because it doesn’t require nursing homes to notify patients they have been deemed incapacitated or to give them the chance to object.” While Grillo indicated that he knows the decision “is likely to cause problems” for regular nursing home operations, it’s more important to put nursing home patients’ rights above practical logistics.

August 14, 2015

Blood Thinner Causing Nursing Home Deaths

by Walton Law Firm

A common blood-thinning drug, Coumadin, has been cited as the cause for numerous deaths in nursing homes, according to a recent article in the Washington Post. What’s the problem with Coumadin? In short, it requires that a very precise amount be administered to patients, and either too much or too little of the medication can result in fatal injuries to the elderly.

What is Coumadin?

According to WebMD, Coumadin is the brand name for the generic drug Warfarin. It’s generally used to treat blood clots, or to prevent clots from forming (and thus to help reduce a patient’s risk of a stroke or a heart attack). This medication often is described as a blood thinner, but as WebMD explains, “the more correct term is anticoagulant.” Coumadin, when used properly, can decrease the clotting proteins in your blood, which ultimately can help blood to flow better if there’s a risk of clotting.

August 7, 2015

Difficult Decisions for Families as Nursing Home Costs Rise

by Walton Law Firm

When the costs of nursing home care are too high to provide families with seemingly decent options, do the risks of nursing home abuse and neglect become more prominent? According to a recent article from The Associated Press, elderly Americans are realizing that, if they require care in a nursing home, they’ll quickly outlive the amount of money they’ve managed to save. Indeed, “for the two-thirds of Americans over 65 who are expected to need some long-term care, the costs are increasingly beyond reach.” But will lower-cost options result in a lower quality of care?

Unreachable Costs of Care

How much does it cost to receive long-term care? According to the article, “the median bill for a private room in a U.S. nursing home now runs $91,000 a year,” and “one year of visits from home-health aides runs $45,760.” Those numbers are even higher in California.

July 31, 2015

Arbitration Agreements in Nursing Homes

by Walton Law Firm

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed a rule forbidding nursing homes from “requiring residents to sign binding arbitration agreements,” and according to a recent article in Modern Healthcare, the rule is “long overdue.” While California currently requires nursing homes to use only voluntary arbitration agreements—something that the American Health Care Association has been seeking—even voluntary agreements can pose problems for nursing home residents in the event of an elder abuse claim.

Are Voluntary Agreements Always Voluntary?

To have a better understanding of why even voluntary arbitration agreements might not be so great, it’s important to recognize why nursing homes and other facilities use them in the first place. In short, they “help nursing homes avoid costly litigation.” In other words, if a patient (or her family) thinks about filing a nursing home neglect lawsuit, an arbitration agreement can prevent her from doing so. Instead, she’ll have to go through arbitration. And many arbitration agreements—even voluntary ones—appear amidst a lot of other paperwork that appears when a patient enters a nursing home.

July 23, 2015

California’s Senior Legislature Wants to Continue its Advocacy Work

by Walton Law Firm

For the last 35 years, California’s Senior Legislature has been advocating for the rights of older adults throughout the state. Indeed, according to a recent report from NBC News, the ground has been proposing laws to state legislators aimed at preventing elder abuse throughout its tenure. Now, however, the advocacy group is facing a serious problem with funds and is taking steps to ensure that it retains a voice when it comes to lawmaking and the rights of the elderly in California.

Long-Time Group Advocates for Seniors’ Rights

The California Senior Legislature currently has 120 members, all of whom are volunteers. Its members come from a variety of cities throughout the state, from Southern California to the Bay Area. Each of the members, according to NBC News, is elected from separate senior organizations in their respective cities. “Throughout its history,” the report states, “the group has proposed a myriad of laws dealing with topics ranging from elder abuse to senior health issues.” Legislators recall members of the group actually walking through the state capitol in order to personally track down legislators and encourage them to carry proposals created by the group.

July 15, 2015

Chemical Restraints and Nursing Home Abuse

by Walton Law Firm

Nursing homes in California continue to receive warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the use of antipsychotic medications given to elderly residents, yet the use of chemical restraints continues. Indeed, according to a recent news story from ABC News 10, nearly fifty nursing homes in our state “rate below average for the use of antipsychotic drugs.” Does the use of chemical restraints constitute nursing home abuse?

Dementia and Antipsychotic Medications

Many of us know that elderly nursing home residents, particularly those who have been diagnosed with dementia, may be prescribed antipsychotic medications in order to chemically “restrain” them. For those of us with loved ones residing in these facilities, it can be frustrating to learn that off-label drug use is taking place when it’s unnecessary and could lead to serious harms.

July 9, 2015

Campaign Against Elder Abuse in California

by Walton Law Firm

According to a recent article in the Orange County Register, Kerri Kasem has been heavily involved in a campaign against elder abuse that aims to both educate the community and change the laws on visitation. Kasem is the daughter of Casey Kasem, the radio personality who passed away last June. Given Kerri’s concerns that her father was suffering elder abuse at the hands of his wife, Kerri began campaigning for elder abuse awareness in California.

Family Caregivers Can Be Responsible for Abuse

Back in 2013, Kerri Kasem’s father had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease and was recently diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. He had previously been residing in a nursing home, but his wife, Kerri’s stepmother, soon became his sole caregiver. At that time, Kerri’s stepmother prevented any of Casey’s children from seeing him, and she cut off the former radio personality’s contact with the outside world.

July 2, 2015

Largest Nursing Home Owner in California Cited for Abuse

by Walton Law Firm

According to a recent story from ABC 7 Eyewitness News Los Angeles, “California’s largest nursing home chain has come under fire from government regulators, facing a flurry of citations and penalties.” Indeed, Brius Healthcare Services will have to account for the numerous elder abuse allegations against its facilities across the state.

Serious Violations in Brius Health Services Facilities

Over the course of the past year, Brius facilities have been investigated by the police, they’ve been sued for nursing home abuse, and they’ve been the target of investigations conducted by state and federal agencies that have issued violations. The company has 81 facilities in California, and they cover a wide expanse of the state. Indeed, the facilities stretch from “San Diego to Roseville to Eureka.”

June 23, 2015

Learning About Elder Abuse Awareness Day

by Walton Law Firm

Every year on June 15th, the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) and the Administration on Aging (AoA) provide awareness resources and prevention information for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). According to a press release from the AoA, WEAAD was established in 2006 by several different global organizations that partnered to help stop elder abuse across the world.

Elder Abuse and Neglect Occurs Across the Globe

In conjunction with the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations, the NCEA and AoA hope to “provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons.” What kind of tools are necessary to help global citizens understand elder abuse and neglect? While age is a primary risk factor for sustaining injuries resulting from elder abuse, nursing home abuse and neglect isn’t limited to just one socioeconomic or ethnic group.

June 16, 2015

Fatal Morphine Dose at Sacramento Nursing Home

by Walton Law Firm

According to a recent article in the Courthouse News Service, a California senior’s family filed an elder abuse lawsuit against “the nation’s largest nursing home chain” after the patient was accidentally given a fatal dose of morphine. The victim, Jonathan Bell, had been a dialysis patient at American River Center in Sacramento when his nurse mistakenly administered the morphine. Bell’s family has alleged that the nursing home “refused to let an ambulance take the catatonic man to a hospital” after the medical mistake occurred. Bell died the following day.

Nursing Home Concerned About Sanctions

Why wouldn’t staff members at American River Center allow an ambulance to take Bell to the hospital for care? His daughters argue that “the nursing home feared sanctions for giving him the wrong treatment and tried to cover up its mistake by letting Bell remain in a catatonic state for more than 24 hours without medical attention.” Indeed, according to the family’s lawyer, “they tried to bury their mistake and buried his life.”

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"Calling Randy was the best decision I could have made. He got me an excellent settlement that covered all my medical bills and put a sizable chunk of money in my pocket."★★★★★- Erik S., San Marcos -

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