Southern California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
When nursing homes are cited for nursing home abuse and neglect in Poway, how are those citations determined? What can the type of citations a facility has received in the past tell potential residents about the quality of care at the facility?
It can be difficult to find a skilled nursing facility in Southern California that has a strong record when it comes to patient safety and patient care. One clear way to know that a facility has had problems in the past is to look into its citation history. However, nursing home citations can be difficult to understand. While a citation of any sort indicates that there is a problem, the different citation levels, including the most serious of the penalties, do not always clearly indicate by title alone that the facility has been cited for a serious incident of nursing home abuse or neglect. The following will explore these citations and describe the different categories.
Class AA Nursing Home Citations are the Most Serious Citation
The most serious citation that a nursing home in Poway or elsewhere in California can get is a class AA citation. According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), a class AA citation is “a violation that CDPH has determined to have been a direct proximate cause of death of a patient or resident of a long term care facility.” In order to issue a class AA citation, CDPH is required to prove that the nursing home’s violation “was a direct proximate cause of death” and that “the death resulted from an occurrence of a nature that the regulation was designed to prevent.”
To be clear, when a nursing home resident dies as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, a facility can be issued a class AA citation, which is the most serious citation in the state. The minimum fine for a class AA citation is $25,000, and the maximum fine for this citation is $100,000. If a facility receives two class AA citations within a 24-month period, CDPH can move to suspend or revoke the facility’s state license.
To give you an example of a situation in which CDPH issued a class AA citation, a recent article in the Visalia Times reported that a nursing home south of Fresno exhibited “deficiencies that directly led to the death of a patient at the facility.” More precisely, a CDPH investigation revealed that the facility, Redwood Springs Healthcare Center, failed to prove proper supervision for a patient while she was using the bathroom. The patient fell as a result of the lack of supervision and hit her head. The fall and the hit to the head resulted in the patient’s death. The facility was fined $100,000 for the nursing home neglect incident and violation.
Other Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Citations
Other nursing home citations include the following:
- Class A citation: patient was in imminent danger of death or serious harm, or there was a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to patients;
- Class B violation: violation had a direct or immediate relationship to the patient’s health, safety, or security; and
- Class C violation: violation had a remote relationship to patient health, safety, or security.
There are more specific types of Class B violations that concern patient rights violations, abuse reporting violations, and other serious issues.
Seek Help from a Poway Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
If you have questions about filing a claim against a nursing home in Southern California, an experienced Poway nursing home abuse and neglect attorney can speak with you about your options. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information.
See Related Blog Posts:
Seniors with Cognitive Impairments are More Likely to Fall
RCFE Evictions and Elderly Rights in San Marcos
(image courtesy of Brandon Holmes)
