Nursing Home Abuse Facts, Stats, & Law

Nursing Homes and Institutional Care Abuse

There are State Laws protecting many rights of elderly care & New York nursing home abuse. Contact our law firm to discuss your abuse case. Your Elderly friend or family member might have been abused. If you notice a severe change, contact our law firm to review your abuse case. Our law firm will inform you of your legal rights and lawsuit claim.

Elder Abuse In Nursing Homes

• The United States Census Bureau projects that California's elderly population will nearly double within the next 20 years - from 3.7 million to more than 6.4 million.
• The United States General Accounting Office claims that more than 43 percent of all Americans over the age of 65 will reside in a nursing home sometime in their lives.
• In 1998, the United States General Accounting Office reported that one in three California nursing homes was cited for serious or potentially life-threatening care problems.
• In 1999, the U.S. Congress Committee on Government Reform (USCCGR) reported that of the 439 nursing homes in a major city only one was in total compliance with federal standards of care.
• In 2000, the USCCGR reported that only 18 of the 288 nursing homes in a major city Area were in full or substantial compliance with federal standards of care.
• In 2001, the USCCGR reported that all 27 of the nursing homes in the 22nd Congressional District violated federal health and safety standards.
  Together, these staggering statistics and projections illustrate the urgent need to address and remedy the poor quality of care in many of skilled nursing facilities.

Regulations are standard for many of below

Following areas and categories related to long term care facilities:

Adult Abuse Registry
Assisted Living Facilities
Criminal Background Checks and Mandatory Drug Testing
Group Homes (for persons with AIDS and for persons with Mental Illness)
Neighborhood Homes for Persons with Developmental Disabilities
Nursing Assistant/Aide and Certified Nursing Assistant Training and Qualifications
Nursing Homes
Rest (Family Care) Homes
Rest (Residential) Homes.

Federal Enforcement Actions
Federal enforcement actions (Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter IV, Part 488, Subpart F, cited as 42CFR488, Subpart F) that can be imposed include the following:

Temporary management (Section 415, cited as §488.415)

Denial of payments for new admissions (Section 417)

Denial of payments for all individuals (Section 418)

State monitoring of the nursing facility (Section 422)

Directed plan of correction (Section 424)

Directed in-service training by an outside agency (Section 425)

Transfer of residents, or closure of the facility and transfer of residents (Section 426)

Civil money penalties (Section 430)

Termination of the provider agreement (Section 456).
This website for 42CFR488, Subpart F gives the Text file/version of the regulations.

Local NY

NY Nursing Home Abuse Violations

Many nursing home violations missed by state inspectors represent troubling quality of care problems. For example, the federal inspectors found:

• State inspectors failed to cite one of these facilities for leaving residents in more pain than necessary. One resident was subject to episodes of screaming behavior. Nurses explained that pain medication reduced the screaming behavior, yet the facility had discontinued it. Another resident grimaced and told the nurse that “it hurts” when her dressings were changed, yet the facility failed to address the resident’s pain. Federal inspectors found that this violation caused actual harm to residents.

• State inspectors failed to cite the same facility for not providing proper nutrition to its residents. This poor care caused one resident to lose over 20% of her body weight, falling to as low as 85 lbs. and eventually requiring hospitalization. Federal inspectors found that this violation caused actual harm to residents.

• State inspectors also failed to cite this facility for its improper use of physical restraints, such as vest restraints. Federal inspectors noted that the facility had “failed to demonstrate that [the] restraints were not used for staff convenience.” Federal inspectors found that this violation had the potential to cause more than minimal harm to residents.

• State inspectors failed to cite the other facility for failing to notify the Department of Health about allegations of staff abuse of a resident14 and for failing to screen five of seven new employees for a history of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of residents. Federal inspectors found that these violations had the potential to cause more than minimal harm to residents.

If anyone you know has been a victim of nursing home abuse, or any kind of healthcare or medical malpractice, please contact us.  Our nursing home abuse lawyers will inform you of your legal options.