Dehydration in Oklahoma Nursing Homes

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

I wrote about a nursing home abuse wrong death case caused by complications from dehydration earlier in the week. Dehydration can cause all sorts of problems for nursing home patients, and can actually make other complications worse. Dehydration can also help (bring about) other types of nursing home abuse. Nursing home patients that are dehydrated have an increased risk of developing bedsores (decubitus ulcers), kidney problems, electrolyte imbalances, and low blood volume. Nursing homes may implement a program measuring input and output for patients with a risk for dehydration. MedicineNet.com has a nice slideshow detailing dehydration causes, symptoms and tips on staying hydrated.

Related articles
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nursing Home $91.5 Million Verdict

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

A West Virginia nursing home’s appeal has been denied on a recent verdict for $91.5 million. The case involved an 87 year old woman that only stayed at the nursing home for 3 weeks. She died from complications from dehydration. The verdict included $80 million in punitive damages. She could walk and speak three weeks before her death. Three weeks at Heartland left her 15 pounds lighter and unresponsive.

The attorneys for the family argued that the nursing home’s business model revolved around keeping the number of residents high, and the number of staff to compare for them low. The parent company reported earnings of about $4 billion, and assets of nearly $8 billion. So, even with neglecting patients (and then sometimes paying jury verdicts), their business model has been extremely lucrative.

I think some of the comments on the Sunday Gazette’s site are telling:

I totally agree with you that this 91.5M is astronomical. They should have to pay a healthy sum but that is ridiculous, but the way the court system in this state is. There is no cap on lawsuits and any organization is automatically guilty of wrong doing according to juries in this state. That is another reason WV cannot attract industry to the state.

This reader evidently thinks that a profitable nursing home should not be held accountable. How many people need to die before people realize this? An “cap on lawsuits,” or an arbitrary slap on the wrist does very little to a company with this kind of money.

 

Posted in Lawsuits, Nursing Home Abuse | Leave a comment

Medicare Payments to Drop by $3.87 Billion

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

Bloomberg reports that an 11.1 percent cut for 2012 will take place following Medicare’s finding that for-profit nursing homes were driving up reimbursements for patients. Sun Healthcare Group Inc.’s stock dropped as much as 21 percent on the announcement.

The U.S. Medicare site states that the reduction is to “correct for an unintended spike in payment levels and better align Medicare payments with costs.”

Will some nursing homes continue to under-staff their facilities to maximize profits, and in turn, cause an increase in nursing home abuse?

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Bedsores and Race

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

The Journal of the American Medical Association recently released a study evaluating bedsores in nursing homes. The study look at more than 12,000 nursing homes. The chances of getting a bedsore in a nursing home are 14.6% for black patients an 9.6% for white patients.

Pressure ulcers are commonly called bedsores:

Posted in Nursing Home Abuse | Leave a comment

Lowering our risk for Alzheimer’s

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

The NY Times “Well” Blog cites a recent study presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on avoiding Alzheimer’s. So, what can we do to avoid Alzheimer’s and dementia?

Avoid these “attributing factors”:

  • Physical inactivity
  • Smoking
  • Depression
  • Low Education
  • Hypertension
  • Obesity
  • Diabetes

The researches assert that half of our nation’s Alzheimer’s patients are related to these factors, and all can be modified. There are 5.3 million Alzheimers cases in the U.S.

Posted in Health | Leave a comment

Softball team for 75 years and older!

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

The Oklahoman has a nice story on Softball team for men 75 years of age and older play for camaraderie, exercise and faith.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

70% of nursing home residents are Medicaid recipients

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

The Edmond Sun has an article detailing State Representative Lewis Moore’s charge on studying nursing homes this fall. Basically, “how is our state going to meet the growing baby boomer population?” Moore states that nursing homes are having difficulty staying in business because the state does not allocate Medicaid money fairly and efficiently.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nursing Home Abuse Complaints Go Unanswered

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

One of the biggest hurdles in nursing home abuse cases is actually proving the case. A resident’s son had the foresight to put a camera in him mom’s room:

The son repeatedly complained about his mom’s abuse, but his calls for help went unanswered. He finally put the camera in there to get something done.

Posted in Nursing Home Safety | Leave a comment

Should nursing homes be required to have safer bed rails?

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

The NY Times has a story on bed rail safety from last month. The article details the death of a nursing home resident. He was on hospice (so he wasn’t expected to live much longer). However, he suffocated because he managed to get his neck trapped between the mattress/bed frame and the bed rail.

Evidently, most of the parties involved settled out of court. But:

Should nursing homes be required to provide safer bed rails?

The FDA issued a warning in 1995 about the entrapment dangers posed by the rails. The doctor in the article mentions that people no longer buy cribs that could entrap an infant – but bed rails for the elderly are still common.

Posted in Nursing Home Safety | Leave a comment

Basic Steps in a Oklahoma Nursing Home Abuse Case

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Clayton Hasbrook

Obviously not all cases will follow the same time-line, but here is a general work flow for a nursing home abuse case:

1.      An attorney is hired

a.       Contract signed

b.      HIPAA release signed

2.      All the records requested and compiled

a.       Medical records and bills

b.      Department of Health

c.       Nursing Home Compare

3.      Organize and review the records

a.       Summarize

4.      Have medical expert (doctor and/or nurse) review files

5.      After reviewed, meet with expert

6.      Discuss findings with client throughout the case

7.      Prepare Petition and other court filings

8.      If applicable, establish Medicare subrogation claim

9.      File case and serve

10.  Discovery

a.       Interrogatories

b.      Schedule and take depositions

c.       Issue any necessary subpoenas

11.  Send any discovery to client that will need to be answered

a.       Research defendants experts

b.      Deposition

12.  File Motion to Enter

13.  Trial Preparation

a.       Forward discovery responses and any new records to experts

b.      Prepare jury instructions

c.       Prepare pretrial conference order

d.      Prepare any necessary motions in limine

i.      And respond if any were filed

e.       Issue trial subpoenas

f.       Prepare exhibits and any demonstrative aides

g.      Draft opening and closing arguments

h.      Discuss with client throughout

Posted in Lawsuits | Leave a comment