The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, released a report this month, which concluded that many incidents of abuse and neglect at nursing homes are not always reported or investigated. The Inspector General determined that almost one out of five incidents in which a…
NBC News reported this week on the number of nursing home patients who are transferred to hospitals and subsequently die from sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection. Sepsis often occurs when an infection is untreated or treated inadequately. Sepsis occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight…
The Beaufort County South Carolina Sheriff’s Office has reported that a resident of a nursing home on Hilton Head Island was sexually assaulted by an employee of the nursing facility. The assault took place at Life Care Center of Hilton Head, located at 120 Lamotte Drive. Beaufort County Investigators were…
Life Care Centers of America (“LCCA”), and its owner Forrest Preston, have agreed to pay $145 million to settle a government lawsuit alleging that LCCA violated the False Claims Act by knowingly causing their nursing homes to submit false claims for rehabilitation therapy services that were not reasonable or necessary.…
After an alarming report by the website ProPublica, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced plans to crack down on nursing home employees who take demeaning photographs and videos of residents and post them on social media websites. The report documented 44 known incidents across the country since…
Federal and state laws require that nursing homes maintain or attain the highest practicable mental, physical, and psychosocial well-being for their patients. These laws provide that nursing homes must ensure that their patients’ nutrition and hydration needs are met, as proper nutrition and hydration are two critical components for nursing…
A great injustice is taking place in this country: the use of pre-dispute binding arbitration clauses in nursing home admissions contracts by the nursing home industry. These clauses provide that victims of abuse and neglect in nursing homes give up their right to a jury trial. This directly undermines the…