Nursing Home Negligence Stories

Unfortunately, medical malpractice cases aren’t just limited to medical errors that take place in hospitals and doctor offices. Nursing home negligence is an issue often overlooked but just as prevalent.  Nursing home facilities provide basic care to residents incapable of carrying out everyday life activities. Family members, leave their loves ones in the care of these professionals expecting that they will be properly cared for but that is far from true. Here some of the most disturbing cases of medical negligence nursing homes.

Arlington Virginia had one of the worst cases of medical negligence in history.  Almost a dozen employees at Potomac Nursing Center were charged, two of which have been already indicted.  Mary Evans, the wife of one of the patients that resided in the nursing home, commented on how she would visit her husband and notice that his diaper would be soiled and hadn’t be in changed in nearly 12 hours.  She said his dentures were never cleaned and his nails were overgrown and had failed to be cleaned.

Videotapes recovered at the facility allowed the Common Wealth attorney to charge 11 employees with battery, neglect and forged assault. The most serious charge was that of a registered male nurse holding a pillow to Mr. Evan’s face.

In Oklahoma City, two caretakers were arrested after video footage of the two assaulting ninety six year old resident of a nursing home, was unearthed. Family members of the elderly resident suspected that employees were stealing from her, so they planted a hidden camera.  The video footage showed one of the caretakers slapping the ninety six year old and shoving gloves into the woman’s mouth. The other caretaker watched and didn’t do anything to stop it.

The nursing home was fined because they had failed to do a background check on the two employees.

CBS reported a horrific story of a nurse who dumped her elderly patient out of her wheelchair and on to the bare floor all of which was caught on camera. The video tape shows the nurse initially pushing a medicine cart, after spotting the elderly woman; she abandoned the cart and heads towards the eighty five year woman. Before dumping her from the wheel chair she, sharply jerks the chair around.  The fall resulted in the elderly patient breaking her hip bone. One of the worst parts of the story is that nurse doesn’t even help the woman up.

In Atlanta, Georgia twenty one current and former employees of a nursing home that specializes in caring for Alzheimer patients, were arrested and charged with over 70 counts of criminal acts. There were reports of employees using bed sheets to restrain patients and double diapering so that they didn’t have to change their diapers. There were also accounts where employees would strike the patients and throw water on them. The owner of the nursing was also arrested in the bust and she is being charged with neglect, abuse, financial exploitation and cruelty to a person sixty five years of age or older.