I have also posted this discussion at http://californiaestatetrust.com
Below, at the bottom of this blog, I have pasted a video at a nursing home that I came across on Yahoo. First some disclaimers – by now we should all be aware that watching snippets or portions of a video does not tell the whole story, knowing the whole story could present a different situation, we don’t know all that was said or that occurred, and, of course, I have no personal knowledge of these events, but am simply passing this along.
That having been said, the video and information presented are disturbing.
At her deposition the supervising nurse testified that what occurred is different than what the video shows, and acknowledges or admits this, and she admits that the nurses or nursing assistants on scene acted wrongfully and should have been fired if the truth had been known.
If not for the video the truth would not have come to light.
An issue arose whether it was legal to install a secret video recording device in the resident’s room. It is my understanding that a nursing home resident is a resident, not a patient, and that the nursing home, and their particular room is their home.
The lawyer mentions that he cannot say anything about the settlement agreement with the nursing home. In California, except in limited circumstances, Code of Civil Procedure §2017.310 makes a confidential settlement agreement unlawful if the factual foundation presents a case of elder or dependent adult abuse.
California also has a criminal elder abuse statute at Penal Code §368. I’m not saying that the acts in the video were criminal – based on what is being shown, in a court of law more likely the acts would be considered medical malpractice in nature, but could still be civil elder abuse.
The nursing home would raise a whole host of defenses to liability, including, for example, possibly, that the plaintiffs or prosecution cannot show with evidence that the actions of the nursing home actually caused the resident’s death. But there also could be issues about burden of proof, and it is possible that the burden of showing no wrongful conduct could be shifted to the defendant nursing home.
We could go on and on with this. There is a lot more that I would like to know, including, for example, about the policies and procedures of the nursing home at the time of the incident, and about the investigation that the nursing home did at the time of the incident and whether that investigation, if any was done, was sufficient and performed appropriately and in good faith?
I would also like to know about the “new management” of the nursing home, and about current policies and procedures, and whether the events of this occurrence were presented to the public or kept secret by the state nursing home regulatory authorities.
These stories and what occurs later in time get buried by the now constant 24 hour news and social media cycle – do you remember the hurricane IRMA story about the 8 nursing home residents who died because the air conditioning went out, but then weren’t transferred by the nursing home to a safe facility (such as, for example, possibly the nearby hospital) – well . . . what has happened since that time in the investigation, and so that something like that will not occur again?
That’s all for now. I’m David Tate. I’m a California litigation attorney. I also handle governance and risk management. You need to consult with an attorney or appropriate professional about your situation. This blog post and/or video or audio is not an advertisement or solicitation for services inside or outside of California. Thanks for listening or reading.
Here is the link to the nursing home video,
David Tate, Esq., Royse Law Firm, Menlo Park, California office, with offices in northern and southern California. http://rroyselaw.com
See also my blogs at http://californiaestatetrust.com and at http://auditcommitteeupdate.com
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Thank you for posting this story. It is critically important for families to know what the risks are in nursing home care and what they can do about it.
Thanks very much for your comment John. In the past I handled quite a number of nursing home cases on behalf of family members. Some of the cases would be considered med mal although the treatment or lack of treatment was really bad and could and did result in wrongful death. Other cases including two beating cases, one restraint case, and one lack of staffing case (management never had enough CNAs on staff to have 3 CNAs available to daily move the resident) should be considered intentional wrongdoing outside of med mal. I have some friends who believe that all nursing homes are bad. I don’t feel that way – there is a need for nursing homes. But if someone is going to own, manage or work in a nursing home, they must properly treat and care for the needs of each resident. Have a good day. David Tate