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Maryland Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect

The experienced lawyers at KBA Attorneys provide professional legal representation to families looking to hold a Maryland nursing home accountable for elder abuse and neglect. Settlements in these types of cases have not only garnered funds to aid the suffering families, but the lawsuits and settlements also serve to help deter other nursing homes from allowing abuse and neglect of their residents to occur. 

Has one of your loved ones suffered neglect or abuse in a Maryland nursing home or assisted living facility? If the answer is yes, our legal team can help. Contact our law firm immediately to discuss putting our resources and experience to work for you.

Maryland Nursing Homes with Low Ratings

The following nursing homes have been given low ratings based on health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. One nursing home on this list is marked as Special Focus Facilities (SFF), which indicates that this nursing home has committed consistent violations of health and safety regulations. The facilities marked as SFF are given twice the number of federal inspections. The ratings below were taken from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Nursing HomeOverall RatingHealth InspectionsStaffingQuality Measures
Autumn Lake Healthcare at PikesvilleMuch Below AverageMuch Below AverageAverageBelow Average
Patapsco Valley CenterBelow AverageMuch Below AverageAbove AverageAverage
Caton ManorBelow AverageMuch Below AverageAbove AverageAverage
Cadia Healthcare – WheatonMuch Below AverageMuch Below AverageBelow AverageBelow Average
Cadia Healthcare – SpringbrookSpecial Focus FacilityN/AN/AN/A

Reports of Elder Abuse Increase

The U.S. General Accounting Office conducted an investigation that revealed 25 percent of the nursing homes in the country “had serious deficiencies that caused actual harm to residents or placed them at risk of death or serious injury.” The Maryland Office of Health Care Quality reported the following:

  • 1,058 resident abuse allegations
  • 1,345 quality of care allegations
  • 3,621 complaints and facility self-reported incidents

The elderly in this country should be treated with dignity and respect when reaching the later years of their lives. When family members determine that it is no longer safe for an elderly relative to live independently, a trusted and licensed long-term care facility is needed. Families expect their chosen care facility to provide a safe and sanitary living environment for their loved one. Unfortunately, this is not the case in many instances. While individuals living in nursing home facilities continue to age, the shocking reports of neglect and abuse in Maryland nursing homes continue to rise.

Nursing Home Case Types

The following information will describe three types of nursing home legal issues: neglect, abuse, and medical malpractice.

Neglect

Neglect can be described as failing to care for a person to the same degree that a reasonable individual in the same position would provide. A standard for measuring nursing home neglect is whether or not the provider of care acted as a reasonable individual would. Nursing home neglect is defined by federal law 42 C.F.R. 488.301 as being the “failure to provide goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness.” Neglect may include any of the following:

  • Mental or physical neglect
  • Abusive or negligent use of restraints on patients
  • Failure to prevent bed sores or infection (requiring the patient to be monitored and adjusted regularly)
  • Failure to alert doctors of medical problems
  • Failure to prevent malnutrition and dehydration

Abuse

The same federal law defines nursing home abuse as “willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish.” The following may be included in abuse:

  • Imprisonment (unnecessary or unreasonable restraints)
  • Assault and battery (to include sexual assault and battery)
  • Deprivation of medicine, food, drink, or other basic necessities
  • Emotional and mental abuse
  • Use of drugs not approved by a doctor or knowingly prescribing improper medication (perhaps a sedative in nursing home cases)

Many elder abuse cases center around a caregiver’s indifference to or lack of concern for an elderly resident’s pain and suffering or general health and well-being. Often, this type of abuse is very subtly cloaked and hidden.

Medical Malpractice

In many instances, nursing homes do not have an adequate number of doctors to care for the number of residents in the facility. This does not give physicians or health care providers a license to ignore or inadequately care for the home’s patients. Sadly, some physicians do not give the same level of medical care to an elderly nursing home resident that would be given to another individual. All patients, whether they live independently or in a nursing home facility, deserve the same level of care and respect as anyone else.

What Should You Do When You Suspect Elder Abuse?

Unfortunately, many residents suffering from nursing home neglect or abuse in Maryland don’t report it. Oftentimes, they are afraid of retaliation or are simply not mentally capable of taking action. It is important for loved ones of nursing home residents to pay attention and watch out for any signs of abuse or neglect. Failure to take action can leave the abuse and neglect ongoing and allow it to happen to others as well.

Call the police – If you fear your loved one faces imminent danger while living in a nursing home facility, call the police right away. Be prepared to give the nursing home facility address to the police. Also, give the authorities a full description of what happened and who you think is committing the crime.

Report to proper authorities – For nursing home abuse and neglect situations that are not emergencies, it is important to place a report with the right organizations such as Adult Protective Services and the Department of Social Services in Maryland.

Filing a Nursing Home Lawsuit in Maryland

Nursing home neglect and abuse lawsuits were practically unheard of a quarter of a century ago. Twenty-five years ago, there were very few attorneys bringing such cases. However, as abuse and neglect in nursing homes has continued to rise, the reputation of long-term care facilities has been degraded.

For those who are sure their loved one is being neglected in a nursing home, it can be confusing figuring out what to do next. Here at KBA Attorneys, we will give you the guidance you need to protect your loved one. We can help you report abuse or neglect and contact the necessary authorities for you.

If you report abuse or neglect occurring in a Maryland nursing home facility, authorities will take the matter into their own hands and perform an investigation. The results of that investigation can result in penalties against the owner of the facility and any staff members who are guilty of harming the residents. Our job is to help you address the abuse to your loved one while they were staying in the facility.

Contact a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Maryland

While nothing can turn back the clock and undo any abuse suffered by an elderly family member, it is important to hold negligent nursing home facilities accountable. Perhaps there has been suspicion of something harmful happening to your loved one, but you have been hesitant to pursue any course of action. Ask yourself if your loved one has injuries of an unknown origin, bedsores, or suffers frequent falls. Does he or she cower in fear or become reclusive when a certain employee of the nursing home comes near? If so, these are common signs of abuse or neglect and should be investigated.

The legal representatives at KBA Attorneys are a caring team that will talk with you about the issues your loved one is facing in the Maryland nursing home facility. Our experience working with residents and their family members helps determine the legal path we will take in your case to help raise the bar for the standard of care our elderly receive in Maryland nursing homes.

Contact our Bel Air, MD office to discuss your legal options today.

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