An elderly woman has died after allegedly being served dishwashing liquid at a nursing home where she lived. Officials have identified the victim as 93-year-old Gertrude Elizabeth Maxwell. The incident happened shortly after 8:00 pm on Sunday, August 28.
Elder abuse is a devastating problem that impacts friends, loved ones, and the healthcare system as a whole. Over the past few years, there have been numerous reports of elder abuse. Some types of elder abuse include:
Sacramento Nursing Home Abuse – A Sacramento nursing home abuse case ended in a fine of $10,000 due to the lack of care for one of its residents. According to Nick Alexander, the stepson of the deceased man, identified as 76-year-old Alan Nelson, the family had repeatedly requested that alarms be placed on the man’s bed and his wheelchair because he had fallen numerous times. Four hours after Alexander’s visit on August 28, 2016, his stepfather suffered another fall, resulting in serious injuries, and died a few weeks later from bleeding to the brain and fractures to his skull and nose.
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento nursing home abuse lawyer. Many elderly individuals experience abuse. While this can happen at home or in public, it happens in a third of nursing homes in this country. Let’s take a look at what nursing home abuse is, its incidence and how families can be on alert to detect it.
Placing a loved one in a nursing home is complex for many families. Often, it is shrouded with unease over the specter of nursing home abuse. Unfortunately, this happens all too often. Learning about where the danger lies may help.
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Nursing Home Abuse Attorney. A recent U.S. study found that one in five residents of nursing homes are subject to abuse from other nursing home residents, including their roommates every month. The abuse which can come in the form of either physical abuse or verbal bullying many times goes unnoticed and unreported.
Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia found in the elderly today, directly impacting approximately forty million people. Statistics show that a new patient is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease every four seconds. Although Alzheimer’s Disease is not curable, it is treatable. If the symptoms of Alzheimer’s are not caught in time, the window of opportunity to properly treat the disease in order to delay its devastating effects and possibly even prolong life may be missed.
Sadly, dehydration is a problem in nursing homes, due to an unfortunate trend of prioritizing cutting costs over patient care. Nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect is a serious problem across the nation. Symptoms of dehydration in nursing homes are not uncommon, and the consequences of dehydration can be very serious, potentially resulting in the death of a loved one.
I’m Ed Smith, A Sacramento Nursing Home Abuse Attorney. In the nation’s 1550 nursing homes it is estimated that 1 in 5 residents are given unnecessary and extremely dangerous antipsychotic drugs. That is one-third of Medicare nursing home patients. Overmedication, if done intentionally, is a form of nursing home abuse.
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento nursing home abuse attorney. There are approximately 1.5 million seniors receiving Medicare and Medicaid paid benefits who reside in long term care facilities. When placing a family member in a nursing home, families consider affordability and location as the two most important factors. This can leave a very short list of nursing home options. Families sign the nursing home contract at a very vulnerable point in their lives.
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