Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

In the wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, Missouri’s attorney general has stated that he wants to see Missouri join the 18 other U.S. states that require any person to report to authorities if he or she suspects a child, patient, elderly person, or other vulnerable person is being abused or neglected, according to a recent article in the Southeast Missourian.

Currently, only certain professionals - like doctors and teachers - are required by law to report suspected abuse or neglect to the authorities. While other Missourians may report their suspicions if they have them, they are not required to do so. The Attorney General, however, believes that the law should be broadened to require reporting regardless of one’s profession or relationship to the person who may be suffering abuse or neglect.

Proponents of the change say it will make vulnerable people safer, including children and elderly persons facing Missouri nursing home abuse or neglect. Those who are against it, however, say that required reporting will not bring more cases of abuse or neglect to light, and may waste police resources tracking down everyone who “should” have said something.

Neglect in nursing homes is far too common, and the results can be devastating. If you believe someone you love is suffering from nursing home abuse or neglect, please don’t hesitate to contact a skilled St. Louis nursing home neglect attorney. At Page Law, we will help protect you and your loved one’s legal rights and options at every step, from contacting the authorities to seeking compensation for any injuries suffered. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (314) 322-8515.

One of the services the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) provides is investigation of complaints related to abuse and neglect of senior citizens, including reports of the crimes that take place in nursing homes.

The DHSS defines “abuse” as the infliction of harm on another person. This harm may be physical, mental, and emotional. Financial elder abuse is possible as well if someone is taking advantage of an older person’s bank accounts or other assets. “Neglect” includes any failure to take care of someone by a person or business that has a duty to provide care, if failing to provide care will cause injury to the person who is neglected.

Unfortunately, both abuse and neglect may occur in a nursing home, where understaffing and/or lack of resources may result in a lack of proper supervision of staff and care for patients. Whatever a nursing home’s financial or staff situation may be, it still has the duty to provide the proper care for all of its residents and avoid hurting or harming them.

Missouri’s Elder Abuse and Neglect Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 800-392-0210. Hearing-impaired persons may call 800-669-8819 to use the TDD system. If someone you love is showing signs of abuse, neglect, or exploitation in a nursing home, the experienced Missouri nursing home abuse attorneys at Page Law can help protect your loved one’s rights and fight for the compensation he or she deserves. For a free consultation, call us today at 314-322-8515.

The elderly are a very vulnerable part of our society. The decision to place an elderly loved one in a nursing home is one that takes extensive research and consideration by a family. When a suitable nursing home is believed to have been found, and a family entrusts their elderly loved one to the facility to only to find out later that their loved one was abused at the facility, it is devastating and can cause high levels of guilt.

There are indicators that can notify you if your elderly loved one is suffering from nursing home abuse so you can take prompt action to hold those responsible for your loved one's care legally liable for their negligent actions. Some of these signs include:

• A change in your loved ones attitude; expressions of fear, anger or distancing from friends and family members;
• Bone fractures such as a broken hip from a fall;
• Over or under medicating;
• Poor hygiene;
• Rapid weight loss;
• The presence of bedsores, which occur when a person is left in the same position for too long; and
• Unexplained bruises or cuts.

If your loved one has been the victim of nursing home neglect in Missouri, legal help is available. At Page Law, LLC our St. Louis nursing home abuse lawyers will aggressively fight on your family’s behalf to ensure that your elderly loved one’s rights are protected in a court of law. We will work hard to hold the negligent party responsible for the abuse your loved one endured. To learn more about how we can help, call our law office today at 314-488-2433.

The recent death of a Missouri nursing home resident illustrates the importance of carefully choosing a nursing home for your loved one. Back in March, a 71-year-old resident of a Sikeston nursing home was killed when she was struck by a train outside the nursing home. Her son recently sued the nursing home for her death, according to KSPR.

Before entering the nursing home, the woman’s family warned the facility that she would try to leave. Despite the warning, between 2004 and 2010 she left the nursing home without permission 61 times.

Obviously, choosing a nursing home is a very critical decision. You should obtain recommendations from family members, friends, or individuals who work with elderly, such as hospital staff. Once you have made the list of nursing homes you are interested in, there are several websites that track the quality of nursing homes as well as detailed information on staffing, safety procedures and more.

You should then visit each home, or have someone you trust visit the home if you are not living in the area. Is the home well-staffed? Do the residents seem happy? Are there plenty of social or recreation activities? Does the home have availability or is there a waiting list? Does the home have adequate security? These are just some of the questions to ask the home’s director. In addition, it may be helpful to visit each home more than once.

Nursing home abuse and neglect are especially tragic. If you or someone you know has been mistreated by a Missouri nursing home, you have legal rights. Contact the St. Louis nursing home abuse attorneys at Page Law today at 314-322-8515.

One year later, the cause of a mentally ill nursing home resident's death remains a mystery, according to a recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

One morning in the summer of 2009, the 46-year-old resident of the Normandy Nursing Center told employees at the nursing home that he wasn't feeling well. The resident did not eat his breakfast that morning and declined to take his medication. Later that day, a nursing home employee found the man sprawled across his bed. He had stopped breathing, and he was pronounced dead not long after.

Toxicology tests indicated that the resident had died of a morphine overdose. However, the resident had not been prescribed morphine or any other opiate pain medication and was not known to be a drug-seeker. The tests revealed three to four times the normal morphine dose in the resident's system, but tests on his liver indicated that he was not a long-term morphine user. Although police investigated both this resident's case and an incident two months later involving another resident who was found to have opiates in her system, the case remains a mystery.

Continue reading "Cause of Missouri Nursing Home Patient's Death Still Unknown" »

A jury ruled against a California nursing home company and ordered it to pay over twenty-nine million dollars to the family of an elderly resident who died while under its care. According to a Sacramento Bee report, the jury ruled that the nursing home had committed elder abuse. They found that the resident’s daughter was entitled to over one million dollars for the victim’s pain and suffering and for the loss of her mother’s companionship. After the jurors were told that the nursing home company was worth about two hundred million dollars, they awarded twenty-eight million dollars in punitive damages. The punitive damage award was by far the largest elder abuse award in the area’s history.

The deceased had mild dementia when she moved into a nursing home in Auburn, California in 2005. Seven months later, she had a fall that broke her hip. The hip break was not diagnosed for days, and she died of an infected bed sore. This was the fourth incident in which the home was cited for the death of a resident.

The plaintiff argued that the nursing home was purposely without sufficient staff members and therefore provided substandard care. The defense claimed that it took good care of the patient and that the sore that killed her happened after she was transferred to a hospital for surgery on her hip.

Nursing home neglect and abuse is tragic and unfortunately occurs throughout the United States. If you or someone you care about has been a victim of nursing home abuse in Missouri, you need to protect your rights or the rights of your loved one. Contact the experienced Missouri nursing home abuse attorneys at Page Law by calling 314-322-8515 to learn more. We can help.

On December first, the U.S. Senate will begin debates on its version of healthcare reform including a considerable expansion of the Elder Justice Act and other issues concerning seniors and long-term care. The Senate’s version is reportedly more extensive than the House’s bill. The main issues in both reforms include more effective worker screening programs with national background checks. In addition, the Senate’s version incorporates an increase in federal aid for elder abuse identification and requires long-term care providers to report cases as well as implement new anti-abuse programs alongside the Department of Health and Human Service.

Other provisions include Medicare market basket payment updates for 2010, long-term insurance programs and the expansion of Medicaid to community-based and home services. The Senate’s reform will also implement the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Act, which enable long-term care insurance programs for current workers to pay gradually in preparation for elder years.

Continue reading "Senate to Debate on Health Reform and Elder Justice Act December 1" »

Missouri nursing home and elder abuse attorneys have always been concerned about the escalating rates of nursing home abuse and neglect in the state. A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has revealed that a Medicare program intended to evaluate the conditions of nursing homes in the United States has overlooked hundreds of facilities that provide substandard care. According to the news report, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has listed up to 13 nursing homes as "special focus facilities," which means that they are inspected more frequently because they received low grades for their living condition. However, a recent GAO report finds that Medicare and Medicaid still may have overlooked 580 nursing homes in this category.

The Senate Aging Committee is considering expanding the program to include facilities that are still underperforming, but have not been included in the special focus list. This is important because many consumers who are looking to place their loved ones in nursing homes are counting on Medicare and Medicaid's information to select a nursing home. However, many don't realize that the "approved" homes on the Nursing Home Compare list may not really provide quality care.

Continue reading "Many Nursing Homes Not Up To Standard, New Report Finds" »

A federal report released Sept. 29 shows more than 90 percent of Missouri’s nursing homes were cited for federal health and safety violations in 2007. According to this news report, the numbers were released from the Department of Health and Human Services, which reflected this trend across the country. The problems associated with most nursing homes included nursing home abuse or neglect, errors handling medication and infected bedsores.

In Missouri, the average nursing home had about eight deficiencies in 2007. That is an increase compared to 2005. Also, almost every nursing home in Missouri – about 92 percent – had some type of deficiency or record of violation.

Here’s another interesting finding from the report. Nursing homes, which operated as a for-profit business had more violations than non-profit homes. The Bush administration will start using a five-star program in December to rank the overall quality of care for the country’s nursing homes.

Nursing home negligence and abuse cases are among the most heartbreaking of personal injury cases because in most cases, the vulnerable victims are severely injured or lose their lives because of the negligence or abuse. Our firm will go after unethical nursing homes that give more importance to profits than the people they are supposed to serve.

If you or someone you love has been a victim of nursing home abuse or negligence, please call an experienced Missouri nursing home negligence attorney to discuss your case. Our consultations are free, comprehensive and completely confidential.

Elder abuse leading to personal injuries occurs more frequently than most of us are aware. A staggering approximate of one third of nursing homes in the United States have been cited for some type of nursing home abuse.

Missouri personal injury attorneys do their best to keep a sort of checks and balances system in place. Recently in Missouri, a nursing home and its employees were found guilty of both criminal and civil conduct. Criminal charges were filed after recurring physical abuse led to the death of a 78-year-old man.

The man, allegedly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, was unable to walk. His family had to place him in a nursing home so his needs were better met. Over the course of his stay in the nursing home, one particular staff member allegedly beat the man repeatedly. Nurses found the nursing home abuse victim with a bleeding forehead, swollen lip and bruised eye. The personal injury victim was taken to the hospital where he died from a severe head injury known as a subdural hematoma.

The nursing home employee was found by the court to be the cause of the man’s death. He was also found to have acted in intentional disregard for the man's life through physically abusing him on several occasions. The nursing home operator was found to be negligent in the care of the man.

Continue reading "Abuse of Elderly More Common Than Many Realize" »

After a man was killed in a nursing home fire, his family member filed an elder abuse wrongful-death lawsuit claiming the facility lacked adequate fire prevention systems and the power to deal with an emergency situation.

The suit claims the defendants didn't have an operable sprinkler system, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and alarms. The facility's staff also allegedly did not follow proper procedures when dealing with the fire.

This situation likely also involves elements of a nursing home and elder abuse case, as the staff allegedly did not follow proper procedures. Nursing home and elder abuse is actionable when a nursing home patient is not given proper care and suffers injuries or death from such neglect. By visiting, you will find more information about nursing home abuse.

Generally to prove a cause of action against a nursing home for injury or death of a patient the following need to be established:

1. the existence of a duty owed by the nursing home to the patient;
2. the standard of care applicable to the nursing home governing its care and treatment of the patient;
3. the nursing home's breach of duty to the patient by failure to adhere to the applicable standard of care;
4. injury to or death of the patient; and
5. a proximate causal relationship between the nursing home's breach of duty and the patient's injury or death

Continue reading "Elder Abuse Wrongful Death Claim Filed" »