Desperate to learn the truth, the family of an 84-year-old resident of a Kentucky nursing home hid a video camera in the resident’s room after discovering dozens of bruises all over her body and not receiving satisfactory answers from the staff. Read the full article here. The videotape captured the staff “pulling the resident out of bed by…

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) was signed into law on August 14, 2008. The CPSIA establishes consumer product safety standards and other safety requirements for children’s products and “reauthorizes” and “modernizes” the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It is a very strong law involving harsh civil and criminal penalties for those who violate it. Read all…

An Arizona nursing home was found with more than two dozen violations and has agreed to pay the State $17,500 in civil penalties as a result notes the Arizona Daily Star. According to the article, among the violations noted, including a failure to protect its elderly residents from sexual abuse, state inspectors found that the…

At trial time, Defendants may make a motion before the Court to exclude gruesome photographs of injuries. However, simply because the photograph(s) may be gruesome and possibly cause prejudice in the minds of the jury is no reason to exclude the photograph(s). See e.g. Burnett v. Caho, 7 Ill.App.3d 266, 272 (3rd Dist. 1972). Admissibility is…

As noted in a recent N.Y. Times Article, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) noted that over 90% of U.S. nursing homes were cited for federal health and safety standards violations last year–and notably, for-profit homes had more problems. The report by HHS noted issues with pressure sores (also known as bed sores or decubitus ulcers), medication…