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San Diego Nursing Home Receives Citation after Negligent Care Causes Resident’s Death

As California nursing home abuse lawyers, we constantly monitor the quality of services of our state’s nursing homes and make note of nursing care facilities that have been fined, penalized or cited for elder abuse. This month, a San Diego county nursing home received the state’s most severe penalty for senior abuse, after a resident at the facility died.

According to the California Department of Public Health, Fallbrook Hospital District Skilled Nursing Facility in Fallbrook has been given an AA citation, which is the most severe penalty under California law. The facility has also been fined $90,000 after an investigation revealed that negligent care at the facility led to the death of one of the residents. According to the investigation, the resident died from complications after a fall accident on the facility premises. The facility was found negligent in failing to implement a proper care plan to prevent the fall and resulting injuries.  In this case, the resident fell from his bed and suffered serious injuries. There was no mattress to cushion his fall and no alarms.

Nursing home residents comprise some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Every year, thousands of Californians make the heart wrenching decision to have a loved one admitted to a skilled care facility. These elderly residents may be frail, and suffer from health conditions that require regular care and monitoring.

As vile as it may sound, abuse of elderly people is a common phenomenon that is often seen, not just in California, but across the country.  Abuse of elders or nursing home abuse can be seen in many forms. Abuse doesn’t necessarily have to mean that a resident is beaten, trashed or subjected to any other kind of assault.

Often, abuse can mean simply lack of care or negligence. This can include lack of physical care. An abused resident may suffer from lack of nutrition, lack of clean hygienic surroundings and lack of help in maintaining personal hygiene. There may be medical neglect, which may be seen as failure to administer medications on time, or failure to provide timely medical assistance. A resident who is abused may display signs of malnutrition and dehydration.

Elderly abuse is also said to occur when the resident doesn’t have sufficient protection from health hazards in the facility. There may be no mechanisms in place to prevent falls, which are a high risk hazard for the elderly.  Additionally if the elderly are not properly taking care of in their beds they can develop bed sores.

In extreme cases, elder abuse can take on the form of assaults, rapes and battery. These are rarer cases than neglect, but sadly, are far more common than California elder abuse lawyers would like to see. These are some of the most heinous crimes committed against defenseless people who may be in no position to protect themselves. Family members of residents must look for signs of elder abuse, and bring these to the attention of authorities.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of nursing home abuse. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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