ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Three nursing homes in East Bay, California, have been forced to pay high penalties for their hand in the deaths of three facility residents. The nursing homes have been cited for providing poor care for their residents, and for failing to maintain safe environments for residents. Alameda county nursing home abuse law firms report that the state has issued these fines and citations in an effort to eradicate incompetent and unsafe facilities for the state’s elderly.
According to a report released by California officials last month, the Kindred Transitional Care and Rehab in Alameda is facing a fine of $75,000 for the staff’s actions in the death of a 74-year-old man in late 2010. The man, who was a resident of the nursing home, bled to death in front of several workers, including a nurse who did not take steps to stop the man’s bleeding. In reports, the nurse claimed that she was exhausted, and was unable to identify signs of hemorrhaging, despite the fact that a nursing assistant alerted workers to the presence of large amounts of blood.
The state official’s report claims that Kindred staff “did not apply pressure to the hemorrhaging, thus allowing resident one to bleed to death.” The nursing home was given a class AA citation, which Alameda county nursing home abuse lawyers say is the most severe citation in the state. AA citations are issued in cases when a resident’s death is a result of nursing home violations, and carry fines from $25,000 to $100,000. In the facility’s citation, staff members are noted for failing to apply pressure to the site of the resident’s injury. Following the citation and fine, Kindred Transitional Care no longer runs the nursing home.
State officials also filed citations against O’Connor Hospital in San Jose for the 2012 death of a female patient. According to the report, the woman suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and relied on a ventilator for breathing assistance. After a respiratory therapist performed routine tracheostomy care, he left the patient’s ventilator in standby mode, meaning that the device could not provide any air. The resident passed away in intensive care two days later. In its citation, the state claimed that the facility failed to ensure that the nursing home was free of accident hazards, and issued a $65,000 fine.
St. John Kronstadt Convalescent Center in Castro Valley was issued a fine of $60,000 after a resident choked on a hot dog while on a facility outing in 2012. The man died as a result. The Center had previously discovered that the resident had difficulty swallowing, and had suffered an earlier choking incident. He had been placed on a special diet to prevent him from choking again, but the staff members present on the outing did not know about his dietary needs. The state gave the facility a class AA citation for failing to ensure that the resident’s dietary restrictions were enforced on the outing.
The nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. defend elderly residents and their families in the Alameda County and surrounding areas against abuse and negligence at the hands of nursing home workers. Evans Law Firm, Inc. handles elder abuse, financial elder abuse, physical elder abuse, annuity fraud, consumer fraud class actions, insurance and banking fraud cases. If you think that you have witnessed or are the victim of elder abuse, or financial fraud by a life insurance company, bank or individual then, contact the Evans Law Firm at 415-441-8669 for a free and confidential consultation, or email us at info@evanslaw.com
