Injury Law Firm Blog

Jury Awards $1 Million in Punitive Damages in Nursing Home Abuse Trial

A jury in Santa Ana awarded $1 million in punitive damages to the family of a 104-year-old woman who died after a short stay at Villa Valencia Health Care Center in Laguna Hills.

Sunrise Senior living operates over 440 nursing homes in the U.S. and abroad and says it plans on appealing the decision.

Golden Living to Break Ground for Nursing Home of the Future

Golden Living is constructing the "nursing home of the future" at 4801 Old Zuck Road in Erie, PA. The new facility will replace the existing nursing home located on Peach Street. The current building houses 115 residents in approximately 28,000 square feet, while the new facility will be much-larger at 72,065 square feet.

The new facility is scheduled to be completed by February 2010.

U.S. Prepares for Nursing Home Rating System

The Bush administration will begin rating facilities based on a five-star rating system very soon. The rating system is expected to be available on a Medicare web site by the end of the year and will allot each nursing home with a score from one to five stars. The measure will be based on government inspection results, as well as staffing data and quality measures.

"The fact a home has a lower rating will likely put them on a path to improvement," said Kerry Weems, acting administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that manages Medicare.

Nursing Home Abuse on the Rise

Nursing Home Abuse is increasing. The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of abuse, though they believe the actual frequency is higher due to lack of reporting the abuse. There are well over one million Americans living in nursing homes, and that's expected to at least double in the next ten years. Advocates for the elderly and disabled fear that incidences of abuse will continue to climb as well.

Nursing Home Laws Not Sufficiently Enforced

In a new report released by Congress’s investigative branch, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) the U.S. government is criticized for its oversight of nursing homes across the nation.

New Hampshire elderly residents to get new, innovative style of nursing home

A proposed "Green House" format of 10 buildings housing about 10 residents each in private bedrooms with central kitchens and living areas.

The property would also feature a smaller traditional nursing home, which would offer more intensive care.