Employees Face Jail Time For Nursing Home Neglect
Our Toledo, Ohio nursing home neglect lawyers were shocked to read a recent article in the Jere Beasley Report about a California nursing home’s incidences of abuse. According to the state prosecutors, when residents at the Kern Valley Nursing Home complained or annoyed nursing director Gwen Hughes, she chemically restrained them with powerful anti-psychotic drugs. The director restraints were so severe that three residents at the facility died. One resident was given a powerful anti-seizure drug that, according to the state, killed her.
Three nursing home officials appeared recently at a hearing on charges of elder abuse at the Kern Valley Facility from 2003-2007. They included Gwen Hughes, as well as the administrator and staff physician. While the three Defendants pleaded not guilty, each faces up to 11 years in prison.
While what happened in the rural California nursing home may be an extreme case, experts say over-drugging is common nationwide. They say that they number of nursing home residents who are given these drugs is rising. It has been estimated that nursing homes give anti-psychotic to one in every four patients. Some suggest that the drugs are replacing physical restraints, which are now illegal except as a last resort.
If you or someone you know has a loved one who is a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, please contact our office for more information toll free at 800.637.8170. Our attorneys are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we have six locations in northwest Ohio where we can meet with you – for free – to discuss your case.
