Category: Nursing Home Abuse

Are Elder Abuse Cases Mishandled in Pennsylvania? Senior citizens are one of our most vulnerable populations, so it is not surprising that abuse of the elderly is increasing in Pennsylvania.  Elder abuse occurs when someone harms, neglects or exploits an older or care-dependent person. According to the Department of Aging, caseworkers handled nearly 32,000 calls about potential elder abuse in the 2017-18 fiscal year, up from 18,500 five years earlier. And now, the Office of State Inspector General, an internal Pennsylvania state government watchdog agency, is criticizing how county-level agencies investigate thousands of complaints they receive about elder abuse. The report highlights failures by some county-level agencies to properly investigate complaints under timelines required by state law and inadequate staffing of the state office that monitors those agencies. It also says investigative practices aren’t standardized across counties and criticizes training requirements for caseworkers as far too weak. While Governor Tom Wolf’s administration claims it has begun to address the report’s findings, the chances of an elderly person's being abused or taken advantage of are still real.  Abuse complaints often involve physical abuse, neglect or financial exploitation. If you or an…

Crew v. Penn Presbyterian Med. Ctr., 2017 Phila. Ct. Com. Pl. LEXIS 188 (June 30, 2017) Lachman, J. On March 16, 2012, the Plaintiffs Decedent Essie Crew was admitted to Park Pleasant Health Care Facility for nursing care, rehabilitation, physical, occupational, and speech therapy. At the time of her admission, a Park Pleasant nurse noted that Ms. Crew's skin was intact. Around April 23, 2012, Ms. Crew began to experience a loss of skin integrity. On or before May 10, 2012, Ms. Crew developed sacral wounds, bilateral contractures of her upper and lower extremities, and urinary tract infections. Trial began on October 14, 2016, and the jury delivered its verdict on October 27, 2016. The jury found that Penn Hospice was not negligent and did not answer the causation or damages questions on the verdict slip. Plaintiff filed a timely post-trial motion (PTM) challenging Judge Ceisler's grant of summary judgment and various alleged trial errors committed by the trial judge. The trial judge limited her review of the PTM to the alleged trial errors. The trial judge denied the PTM and entered judgment on the jury's verdict on February 15, 2017.…