With a rise in nursing home abuse and neglect complaints, many family members are turning to technology to ensure their loved ones are being cared appropriately. Sometimes, the findings are not what they expected. In some cases, the findings are horrifying.
Jean Peters and her sister have become proponents of using hidden cameras to catch abuse in nursing homes. They became advocates after using a “nanny cam” to catch their mother being abused by a nurses aide while at York Gardens.
The sisters were prompted to install the hockey-puck sized camera in plain view on top of a refrigerator in their mother’s room. This move came after several visits to their mother revealed a drastic weight loss from 105 lbs to 94 lbs and hearing their mother say, “I’ve been a bad girl.” There were also times when they visited that their mother appeared unbathed, and complained that her arms were sore.
What they captured on the hidden camera was a female aide repeatedly chastising the elderly woman, yelling at her and calling her a “grown-ass adult.”
Similar recent events caught on these “granny cams” have led to arrests. In a case that happened last month, footage captured showed an aide hitting an elderly woman with an elbow and a hairbrush. A few months before this, another camera captured footage of an aide throwing a towel in the face of an elderly dementia patient. More captured footage revealed employees talking on cell phones when they were supposed to be caring for patients.
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Once the video footage was reported to the owner of York Gardens swift and decisive action was carried out. The facility reported the concerns to the Department of Health and administrators met with staff members. The abuse allegations were investigated and the aide who verbally abused the elderly woman was terminated.
The investigation conducted by the state determined that emotional and physical abuse took place but that the fault lay with the individual and not the facility.
If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of abuse or neglect while in a nursing facility, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the law offices of Schenk Smith. Our attorneys can help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today.
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