Memphis Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Information
If your loved one was injured inside a Tennessee nursing home or assisted living facility, speak with a Memphis nursing home abuse lawyer today. At Senior Justice Law Firm, nursing home abuse is our law firm’s primary practice area.
Speak with our compassionate Memphis nursing home abuse attorney by calling 888-375-9998, submitting a case inquiry submission, or use our live chat feature. The initial consultation is completely free. If you have a viable Memphis nursing home abuse lawsuit, we pursue the case on contingency fee. This means you do not pay anything out of pocket and we get paid out of the proceeds of the settlement or judgment.
Elder abuse is revolting. If you suspect neglect, contact a Memphis nursing home abuse lawyer immediately.
Memphis Nursing Homes Struggle to Provide Appropriate Care
Nursing homes across America continue to struggle as more and more of the aging population reach retirement age and head into facilities. Faced with razor-thin margins on Medicaid payments and increasing demand for staff who need compensation, many long-term care facilities are electing to cut down on their total number of staff while simultaneously increasing the number of beds for residents in facilities so as to maximize profits. Memphis, Tennessee is no exception to this trend.
In fact, when it comes to overall quality of care in the city and its surrounding areas, Memphis continues to struggle in many aspects. Many Shelby County skilled nursing facilities are rated below average. This is not to say that nursing home care in Memphis is of poor quality; rather, it is important that you remain vigilant about the care that your loved one is receiving.
Memphis has seen a surge in its older population in recent years due to its appeal as a retirement destination. With fair weather and a variety of fun activities, it is no wonder that the area is struggling to keep up with this influx. Nursing homes city-wide can vary widely in their level of care, so if you suspect that someone you love has been the victim of abuse or neglect in Memphis, it is important that you reach out for legal assistance as soon as possible.
The Purpose of a Memphis Nursing Home Lawsuit
When it comes to abuse and negligence in nursing homes, Tennessee is right about average compared to the rest of the United States. Its 367 nursing homes house approximately 26,600 individuals—doing the math, that’s about 73 beds per facility, which is relatively high—and of these, 33 nursing homes are located within 25 miles of the city center in Memphis. About 63% of Tennessee’s nursing homes have been noted as deficient in important areas such as infections, with 12% being categorized as “seriously deficient.”
What does this mean for your family, then? The reality is that even nursing homes that achieve a five star rating are not perfect, and your family member, parent, or friend may still receive lackluster care at any facility. You may feel like bringing a lawsuit in this sort of situation is a hassle, overwhelming, expensive, or not worth it, but a law firm like Senior Justice that narrowly focuses in this area of practice understands that this is a challenging time for you. Your Memphis nursing home lawsuit can not only secure monetary damages for your family to help pay for financially devastating bills such as hospital stays resulting from poor care—it can also hold the negligent Memphis nursing home accountable and force the facility to change its practices, all in defense of other residents who count on that home for their care and wellbeing.
At Senior Justice Law Firm, we would be happy to take this burden off of your plate as much as possible so that you can focus on what matters most—healing and restoring your family. Reach out for a free consultation to discuss what you have witnessed, whether it constitutes abuse or neglect, and what your next steps may be.
The Nursing Home Scene Across Tennessee and Memphis
When it comes to deficient nursing homes that provide an inadequate level of care to their residents, the state of Tennessee is no stranger to issues. Tennessee itself has seen almost 3,500 individual citations across its nursing homes, paying out close to 200 separate fines among its facilities. The average fine of $39,661 comes in response to issues of care ranging from improperly served and stored food to mishandling medications and incorrectly administering them to residents. Tennessee has paid more than $7 million in fines for nursing homes.
As for Memphis itself, 6% of the nursing home facilities located within 25 miles of the city center have been designated with a red mark by Medicare, indicating that confirmed cases of abuse have occurred at those locations. A total of 33% of all nursing homes in the Memphis area have achieved the bare minimum one out of five stars awarded by Medicare upon evaluation of a wide variety of criteria, such as quality of care and staffing. Only four locations in Memphis boast a five star rating.
Considering that Tennessee is one of the most expensive states in the US for nursing home care—with the average month in a semi-private room costing $7072—facilities continue to understaff their locations. Memphis itself is second only to Johnson City (by $68) in terms of the most expensive location for nursing homes, and the long-term care facilities within Memphis have paid some of the heftiest fines in the state. AHC Harbor View by itself has paid $311,635 in fines across 25 deficiencies, 8 of which were deemed serious. Similarly, Graceland Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center has paid a total of more than $127,000 in fines, with Midtown Center for Health and Rehabilitation coming close behind at $123,351. Despite its designation on a federal list of confirmed abuse facilities, Parkway Health and Rehabilitation Center has paid out only $14,883 in fines, indicating that not all facilities with serious deficiencies in Memphis will receive hefty fines as a result.
Memphis Nursing Home Negligence News
Because not all facilities with a poor standard of care will necessarily receive fines as a result, it is important that you remain vigilant and check a facility’s recent citations. In Tennessee, 11 nursing homes have been cited for substandard care, with multiple locations joining the SFF, or Special Focus Facilities, list meant to rehabilitate poorly administered locations. These are:
- Asbury Place
- Bailey Park Community Living Center
- Brookhaven Manor
- Cornerstone Village
- Creekside Center for Rehabilitation and Health
- Dyersburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
- Greenhills Health and Rehabilitation Center
- Life Care Center of Columbia
- Lauderdale Community Living Center
- Rainbow Rehab and Health
- Westmoreland Health and Rehabilitation Center
One location discharged a resident without informing any required organizations, placing him into a hotel without any money, food, or medications. He survived on the hotel’s continental breakfast, having no access to a phone to call for help.
At a different Tennessee nursing home, a nurse read a resident’s prescription for insulin incorrectly, resulting in administering a dose of insulin that was 100 units instead of four. This mistake caused the resident to fall into a coma. Medication errors are higher than average in the most problematic facilities, with the worst location coming in at a rate of 65% error. Bedsores are also common.
Spring Gate Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center agreed to a settlement of $500,000 after allegedly participating in Medicare and Medicaid fraud, including the use of anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic medication as a means of keeping residents docile and in their beds, even when they had no medical conditions that required the use of such drugs. This practice resulted in dramatic health outcomes for patients, including frequent falls resulting from a lack of coordination.
In a 2019 health inspection, AHC Harbor View failed to honor a resident’s right to dignity when medication was applied to her exposed left breast without closing the door to her room, leaving her body in full view of any bystanders in the hallway. Similarly, when a member of staff swore and yelled at a resident, this incident was not timely reported, nor was it investigated within the required period.
Another facility in Memphis, Midtown Center for Health and Rehabilitation, has received an inspection deficiency for staff leaving medical equipment and medications unattended in an unlocked cart in a public area, where it could be accessed by anyone. Medications at this facility had been noted to be unattended both in the medicine cart itself, which was frequently left in hallways out of sight, but also in residents’ rooms, where medication would be dropped off, left unattended with the resident, and then administered upon return. This poses the risk that a resident may take medication on their own without supervision and then receive an additional dose when the staff member returned.
Worst Nursing Homes in Memphis
Categorizing nursing homes can pose a significant challenge, since even five star rated long-term care facilities can still receive citations for a wide variety of deficiencies. In order to maintain a level of consistency, Medicare has implemented categories such as staffing, quality of care, and more to measure all nursing homes equally against each other. In Memphis, a few nursing homes have secured a notoriously poor record; but these ratings change constantly. For that reason, there is no “worst nursing home in Memphis”. Instead, check Medicare’s care compare tool to see recent deficiencies.
Meet with an Experienced Memphis Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today
If you or someone that you love has been impacted by the abuse and negligence that can characterize some nursing homes, you are not alone, and it is not something that you need to deal with on your own. In fact, certain subsets of law deal specifically with the treatment of the elderly and the vulnerable, and the attorneys at Senior Justice have made it their work to focus specifically in this area.
We understand that this is a trying time for you, whether you have been faced with the grim details of your loved one’s injuries or abuses or someone you love has actually passed away as a result of this treatment. Your priority at this moment should be on your family and what to do next, which is why we offer our consultations free of charge. We also work via a percentage fee structure, which means that you will never pay for our services out of pocket. If we secure a settlement for you, we will receive our compensation as a percentage of that monetary disbursement so that you can seek the justice you deserve without the fear of financial consequences.
Remember—a lawsuit can achieve monetary compensation for your family, but it also serves as a powerful deterrent for nursing homes. Your legal action could save the lives of others. If you would like to discuss the events that occurred, learn whether you may have a case, or begin the process of filing a lawsuit for nursing home abuse and neglect in a Memphis nursing home, reach out to Senior Justice Law Firm. Our Tennessee nursing home abuse attorney can investigate the case, and determine if we can help.
Free Memphis Nursing Home Lawsuit Consultation:
Call us now at 888-375-9998 or submit your case facts below.
Disclaimer
*The individual case information above is publicly filed information gathered from the publicly filed complaint. This information and these cases are not the work of this law firm. The inspection results are provided from public government agency surveys. The state Department of Health conducts a survey of all nursing home facilities at least once every 15 months. The deficiencies listed on this page may have been corrected after the date of the inspection and date of publishing this material. Citations, ratings and deficiencies are current as of the date of this post (4 22) and will change later on. The inspection findings published are not complete. You may find the most up to date information at medicare.gov. This material is not endorsed by the facility noted or by any governmental agency. Speak with an attorney immediately if you believe you have a viable case against a nursing home, assisted living facility or medical facility.