When it comes time to select a facility to care for our elderly loved ones, most people take the utmost care in this selection. They place their trust in nursing homes to care for loved ones that can no longer care for themselves. Unfortunately, sometimes abuse and neglect does occur at these facilities.
Several New Mexico nursing homes are facing lawsuits alleging abuse and neglect.
Families of the victims of the abuse and neglect and a whistleblower shared their stories with the media recently.
A lawsuit originally filed in 2014 by New Mexico Attorney General Gary King is now being spearheaded by Attorney General Hector Balderas. In December of 2014, OKing sued Preferred Care, Inc. and Cathedral Rock.
Preferred Care operates several nursing homes in New Mexico and took over several facilities previously owned by Cathedral Rock before the company went bankrupt and dissolved.
A law firm hired by King to investigate those facilities found that many were understaffed and poorly managed. Findings indicate that both company’s facilities took hours to perform tasks like bathing and feeding patients.
Balderas revised the initial complaint in 2015, stating that between 2011 and 2014, abuse and neglect at both company’s facilities led to injury or death.
One such complaint involves Henry Russell. Russell was admitted to Bloomfield Nursing Home in 2013 after a stroke. Russell’s wife, Becky, stated that she found her husband in bad shape several times. On one occasion, she found her husband lying in urine. The urine had been there long enough that it had begun to dry. She had her husband taken to the hospital. Russell’s husband was found to be deathly anemic and had internal bleeding.
One nurse at a Preferred Care facility came forward but wanted her identity to be kept secret. She stated that she was given only 1 nurse aide for 22 patients. As a result, some patients were unable to be bathed, changed, or toileted.
If you believe that a loved one has suffered abuse or neglect while in a nursing home, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the offices of Schenk Smith. Our experienced attorneys will help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today.
