Tag: sex offender

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers: New Owners Try to Fix Up Facility

The Central Coast Nursing Center, a Santa Barbara, California area nursing home, faces hard times after state officials have discovered an array of health and safety violations. Additionally, two former employees have been arrested on sexual battery and elder abuse charges. The facility has recently changed owners in an effort to fix old problems and rebuild their reputation as a quality facility. As nursing home abuse lawyers, we see facilities change ownership frequently. Sometimes, this causes crucial elements of care to slip through the cracks, allowing residents to suffer. But, as is often the case, change can also be for the best, and new owners committed to fixing the problems in a negligent nursing home is definitely for the best of the residents and their families.

Former CNAs Arrested for Sexual and Physical Abuse

nursing home abuse lawyers in NJ and PA Brian Watt, a 29-year-old sex offender and former certified nursing assistant at the facility, was arrested on September 9. He was charged with felony lewd act upon a dependent adult, felony sexual battery on an institutionalized victim, and misdemeanor dependent adult abuse for an incident that occurred on September 4, 2010. If he is convicted on all of these counts, he may face up to six years in jail. The other former employee of Central Coast facing charges is 32 year-old Hugo Rendon, who was arrested on October 6 and charged with four misdemeanor counts of battering an elder for two separate incidents that occurred on May 13 and May 17, 2011.

Compass Health, Inc. took over control of Central Coast Nursing Center on September 1, 2011. The new parent company operates six other nursing homes and has a very good record. Their challenge now is to clean up the facility’s problems and establish a new reputation through high quality service. Compass Health’s Chief Operating Officer Darren Smith explained that the problem with the old owner was that they were “not consistent” and there was “little experience or understanding” among the officials. “We want to create an atmosphere of respect and appreciation for the business that’s being operated here,” said Smith.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If you have witnessed any questionable conditions or abusive behavior in a nursing home, directed towards your loved one or even another resident, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Put Rapist Away for Nine Years

Sexual nursing home and elder abuse is one of the most disgraceful forms that nursing home abuse lawyers face. To abuse their power and take advantage of a vulnerable elderly person in that way is shameful. Kevin Burns was sentenced to nine years in prison on September 13, 2011 after pleading guilty to raping an elderly woman in the Friend’s Care Nursing Home in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where she was a resident and he was working. Burns said in court “I’m sorry for what I’ve done to them.”

Nursing Home Employee Pleaded Guilty to Raping Elderly Resident

new jersey philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyers rapist jail nine years
As part of a deal that Burns reached with the prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to one count of rape and the two other charges were dropped. This deal was reached because prosecutors felt it saved everyone from going to trial and according to Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Hunter, “The defendant stepped up and acknowledged what was done as opposed to dragging victims through a court process and trial.“. After Burns serves his nine years in prison he will have five years of probation and have to register as a tier 3 sex offender, which is the strictest of the classifications. During the court hearing, the defendant admitted to struggling with an addiction to pornography. He said “I should have went to them and told them I was struggling with that and should have asked to be put on leave until I could take care of it. I tried to take care of it myself but didn’t, didn’t do it.”

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

If your loved one is currently a resident of a nursing home or care facility, we encourage you to visit frequently and be very observant of their treatment as well as their living conditions. If you are worried that the care they are receiving is negligent, abusive, or inadequate, contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation. You may also call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Can Begin With New Hires

Nursing home abuse can begin as early as the hiring process. Not all states require background checks for those applying for jobs in nursing homes, and for that reason, people with criminal convictions do not have a hard time gaining employment at a nursing home or similar care facility. People with a history of assault, criminal negligence, or theft would be high risks as employees in a nursing home.

Overwhelming Frequency of Nursing Home Employees with Criminal Convictions

new jersey philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyers hiring employees criminal convictionAccording to the Department of Health and Human Services, over 90 percent of nursing homes in this country hire employees with criminal convictions, a huge problem in the fight against nursing home neglect. The report looked at the employees of 260 nursing homes employed on June 9, 2009 and found that 92 percent of the facilities had hired at least one employee with a criminal conviction. In fact, nearly half of the nursing homes had 5 or more employees with criminal convictions ranging from burglary to sex offenses. Forty-three states require background checks but only 10 states require both a state and FBI background check. This is necessary to find convictions in multiple states and under different names. New Jersey and Pennsylvania only require the statewide check.

This type of disregard in the hiring process leads to the hiring of inadequate and often dangerous employees in nursing homes across the country. These are often the people that are in charge of the daily needs of one of our most vulnerable populations. Do we expect a sex offender or other convicted criminal left in charge of the care of multiple patients to handle bed sores, accidents and other safety issues properly? Nursing homes are paid a lot of money to care for your loved ones, but they often hire employees that have shown a clear disregard for the rules of society. Bed sores and pressure ulcers, accidents, and other abuses such as restraints, lack of proper nutrition, and over or under-medicating are all issues in many nursing homes. Without a proper background check into possible nursing home hires, we are allowing dangerous people to care for our loved ones.

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia

It is important that you are a frequent and attentive visitor in order to protect your loved one from neglect and abuse, especially when the nursing home is hiring convicted criminals and charging them with your loved one’s care. Lawmakers need to pass bills to make the background checks mandatory nationwide so that the vulnerable patients are protected.
If you believe your loved one has suffered neglect or abuse in a nursing home or other long term care facility, please contact the Mininno Law Office for free case evaluation or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.