The sobering reality that cases of elder abuse are increasing exponentially – as the population ages – has opened the floodgates for litigation and moral indignation, notes staunch advocate for the elderly, Berkowitz and Hanna LLC. Case in point is a recent incident where a woman was brutally beaten in her bed at a nursing home in Virginia. Her family is suing the facility for elder abuse and wrongful death.
In February 2013, Georgie Williams was a patient in the dementia care unit at the Consulate Healthcare of Windsor nursing home when another patient (a male, also living in the dementia care unit) entered her room, shut the door, went on top of her and proceeded to beat her. According to Williams’ family, there were two staff nurses who stood at the end of her bed, encouraging the man to get off her. Williams was taken to Sentara Obici Hospital, where she was treated for her injuries. She died eight weeks later.
In their complaint, the family states that there were only two nurses working on the night of the attack and that the facility not only “failed to hire and maintain adequate staff” but also “failed to appropriately train its staff and failed to properly assess the psychological, behavioral and emotional functioning of its residents.” The facility denied all culpability.
An examination of the nursing home ratings database produced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reveals that the Consulate Healthcare of Windsor nursing home received a one-star rating (out of five) for overall quality and for staffing.
Note: We did not represent any of the parties in this case.
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