Albuquerque New Mexico Nursing Home Abuse Law Blog

New Mexico residents who have a senior loved one in a nursing home may worry about their well-being. Elder abuse occurs when a senior is emotionally, mentally, sexually or physically abused by a caregiver.

One case in North Carolina is particularly disturbing. A woman suspected that the nursing home, which housed her blind 86-year-old mother with Alzheimer's disease, was allowing abuse to occur by her caregivers. The daughter bought a picture frame that had a small hidden camera inside of it and placed it on her mother's counter. Within 24 hours of installing the camera, she recorded two instances of abuse.

Many people in New Mexico are concerned about the care their loved ones will receive in a nursing home. There have been lots of reports of abuse and neglect at care facilities, and people may find it difficult to determine if a particular facility will be a safe place. Many elderly people living in nursing homes are vulnerable, may have memory issues and find it hard to advocate for themselves. This can be especially troubling if relatives are unable to frequently visit their loved one in the facility.

One Ohio nursing home is facing two separate wrongful death lawsuits filed within a month. Family members of two different women living at the home say that the residents did not receive proper medical treatment and died as a result. In one case, a woman living at the home for six years had a skin deteriorating condition. The lawsuit alleges that employees at the home failed to follow a care plan for her condition, leading her skin to become infected, which eventually led to her death from sepsis. In the other case, a woman living at the home developed pressure sores, often referred to as bedsores.

If your New Mexico family had to place a loved one in a nursing home, you probably spent a significant amount of time researching facilities and trying to make the best choice possible. It takes a lot of trust to place a member of your family in the care of someone else, and it can be devastating when you learn that your loved one is not getting the care he or she deserves.

Nursing home abuse comes in many forms, and it is not always easy to determine exactly what is happening. You may suspect something is wrong, but you may not be able to put your finger on it. It may be beneficial to learn about signs that could indicate malnutrition, which is often an indication of nursing home abuse or neglect.

Nursing home residents in New Mexico rely on health care staff to provide them with correct doses of medication. A routine audit of medications at one facility, however, revealed a betrayal of this trust. The staff discovered that a bottle of liquid morphine sulfate had been diluted with saline solution and reduced to only a 14% concentration of what it was supposed to contain. A registered nurse appeared to be the source of the tampering, and the facility administrator reported the incident to authorities. Police subsequently arrested the man, who now faces a charge of tampering with a consumer product.

The morphine had been prescribed for a patient. Prosecutors said his actions placed another person at risk of injury and imposed physical pain. The RN's licensing record had not shown any previous reprimands and remains valid until June 2021. He is eligible to work as an RN in multiple states, but court documents show that he has been barred from working in health care settings as he waits for his trial. A judge also ordered that he disclose the criminal case to any current employers.