Long term care is a highly litigated area of health care. As a legal nurse consultant (LNC) without a clinical background in long term care, I had to educate myself on this specialty. The nursing tasks were familiar but the chart was not. As I worked on more of these cases, I came to rely upon a uniform set of documents that provided a good starting point for LTC case analysis: Minimum Data Set (MDS), Resident Assessment Protocols (RAPs) and the Care Plan. Starting my analysis with these documents gave …

You all know how I love to share resources.  An attorney client I am working with has provided these links regarding elder care and nursing home issues.  Enjoy!

Arkansas Advocates for Nursing Home Residents
A nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and improving the quality of care and life for Arkansas residents in long-term care facilities.
Arkansas Office of Long Term Care
The Office of Long Term Care conducts investigations of complaints in which abuse or neglect of residents, or misappropriation of resident property, is …

May 19, 2010 at 8:00 PM Eastern – One hour webinar
An Eye for an Eye: The Legal Consequences of Vision Loss
Joseph Citron, MD Esq.
A uniquely qualified presenter, Dr. Joe Citron is both an ophthalmologist and an attorney. He explains the mystery of how we see and what goes wrong when the visual system is injured. Loss of vision can have profound effects on a plaintiff, affecting vocational, social, and psychological issues. Dr. Citron pulls back the covers to share his knowledge. Eyes, vision and injuries have long been the province …

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A lawsuit has been filed against a nursing home in Aurora, Ill., and one of its patients, Sylvester Graves, after he allegedly sexually assaulted an older woman who lived there. According to the lawsuit, Graves beat the woman severely and sexually assaulted her in his room at Fox River Pavilion nursing home. The suit accuses the nursing home of failing to adequately monitor Graves and provide security of other residents.  Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune
One of my colleague’s elderly mother recently had to be hospitalized for a brief period, …