Nursing home negligence and abuse is quickly getting to be one of the biggest problems we're facing in our society today. And as our population of boomers age and make their way into the nation's nursing homes, this issue is going to assume huge significance. A San Diego Union-Tribune report gives a good example of the type of nursing home negligence the California nursing home negligence and abuse attorneys at Bisnar | Chase typically see these days.

The news article reports that an Encinitas nursing home has been hit with the most severe citation by California Health Department officials and a $100,000 fine in connection with a patient who died from a preventable fall. The patient, whose name has not been released, was recovering from hip surgery at Aviara Healthcare Center. He was admitted to the nursing home for physical therapy in April. He fell twice there within a 24-hour period on May 9 and May 10.

After the first fall in which the man was not injured, the nursing home staff put an alarm on him. However, when the patient got out of bed and walked into the hallway, the alarm went off, but no staff members responded. The walls lacked a handrail, so when the man began to falter, he grabbed a large mechanical device used to lift patients out of bed. He fell, pulling the equipment to the floor with him. His head struck the metal frame of the lift. He died on May 13, 2009 from blunt force trauma and fatal personal injuries. Aviara employees told California health investigators that the lift was supposed to be kept in a shower room and not in the hallway, but even after the man's death an investigator found that device still left in the hallway. The nursing home was also fined $16,000 for failure to closely monitor a patient who wandered away from the facility three times within nine hours last month.

According to a 2008 Government Accountability Office (GAO) 1,285 nursing homes were cited in 2007 for "actual harm or immediate jeopardy" to residents. Based on GAO's statistics, California leads all other states by far in the number of citations. I find it deeply disturbing that ALL these citations were for serious problems that put the patient's life in harm's way.

The only way to deter nursing homes from neglecting their patients is to hit them where it hurts the most. Nursing homes cut corners or keep staff levels low to make a quick buck and turn a profit. By taking these unethical nursing homes to court, victims' families will not only get the justice and compensation they rightfully deserve, but they will also help right a serious wrong.