Rape and Sexual Assaults in Nursing Home
Rape is a crime. Rape is a tort also entitling victims to compenstaion for P&S and emotional distress in Massachusetts civil courts. Sexual assaults are also strictly prohibited by State and Federal Law in Nursing Homes. Every nursing home in Massachusetts is required to have written anti abuse regulations, policies and procedures that they are required to teach to all employees. a Nursingh home can never say Rape is a surprise or they weren’t looking out for rape. It is a known occurance in NH nationwide. That is why they have abuse policies in force to begin with. It occurs most frequently to those with dementia because they cannot reveal the perpetrators. They always occur when the victim is unwatched and alone. Reporting of any and all sexual abuse including assaults is mandatory in nursing homes. Nursing homes are required to have “zero tolerance” policies toward rape and saexual assaults of their dependant residents. Rapes and sexual assaults are designated to be “never events” which Medicare states should NEVER HAPPEN in a nursing home environement. There is no excuse for a rape to ever occur in a nursing home if employees are monitored, residents are protected and room and floor security is in force to prevent unknown assailants. An assailant is unkown only because the Nursing home allowed the rape and then did not report it or preserve evidence or acknowledge the crime in a timely manner as required by law and regulations. Nursing homes can not ignore the security and safety of their residents and then claim no responsibiluity for crimes of violence that harm their residents.
Rapes can occur by visitors, employees, nurse aides, relatives or strangers. Residents are entitled to protection from unwarranted or unauthorized intruders or tresspassers in their rooms. Nursing homes are required to immmediately report and investigate all sexual abuse claims whether they are substantiated or not. Sex abuse victims should NOT be changed or cleaned until medical professionsals can examine and preserve any evidence of rape including DNA, semen or clothing. Objects of sexual assaults must be secured and turned over to police. Faulire to treat the scene as a crime scene allows perpetrators to often escape as the victims often have dementia and cannot assist in the identification or prosecution of felons or abusers.
Special experience and knowledge is required on the part of lawyers who choose to handle these cases. Investigation needs to be thourough and prompt. Discovery needs to be exhaustive to document these often unwitnessed crimes. SANE nurse; security – I hire experts investigators and engineers safety.different proof experienced
State Laws prohibiting Abuse including sexual assault:
105 CMR 155.003:
Abuse: the willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, including verbal or mental abuse, or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain, or mental anguish, or assault and battery; provided, however, that verbal or mental abuse shall require a knowing and willful act directed at a specific patient or resident. In determining whether or not abuse has occurred, the following standards shall apply:
(1) A patient or resident has been abused if:
(a) An individual has made or caused physical contact with the patient or resident in question, either through direct bodily contact or through the use of some object or
substance; and
Federal Laws prohibiting Abuse including sexual assault:
42 CFR § 483.13
Resident behavior and facility practices.
(b) Abuse. The resident has the right to be free from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse, corporal punishment, and involuntary seclusion.
(c) Staff treatment of residents. The facility must develop and implement written policies and procedures that prohibit mistreatment, neglect, and abuse of residents and misappropriation of resident property.
(c) Staff treatment of residents. The facility must develop and implement written policies and procedures that prohibit mistreatment, neglect, and abuse of residents and misappropriation of resident property.
(i) Not use verbal, mental, sexual, or physical abuse, corporal punishment, or involuntary seclusion;
(ii) Not employ individuals who have been—
(A) Found guilty of abusing, neglecting, or mistreating residents by a court of law; or
(B) Have had a finding entered into the State nurse aide registry concerning abuse, neglect, mistreatment of residents or misappropriation of their property; and
(iii) Report any knowledge it has of actions by a court of law against an employee, which would indicate unfitness for service as a nurse aide or other facility staff to the State nurse aide registry or licensing authorities.
(2) The facility must ensure that all alleged violations involving mistreatment, neglect, or abuse, including injuries of unknown source, and misappropriation of resident property are reported immediately to the administrator of the facility and to other officials in accordance with State law through established procedures (including to the State survey and certification agency).
(3) The facility must have evidence that all alleged violations are thoroughly investigated, and must prevent further potential abuse while the investigation is in progress.
(4) The results of all investigations must be reported to the administrator or his designated representative and to other officials in accordance with State law (including to the State survey and certification agency) within 5 working days of the incident, and if the alleged violation is verified appropriate corrective action must be taken.
Our office has handled the following abuse cases that represent repeating patterns of nursing home abuse:
KINDRED ASSAULT CASES: Bernadette Stackpole, a certified nursing assistant working for Kindred Health Care at their Franklin Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility in Franklin, MA. was arraigned Dec 20, 2004 in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, MA. on charges of assaulting and sexually abusing Alzheimer’s patients in Franklin, including a victim represented by Hamill Law Offices, an 86 yr old decorated World War II veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart. Amoung the charges is a criminal count that she violated State Laws M.G.L.ch. 265 section 38 and MGL c 265 s.13K which prohibit senior citizen abuse in nursing homes.
The criminal prosecutors described allegations of how she sexually, physically and emotionally abused and beat four patients at the Franklin Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (see their Nursing Home quality scores drop from 2002 to 2004). The Department of Public Health suspended Stackpole’s right to work in residential facilities. Kindred Healthcare owns the Franklin facility.
Our office successfully represented three of the victims of this horrible abuse at Kindred. Our office filed three lawsuits on their behalf.
Kindred Rape allegation: Marie C. an 85 year old dementia patient , while living at a Kindred facility – according to a Dr. who examined her – was sexually assaulted in July , 2011 in her room. Marie was found with large blood clots from her vagina as well as extensive external labia bruising. The Nursing home did not think to send her to the hospital until the next day, when a rape kit was administered and police came to conduct a rape investigation. Her case was accepted by our office and is in the process of pre trial discovery.
Atrium Abuse and assaults – The Atrium assisted living facility in Quincy, MA. owned by Benchmark LLC., hired a nurse aide the Boston Herald termed “nurse wretched” in their front page headlines describing an abuse rampage that she wielded at the Atrium against 4 dependant elders most of whom suffered from Alzheimers disease. Our office currently represents 2 of the victims and we have filed suit on their behalf.
If you feel that you or your loved one has been victimized by nursing home abuse please call 1-617-479-4300 or use our free case evaluation form.
