Hidden Cameras Catch NY Nursing Home Abuse

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Oct 8th, 2008

Hidden Cameras Catch NY Nursing Home Abuse

On Oct. 7, four employees of the Medford Multicare Center for Living in Long Island, New York were charged with nursing home abuse, based on video obtained with hidden cameras. State investigators placed a tiny camera in the room of an 84-year-old resident and monitored the video feed from January to March in 2007.

Nurses and Health Aides Charged

Two LPNs (licensed practical nurses) and two CNAs (certified nursing aides) were shown on the tape to have violated a number of serious safety regulations regarding patient care. They were arraigned in First District Court in Suffolk County and charged with misdemeanors — endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person, and a felony — falsifying records. For example: 

• A CNA was talking on a cell phone while transferring the patient from a wheelchair to his bed. She bumped his head against the bed railing and failed to turn him to prevent pressure sores. 
  
• Another CNA changed the patient's underwear only once during an 8-hour shift, despite the regulation requiring a change every two hours. 
  
• An LPN did not take the patient's heart rate before giving him heart medication; she also failed to give the patient his medication at times because the Center had run out of the medicine, but she later wrote on the records that the medication had been withheld by a physician. 

According to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, this case is the first in the New York City area to use hidden camera videos for evidence. In upstate New York, 26 convictions had already been obtained based on such technology. Cuomo stated, "We’re going to be using this technology aggressively…it gives us a whole new avenue for making these cases." 

(Sources: buffalonews.com; newsinferno.com) 

Getting Legal Help

If your loved one has suffered nursing home abuse or neglect in a public or private care facility, contact us to speak with a qualified personal injury lawyer who will help guide you through what can be a devastating experience.