Nursing Homes Are Required to Report Abuse and Neglect

This segment of The Law and You features personal injury trial lawyer Lara Johnson telling of abuse and neglect cases The Corson & Johnson Law Firm has handled against nursing homes that failed to report abusive employees.

TRANSCRIPT:

JOEL: This is Joel Block for The Law and You with Eugene attorney Lara Johnson. Lara, in institutional care like nursing homes, what if the facility knows an employee may be abusive and doesn’t do anything about it?

LARA: Nursing homes are legally required to report abuse and neglect to a state agency which then investigates the report. Unfortunately, nursing homes don’t always follow the law.

For some people we’ve represented, the nursing home administrators knew that an employee was physically abusing many residents, but did not report it to the state agency. Nor did the facility put a stop to the abuse after hearing concerns from other employees and families of its residents. Joel, we were successful in bringing civil claims against the nursing home. But it didn’t stop there. The Sheriff’s Office investigated the case for criminal charges, and the employee was sentenced to prison. The facility eventually shut down after the extent of the abuse became known to all the families.

JOEL: If you have a legal question or would like to request a speaker for your group on The Law and You, visit CorsonJohnsonLaw.com. This is a public service and does not replace the advice of an attorney.

The Corson & Johnson Law Firm, an Oregon personal injury trial law firm, produced and distributed The Law and You as a public service to help families and consumers answer questions about our legal system and how it works for them. The Law and You spots were aired on KKNU, KMGE, KEUG, and KODZ.  Please note that laws may have changed since a public service spot was aired.  If you have suggestions for legal questions or topics you would like addressed, please contact us.