Kentucky Injury Attorney Blog

Placing a loved one in a nursing home or other long-term care facility can be a difficult decision. As people get older, they are unable to care for themselves, and leaving them in a private home or apartment without supervision can be dangerous. Relocating them to a place where they can receive the assistance and supervision they need can be the right choice. Unfortunately, nursing home residents can encounter dangerous or inappropriate situations as well in the form of abuse or neglect.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Office is in place to help protect nursing home residents. If the office determines a facility has acted inappropriately, it issues a citation. Citations range in severity, with a Type A citation being the most serious. This citation level is given when a state regulation has been violated and a resident's life or safety has been put in jeopardy. All Type A citations are reported to the Kentucky Attorney General's office, which reviews the citations and determines whether or not the case should be assigned to a prosecutor.

The Kentucky Attorney General's office is currently reviewing a Type A citation that it received regarding Charleston Health Care Center in Danville, Kentucky. The citation is related to two incidents that occurred in the summer of 2011. On July 20th, a resident alleges that he or she was hit on the head, two times on each side, then covered with a pillow. The aide was suspended for two days while the allegation was investigated, but the nursing home and the family of the resident decided the accusation was probably false because of the mental status of the resident. A medical assistant did notice a small bruise on the resident's face that was not there previously, which may lend some credibility to the accusation.

Later that same summer, on August 10th, the same nurse's aide was found curled up in bed next to a patient by a staff member. When the staff member confronted him, he kissed the patient on the cheek and said "no one cared what he did." Two days after this incident, the administration became aware of it and the aide was fired.

Continue reading "Kentucky Nursing Home being investigated by Attorney General's Office" »

On October 20, 2011, a West Virginia circuit court judge upheld over $90 million of the $91.5 million in damages awarded to a man in connection to the death of his 87-year-old mother.

Tom Douglas placed his mother in the Heartland of Charleston Nursing Home temporarily in September 2009. She suffered from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and was waiting for a room to open at Heritage Center, a facility that Mr. Douglas felt was better equipped to care for her. After three weeks at Heartland of Charleston, the victim was moved to Heritage Center where nurses noticed sores and bruises on her body, and she appeared to be dehydrated. She was also unresponsive. The next day, she died in Cabell Huntington Hospital. The cause of death, the suit alleges, was dehydration.

Mr. Douglas filed a negligence lawsuit against Heartland of Charleston Nursing Home. Negligence occurs when one party does not fulfill its duty to another party, resulting in injury to the second party. In this case, the duty of the nursing home and its staff was to provide proper care to the victim, but they neglected to do so, resulting in her deteriorating condition and eventual death.

The damages award in this case is broken into two types, compensatory and punitive. Compensatory damages are awarded to compensate the plaintiff for lost income, pain and suffering, and medical costs. The compensatory damages were $11 million originally in this case. Punitive damages are awarded to the plaintiff as a punishment to the defendant in the hopes that the defendant will not act in the same manner again. The punitive damages were $80 million.

Continue reading "Defendants to pay $90 Million in Nursing Home Negligence Case" »

After years of mismanagement, Golden Years Personal Care Home in Letcher County has been closed by the state of Kentucky. Problems at the home ranged from resident neglect and abuse to theft by the home's administration. By June 2011 the home was under an emergency protection order and Linda Bell was appointed to oversee the facility. Ms. Bell reported that the home was not properly maintained and was running a deficit. The state was not able to find a new owner for the facility, so the current 27 residents are being relocated to other homes.

In 2010, the home's administrator, James Tackett, was indicted in more than 150 counts for allegedly stealing over $500,000 dollars from the home. Most of the funds to pay for personal care homes come from federal disability checks and state funding. The majority of the monthly payments are signed over to the administrator of the home, with less than $100 given to the resident for personal use. Mr. Tackett's grandson, Jonah Tackett, was also an administrator at the home and was indicted on seven counts including theft and bribing and tampering with a witness in July 2011.

The State of Kentucky has been involved with Golden Years Personal Care Home since 2007, when Tackett was accused of injuring a resident by hitting him on the head. He pled guilty and was told to resign and have no contact with the residents of the home. In 2009, the home was cited again because Tackett was still involved with the residents. The home was also put in the negative spotlight in 2007 when a resident wandered off and froze to death. The resident, who suffered from schizophrenia and had a history of leaving the home, was not reported missing by the staff for 17 hours after his disappearance. Other complaints regarding the home included a lack of clean towels and fresh milk for the residents and limited social activities.

While personal care homes, which offer less care than nursing homes, are supposed to be a positive alternative to an institution for individuals with mental disabilities, oftentimes the homes are not much of an improvement. Residents are still shut off from the outside world and homes of this type frequently do not have staff trained to handle patients with multiple or complicated issues.

Continue reading "Eastern Kentucky Personal Care Home Closed" »

The Eleventh Circuit ruled earlier this month in the case Bradley v. Sebelius, that Medicare is not entitled to proceeds from wrongful death settlements.

In 2005, Carvonella Bradley settled a wrongful death claim against the nursing home that housed her father Charles Burke and his ten surviving children. The case resolved prior to the Bradley family having to file a lawsuit for $52,500, the insurance policy limits. The estate notified the Health and Human Services of the settlement and subsequent probate hearing.

At the hearing, the court awarded $787.50 to the HHS. The agency challenged the probate court's decision arguing the that Medicare Secondary Payer Manual would provide the superseding law.

The HHS then demanded that the Bradley estate pay over $22,000.00. Bradley paid the agency, but ultimately appealed to the federal district court. The court of appeals reviewed the case to determine, "Whose property is the settlement?"

Continue reading "Eleventh Circuit Decides in Favor of Families in Wrongful Death Case" »

When faced with finding the appropriate care for yourself of a loved one, the task of finding the right nursing home in Kentucky can seem impossible.  However, there are some great tools available to assist you faced with this situation. 


The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers some great tools when you are looking for the appropriate nursing home to care for yourself or a loved one.  The Medicare office has on Nursing Home Important Information allowing you to compare nursing homes that are certified in Medicare and/or Medicaid.  A 5 Star Quality Rating System has been implemented which evaluates nursing homes on three crucial areas of importance:  Health Inspections, Staffing, and Quality Measures.  The rating system offers an individual rating for a nursing home on each of these areas and then offers a combined overall rating. 

This rating system can assist you in determining which nursing homes you would like to consider.  One of the most important steps you can next take is to visit the nursing homes you are considering. When possible, you also contact your Long-Term Care Ombudsman or State Survey Agency before making a decision. When you visit the nursing home you will be better equipped to discuss any and all questions and concerns your found when viewing the nursing home's rating. 

You can also take a Nursing Home Checklist with you on your visit.  Some great checklists are available from HHS and the AARP. 

Additional Resources:

AARP article:  How to Choose a Nursing Home

AARP article:  Evaluating Nursing Homes