Arizona Supreme Court Rules that Hospitals are Not Exempt from Elder Abuse Lawsuits
In a unanimous decision, the justices said that senior citizens can face elder abuse anywhere, not just by a caregiver in their home, or in a long-term care facility. The judges rejected arguments from hospital attorneys that the measure was intended only to protect seniors in nursing homes or similar facilities.
Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch stated that the 1089 Adult Protective Services Act was intended to protect the elderly from elder abuse, whether in a nursing home or a hospital. “Nothing in APSA indicates legislative intent to protect vulnerable adults from abuse, neglect or exploitation only when they are housed in particular facilities,” she said. For example, a bed-ridden senior could suffer bedsores if caregivers or nurses neglect to turn the patient regularly, whether the patient is in a nursing home, or in a hospital.
The ruling also indicates that hospitals could be found negligent under the law in elder abuse lawsuits and victims could receive larger financial awards for pain and suffering.
Not only could hospitals be on the hook for larger financial penalties, but two specific elder abuse lawsuits could go back to court.
The first elder abuse victim, Helen Wyatt, was a patient at Phoenix Baptist Hospital. During her stay, she received 350 medications and medical interventions from doctors, nurses, therapists, and technicians. The second lawsuit involved victim Karl Kuhfuss Jr, who underwent three surgeries at the John C. Lincoln Hospital, and also received post-surgical care at the facility.
In both elder abuse cases, the survivors of the victims claimed that the hospitals violated the Adult Protective Services Act, but the hospitals – and the original trial judges – claimed that hospitals were not liable to “provide care,” as the elder abuse law states, but to “provide treatment” instead.
However, Shannon Clark, an attorney for one of the elder abuse cases, stated that the difference occurs when a patient dies from abuse or neglect.
“The pain and suffering that the victim endured as a result of abuse, neglect or exploitation would survive the victim’s death” under an abuse complaint, Clark explained. “Under a traditional negligence case, if someone had pain and suffering before they passed away, the pain and suffering component (of the lawsuit) would be extinguished by the patient’s death.”
The Attorneys at the Strom Law Firm Prosecute Elder Abuse Lawsuits
If your loved one has physically suffered, or died wrongfully, because an in-home caregiver or registered nurse in a nursing home has neglected the patient, you may have an elder abuse lawsuit. The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm understand the sensitive nature of elder abuse cases, and will treat you with respect and compassion. It is important to fight elder abuse so you, your family, and others no longer suffer because of criminal behavior. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case. Contact us today for help.803.252.4800
