Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit Alleging Inadequate Care*

Palmer's mother, Mrs. Dorothy Palmer, was a resident at Sunny Valley Senior Resort, where she received managed care due to her growing infirmity and poor memory. Mr. Palmer attests that while under the supervision of attending nurses at Sunny Valley Senior Resort, her mental well being took a marked turn for the worse.

Mrs. Palmer was on two prescription anti-depressants as well as a cocktail of drugs to cover her osteoporosis and high blood pressure. While the drugs could have a mood destabilizing side effect, Mr. Palmer did not feel that medical side effects could justify the wide discrepancy in mood, given the nature of her other medical conditions.

When he attempted to get his mother examined by a psychiatrist about dosage adjustments, Mr. Palmer claims that the staff and administrators at Sunny Valley Senior Resort were obstructing his access to his mother's medical records (perhaps to try and avoid a nursing home negligence lawsuit), and frequently asked him to prove legal access requirements (Mr. Palmer is his mother's legal guardian).

Mr. Palmer used this as evidence that they were seeking to conceal information as a means of concealing their medical negligence in running a nursing home.

A consultation with a psychiatrist and an attending physician resulted in authorization to run blood tests. Those blood tests showed that Dorothy Palmer was not receiving her full dose of anti-depressants. This information prompted Mr. Palmer to look into filing a nursing home negligence lawsuit.

After an inquiry by the court, and a check up on the medical records for the prescription safe, some evidence was revealed that showed medications dedicated to residents in particularly frail condition were being diverted and presumably sold by staff at the Sunny Valley Senior Resort.

The judge ordered restitution in the form of one year's worth of the medical billing for Dorothy Palmer's care. The administrators at Sunny Valley Senior Resort attempted to appeal the decision, but were denied.

A separate inquiry on the deposition of the drugs being sold by Sunny Valley Senior Resort staffers was also opened; four attendants (those who had to sign in and out for patient prescriptions) had charges filed against them for theft of controlled substances with intent to resell. All four were suspended, and eventually let go by the nursing home, and two had their nursing certifications revoked.