Nursing Home Neglect in Pennsylvania: Falls, Bedsores and What Families Can Do

What separates neglect from an ordinary accident?

Older adults fall, and skin breaks down. Not every bad outcome in a facility is neglect. What distinguishes the two is usually whether the facility identified a known risk and then failed to do what its own care plan called for.

Patterns that warrant a closer look: pressure ulcers that reach stage III or IV, which rarely develop without sustained failure to reposition and inspect; repeated unwitnessed falls, particularly after a first fall should have triggered a change in the care plan; unexplained weight loss or signs of dehydration; medication errors or missed medications; untreated infections; restraint use; and a sudden change in mood, withdrawal, or fear of particular staff.

What does Pennsylvania require of nursing homes?

Nursing facilities in Pennsylvania are licensed and inspected by the Department of Health and, if they accept Medicare or Medicaid, are also subject to federal certification requirements. State regulations govern staffing, assessment, care planning, and resident rights.

Every resident is supposed to have an individualized care plan built from a formal assessment, updated as their condition changes. In practice, the care plan is often the most important document in the file, because it establishes what the facility itself decided was necessary.

How do I report a concern right now?

You do not need a lawyer to do any of this, and you should not wait.

Pennsylvania Department of Health nursing home complaint hotline: 1-800-254-5164. Complaints can be made confidentially, and the department does not release your identity to the facility.

Pennsylvania Department of Aging elder abuse hotline: 1-800-490-8505, staffed 24 hours a day. Reporters have legal protection from retaliation.

Personal care homes and assisted living residences are licensed separately: 1-877-401-8835.

Your county Area Agency on Aging can also open a protective services assessment. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

What records can a family request?

The resident, or the person holding power of attorney or acting as guardian, can request the complete medical chart — including the assessment, the care plan and its revisions, nursing notes, wound care records, medication administration records, and fall and incident reports.

Two public sources are also worth checking. The federal Care Compare tool publishes inspection results, staffing data and quality measures for every certified facility. The Department of Health publishes survey findings and plans of correction. A facility's inspection history often shows whether what happened to your family member was an isolated event.

What about the arbitration clause we signed?

Admission paperwork very often includes an agreement to arbitrate any future dispute rather than go to court. It is usually presented in a stack of forms during an admission that is already stressful, sometimes to a relative who has no legal authority to sign for the resident.

These agreements are not automatically enforceable. Whether one binds a family depends on who signed, what authority they had, and how the agreement was presented. It is worth having someone look at it before assuming the courthouse door is closed.

How long do we have?

Pennsylvania's general two-year limitations period applies to injury claims, and if a resident died, wrongful death and survival claims have their own timing rules measured from the date of death. Records and staffing data become harder to obtain as time passes and staff turn over.

Talk it through with someone local. If you have questions about your own situation, the attorneys at Joyce, Carmody & Moran can review what happened and explain your options — no cost for the first conversation, and no obligation. We are based in Pittston and handle injury matters throughout Luzerne County.