Tragically, here at The Dickson Firm, L.L.C., we receive multiple calls from families whose loved one has been assaulted in a nursing home or assaulted in an assisted living facility. Unbelievably, many of these cases involve incidents of sexual assault.

Residents are assaulted by other residents. Residents are assaulted by staff. Tragically, we see cases involving one resident sexually assaulting another. We also see cases where staff sexually assaults a resident.

Resident on Resident Assault

Nursing homes are legally obligated to perform a comprehensive assessment of each and every one of their residents when they are admitted. They are also obligated to continue to assess their residents to determine their condition and to react to changes in a resident's condition.

If a resident has a significant change in their condition, the staff at the nursing home is legally required to immediately notify that resident's doctor and also to immediately notify that resident's family member. This is so the doctor can participate in updates to the resident's care plan and the implementation of additional interventions to keep that resident safe and to address their needs. The nursing home is required to notify the resident's family so that they can also participate in revising the resident's care plan and come up with additional interventions to protect that resident and keep them safe.

If the resident is the victim of an assault, the nursing home must immediately contact the resident's family and their doctor. The nursing home's duty to assess each of their residents applies to both the resident who is the assailant in the case of assault, as well as the resident who is the victim of an assault.

Years ago, we at The Dickson Firm represented an Ohio nursing home resident who was violently assaulted by her roommate. Her roommate literally beat her unconscious and caused her horrible injuries. As we handled the case, we fought hard to obtain the assailant's records. The nursing home tried to withhold the assailant's records from us because they knew they revealed that they were neglecting the assailant just as much as they were neglecting the victim of the assault. Even after the Court ordered the nursing home to produce the assailant's records, the nursing home still withheld over 150 pages of the assailant's records. They then tried to introduce those records at trial. The trial court told the jury that the nursing home had withheld 150 pages of records, and the jury could conclude whatever they chose about the content of those records. The case settled shortly after that.

Nursing homes often argue that producing the assailant's records is a violation of HIPAA. We have worked very hard on many cases to craft effective Motions to Compel to persuade the courts to order the production of other residents' records when relevant in our cases.

If a resident is violent, the nursing home has an obligation to provide that resident with treatment. They can provide that resident with therapy. They can provide that resident with medication. They have a duty to provide that resident with care and services to address their violent tendencies. If they are unable to effectively address their violent tendencies, then they must discharge that resident, and that resident must not be permitted to stay in the nursing home where he or she poses a risk to the safety of the other residents.

Often nursing home residents are demented and/or confused. They may not be aware of where they are. They may not be totally aware of what they are doing. And it is incumbent upon the nursing home to make sure that they are provided with appropriate care to keep them calm and to prevent them from acting out violently against other residents.

Sometimes residents engage in sexual activity with each other. Given the fact that many nursing home residents are demented and confused and particularly vulnerable, the nursing home has a duty to keep them safe. The nursing home has a duty to provide their residents with adequate supervision to keep them from harm. The nursing home staff has a duty to keep an eye on their residents and make sure that no resident is aggressing upon or sexually assaulting any other resident. Nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable.

Years ago, we encountered a medical director of a nursing home and that nursing home admitted a number of sexual predators. The nursing home did not inform the families of the other residents that they were at risk from these sexual predators. That nursing home was ultimately shut down by the Ohio Department of Health.

Staff on Resident Assaults

Tragically, here at The Dickson Firm, we often hear from families of Ohio nursing home residents and residents of Ohio assisted living facilities that their loved one has been assaulted by a staff member. Recently, we represented a family whose loved one was raped by a staff member. As we dug into that case and performed extensive discovery and extensive investigation, we learned that that same employee had raped three people at that assisted living facility. Tragically, the staff at the assisted living facility had rejected the claims of all three residents. They told the families that their resident was demented and confused and did not know what they were talking about. Unfortunately, they told our family the same thing. They told our family that their loved one was confused and did not know what she was talking about. However, once it came out that this employee had raped three separate residents at the assisted living facility, it became apparent that all three of these people were telling the truth. The assailant was sent to prison. And we successfully represented the family of the assisted living facility resident in a lawsuit relative to her sexual assault.

These cases are particularly challenging. Often the resident has no memory of what happened. Even if they do have a memory of what happened, often they are unable to articulate what happened.

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have a duty to run a thorough background check of anyone who is going to work at their facility. If that person has any number of criminal convictions, they are not legally permitted to work at that nursing home, nor to work at that assisted living facility. There is a statute that has a long list of criminal statutes, and if a person has been convicted of any of those criminal statutes, they cannot work in a nursing home, and they cannot work at an assisted living facility. These criminal statutes include statutes involving violence. If someone has been convicted of murder or assault or manslaughter or rape, they cannot work in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. These statutes also involve crimes involving dishonesty. So nursing homes must screen their employees. They must run a background check on their employees. And they must ensure that they don't employ people who have a criminal history.

Nursing homes usually do not do a very thorough check of a person's past employment. They should. They should find out, if that person has worked at other nursing homes or other assisted living facilities and why they no longer work there.

Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities also do not update their employees’ criminal background checks. They should. Sometimes employees commit crimes after they are hired at the nursing home or at the assisted living facility.

Sometimes staff members at nursing homes and assisted living facilities violently assault the residents. These are people who pray on these residents because they are vulnerable. Sometimes the sexual assaults are not violent. However, if a nursing home resident lacks the ability to consent, it is improper and unlawful for the staff person to engage in sexual activity with that resident.

As indicated above, it is often difficult to develop these cases. Often the resident does not have a clear memory of the incident. Even if they do have a memory of the incident, sometimes they are unable to articulate the impact of the assault. Many of our clients are demented and confused and have a hard time expressing themselves. However, here at The Dickson Firm, we stand up for the rights of nursing home residents and assisted living residents. We work tirelessly to hold the owners and the operators of the nursing homes and the assisted living facilities accountable for neglecting or abusing their residents. Owners and operators of nursing homes and assisted living facilities have opted to provide care for the most vulnerable members of our society. As a result, they have a duty to provide them with adequate supervision to keep them safe. When they violate that duty, we work very hard to hold them accountable.

Attorney Blake Dickson has always worked closely with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center to represent survivors of sexual assault in the context of nursing homes and assisted living facilities and also outside of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. We work closely with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. We have learned how to talk with these survivors, how to listen to these survivors, and how best to assist these survivors in their pursuit of justice.

If someone you love has been neglected or abused in a nursing home, please contact us at The Dickson Firm at 1 800 OHIO LAW, as we would be happy to talk with you and help you in any way that we can.