Pittsburgh Nursing Home Abuse of Alzheimers Patient Results in Conviction of Nurse
Mary Ann Bower, a former nurse in a Pittsburgh-area nursing home was convicted of abusing a 94-year-old patient with Alzheimer’s disease. She will have to pay a fine of $300 and she may lose her nursing certificate in this personal injury lawsuit.
According to an article from Wfmj.com, Bower was convicted after employees at the Kane Regional Center in Glen Hazel, Pa said that she flicked water in the face of Thelma Bryant. The article also said that Bower was a night supervisor at the facility and that she did not stop any abuse or reprimand the other nurses who were also involved.
The other nurses are facing more serious charges for allegedly hitting the patient in this personal injury lawsuit.
The most common forms of nursing home abuse in Pennsylvania are physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. When a nursing home professional takes advantage of their power to withhold care from an individual, extort money or property from them, or abuse their bodies, an intolerable and cruel situation can arise.
All too often, elderly or ill individuals are left for hours in bed with improper restraints, refused any human contact, or prescribed large amounts of sedatives so they will not notice or report their physical and emotional abuse.
Though bedsores, lacerations and bruises, and flat affect can all point to nursing home abuse, the signs are often far more insidious. Family members should keep the lines of communication open with their loved ones and at the first sign of abuse, contact not only the directors of the facility in question, but call local law enforcement and any applicable state licensing or oversight agencies. Once these steps have been taken, it’s time to act on behalf of your loved one. File a civil lawsuit seeking monetary damages and compensation by contacting a skilled Philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyer and send a message to other facilities that such behavior is intolerable and unacceptable.
The attorneys at Cherry, Fieger, Marciano understand the impact and severity of elder abuse in Pennsylvania, and can help you. Please contact them today for more information and a free case consultation.
