Physical and Sexual Abuse in Pennsylvania Nursing Homes

Report it as a crime as well

Where a resident has been assaulted, call the police. A civil claim and a criminal investigation are separate processes, and the criminal investigation can produce evidence, including interviews and forensic examination, that a civil case cannot obtain on its own.

Also notify the Pennsylvania Department of Health and protective services. Do all of it, and keep dated records of who you told.

Where the facility’s responsibility comes from

• Hiring and screening. Whether background checks were performed as required, and what they showed.
• Prior complaints. Whether this staff member had been the subject of earlier concerns, and what was done.
• Supervision. Whether staff worked unobserved with vulnerable residents in circumstances the facility should have managed.
• Training, particularly in managing residents with dementia and responsive behaviors.
• Reporting. Whether the facility reported the allegation as it was required to, or handled it internally.

A facility that investigated quietly and moved someone to another floor has a considerable problem.

Resident on resident assault

More common than staff abuse, and frequently foreseeable. Where a resident with a known history of aggression was placed with a vulnerable roommate, or was inadequately supervised, the facility’s assessment and placement decisions are the issue rather than the resident’s conduct.

Ask what was known about the other resident, what the care plan said, and what changed after earlier incidents.

When the resident cannot tell you

Many victims have dementia and cannot give an account. That does not prevent a case. Physical findings, the pattern and location of injuries, forensic examination, staffing and assignment records, and changes in behavior are all evidence.

Being told the resident is confused and therefore unreliable is a response worth pressing rather than accepting.

What to preserve

Photograph injuries immediately and repeatedly. Do not wash clothing or bedding. Write down what was said and by whom, with times. Request the chart, the incident report, the staffing and assignment records for the shift, and the facility’s own investigation file.