The number of recent news reports about incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect is frightening.

One such appalling case of nursing home abuse involves a Texas-based chain of elderly care homes managed and operated by Preferred Care, which operates facilities in more than 10 states. Late last year, the office of NM Attorney General Gary King filed a lawsuit against the company after he found out about the level of negligence occurring in their facilities, thanks to the concerted efforts of an unnamed private law firm which brought the case to his attention.

New Mexico’s current Attorney General, Hector Balderas took the lawsuit one step further by investigating abuse claims spanning 2011 to 2014 at Preferred Care’s New Mexico facilities. The investigation revealed several disturbing findings.

A Slew of Negligent Actions

The investigations uncovered alleged instances where residents were left in soiled diapers for hours, as well as residents who hadn’t been given a shower for more than a week. Attendants allegedly took longer than usual to carry out simple tasks such as bathing and feeding residents. Some patients would reportedly fall and not receive assistance for a long period of time, despite their cries for help.

In another startling revelation, a former cook told investigators that at times, there was an inadequate number of staff to make sure that residents were getting the feeding assistance that they required. That claim pointed out the incident of an elderly man who died in May of 2014 after choking on a hamburger, even though he was on physician orders to be given a special soft food diet.

The office of the Attorney General vowed to take on the case to ensure that residents in all the company’s nursing homes got the care they deserved. Cathedral Rock Corporation was also named in the lawsuit due to its operation of a number or nursing homes in the state, all of which it sold to Preferred Care in 2012.

Stopping the Abuse

The best course of action to combat this unfortunate epidemic of elder abuse is multi-pronged. We must raise awareness of the frequency in which these cases are discovered. If these incidents continue to be swept under the rug, the pattern will continue. We must also fight for legislative changes which will help protect the most vulnerable. For example, laws have recently been passed in Texas, Oklahoma, and a handful of other states allowing the use of hidden cameras in nursing home rooms. A “three strikes” bill allowing the state to shut down nursing homes with repeat violations is also currently making its way through the Texas legislature.

Equally important is holding the abusers responsible for their actions. If your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect at a nursing home, you have a responsibility to report it. If abusers do not face consequences for their actions, they will continue to abuse and victimize those in their care.

If you have a loved one that you know or suspect is being abused in their nursing home, please contact us. We will help you and your family retrieve compensation as well as make sure that the nursing home in question faces up to the law on account of their negligence. Please call 1-800-ATTORNEY for your free consultation today.