The patient, Hussein Younes, lived at the nursing home until December 2015. Mr. Younes’ son removed him from the care facility after noticing his significant weight loss, along with bruises and cuts on his head and legs.
“[Autumnwood of Livonia] blamed his injuries on him falling 11 times over a five-month period,” said Jonathan Marko, the Younes’ attorney, who cited evidence suggesting the injuries were “not an isolated incident,” according to MLive.com.
The lawsuit alleges the facility’s caretakers shouted ethnic slurs at Mr. Younes, who is a Lebanese immigrant. The complaint also claims the caretakers denied Mr. Younes water, took his call button from him and violently shook him.
“I raised concerns with Autumnwood many times, and they assured me everything will be taken care of. Then, when my dad’s situation worsened … I told him we have to have proof,” Mr. Younes’ son said. “We agreed on putting a hidden camera in (an) alarm clock next to his bed. After a couple of days … I discovered unspeakable horrors.”
Mr. Younes’ family gathered 119 clips over the course of two days documenting the caretakers’ behavior.
The company that runs Autumnwood of Livonia said the caretakers identified in the video clips were terminated, according to MLive.com. The company also conducted an internal investigation and reported the allegations to several governmental agencies. However, attorneys for Autumnwood said they were “unable to substantiate the allegations with the information we had at the time.”
More articles on healthcare quality:
OIG: DC VA hospital had 375+ patient safety incidents in 2 years
DOJ sues Wisconsin nursing home over mandatory flu shot policy
Another Sparrow Carson executive departs amid infection control issues