My 85 year old father has been at a Board and Care for 30 days and recently he suspected they drugged him because he believed he slept for two days. Also, my brother said he was concerned because when he spoke to my father by phone my father was having difficulty staying awake and was slurring his words. Immediately the next day my brother moved him from the Board and Care but not without literally a big scene by the male caregiver. The male caregiver laid across my fathers chair trying to prevent him from removing any of my fathers items along with yelling and grabbing my brother!
Owner of home called me with a different version saying my brother caused the scene and reminded me of the 30 day notice in the contract and that I would owe next months rent.
Also Babalou thank you for your suggestion.
It could also include emotional damages, for your father (and for you if you sue as an additional plaintiff).
The first thing to do is what you're already doing - exploring and identifying the source of the mistake.
I doubt if any med mal attorney would take the case as it is in its infancy now.
Good med mal attorneys in my area will get the medical records from all parties in question and have them reviewed by an independent physician, or sometimes a nurse practitioner or nurse on staff at the law firm. They need corroboration from medical personnel, including one willing to testify if a case goes to trial.
Statutory requirements to prove med mal probably differ from state to state, so you'll have to inquire of an attorney what would be necessary to pursue this kind of claim in California.
Another aspect is the type of juries expected to serve in different counties. Blue collar and working class counties are generally better for claims awards than rich areas dominated by business people, including doctors.
If you do want to explore the possibility of legal action, search the California or Orange County Bar Association directory for names of med mal attorneys. Review their websites, read their publications, then contact the ones that seem to be closest to your situation (some specialize in infant birth defects, others in different areas of med mal, etc. ).
But remember that this is a field governed by business practices as well as any other. If an attorney doesn't think there's a case or chance of recovery, you'll likely be told. They won't spend money and time if they don't see a case with recovery potetial, although some attorneys will file a med mal suit simply for nuisance value to get the med mal carriers to pay just to dismiss the suit and resolve the issue.
It's not necessarily fair to the individuals who've suffered, but that's the way the practice area operates. Law is a business after all.
I do hope though that you learn there are no long term effects for your father; that would be better news than getting the go-ahead from an attorney.
I've looked on the eldercare/abuse site and also on the Legal aide society of Orange County just to try and get and idea on what I could do.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Board & care did not do what they needed to do to make that happen.
At 85, dad coukd be with us for another decade. And that decade could be adversely affected by the incompetent, etc of the facility. I'd get an atty ASAP to send off a letter on all this ASAP. No more you speaking to anybody. At best, it will pay for a year or so of another facility or at least, several months of private paid caregivers for your dad at home. A NAELA atty probably won't do this type of legal but they will know of a malpractice atty who will. good luck.
Still trying to find out all the details. Not sure if the doctors office emailed or called it in so have to confirm that. I gave the home a copy of the medications along with all the forms that they required when my dad moved in. The doctor had printed out that list for me back in November which are the same meds he is currently on. I believe the doctors office also sent a list to the home when he moved in. The owner/administrator of the home told me it was very important for her to have that list because the Department of Social Services in California require her to have that and they do random inspections of homes. Also need to find out the repercussions of him being on it for a month. I did read that a person that has glaucoma is NOT suppose to be on it and of course my dad has glaucoma.
So mad!
My brother has stepped up to check and help my dad but I also arranged for his last care giver to come in and help. I am hoping that my dad will still be open to finding another place for him but at this point it's not only him that will be wary, I too have a great concern for a safe place.
I wouldn't let it distract me though from your father's current care. It sounds like he really does need assistance and supervision in light of his health conditions. I would think that he would not be in a position to administer and monitor his own medications at home. That would be my most pressing concern at this point.
If that particular med was listed in the med list at the board and care facility, staff should absolutely have double checked it before administering it. If it hadn't been given before, presumably it wouldn't have been on the med list. The question then would be whether or not the staff who received and administered it realized it wasn't appropriate for the situation.
I agree with AKDaughter; her suggestion of resolution is a practical and wise one.
If you're thinking about a higher level of action, such as legal, against the board and care facility, I doubt if this one incident would support litigation. I'm just mentioning this because many people would be thinking along that line.
If the error was made at the doctor's office, ask them to pay the 30 days. If they decline, you may need to contact an attorney who will in turn contact the malpractice carrier for the doctor and his staff.
When moving a person with dementia a sudden, very steep decline is usually observed. That was part of what was going on with dad. The care home while they should have checked the meds with whatever list they had, is it possible that the list was incorrect that the doctor sent over?
Discovered today that an incorrect and not prescribed by my father's doctor was in the packets that the board and care home gave to brother. After further investigation the pharmacy that the board and care uses got the prescription wrong! Instead of Chlorthalidone ( is an oral antihypertensive/diuretic) they sent Chlorpromazine (is an anti-psychotic medication! It changes the actions of chemicals in your brain)
My dad's doctor's nurse called the pharmacy and they said they misunderstood her order and said they were sorry....SORRY?!! seriously?!!
Also, the nurse said the board and care had a list of the medications and should have doubled checked the medication that was sent by the pharmacy before giving them to my dad.
My dad has been on them for a month!
At this point I need to find out how much this has affected my dad's health since he is also on blood thinners, diabetic medication, eye medication for glaucoma and heart medication. Also, wondering how much this has affected his mood and temperament.
I am so upset!!
It's a stage that's very hard to watch. But harder still to actually be helpful.
The important groundwork that you need to do at this point, is to get your brother educated and accepting of your father's cognitive issues, and what that looks like. And what "mental status changes" look like and that they are cause to call the treating doctor, not accept Dad's explanation for what's causing them.
I thought that it was very difficult to confirm that a person had a stroke? Taking him to the doctors tomorrow so maybe they can answer more questions for me.
Often, the story from the patient may not be accurate. They don't mean to tell false stories, but they say what they believe, and it may be wrong. My cousin thought that her doctor slept on a couch the lobby of her Memory Care facility. She also reported residents who had no legs walked. So, it's a good idea to investigate and confirm. Your dad could eventually say something about you that is not true. I'd be prepared for that.
In your profile, you say the Senior Advisor recommended the home for your dad. If there was reason for that, then wouldn't he still be in need of that care? I'd be wary of just assuming that checking on him while he lives alone is adequate.
Of course, if your dad was treated improperly, it should be addressed. There should be a log completed by the Med Tech as to what medication your father was given.
Be sure to follow the termination conditions, such as giving notice by certified mail, hand delivered, or whatever is specified. If the terms and conditions aren't followed ver batim, the facility might claim it didn't have proper notice in compliance with the contract and attempt to continue charging you.
If you decide to send an amended notice, and if you're required to specify a reason, you might consider something more general like "inadequate care", which is more broad and could include more than the suspected administration of a sedative.
The staff member who tried to prevent your brother from access to your father's things could fall in a category of "inadequately trained staff", or "belligerent staff", but you want to be careful about making those accusations because it's a "he said, he said" situation.
However, if he threatened your brother, that raises the issue from uncooperative to confrontational. But the issue is proof, unless your brother recorded the incident.
The more general reasons for leaving also give you latitude if you do discover after the next doctor's appointment that something was amiss when your father's behavior changed.
In addition, because it's more general, it could be more damaging to the facility than administration of a sedative which would be hard to prove unless the residue of it remains in a person's system for sometime after administration.
Whatever they're threatening, they certainly don't want bad publicity, so you can also hold that consideration in abeyance if they create further problems.
I don't doubt that he has other issues that could be contributing this I live in a different city than my dad and am only able to visit once a week. I suppose I am going with my gut feeling and prior experience and also my brothers concerns about his welfare.
He is now back at his mobile home and my brother has said he will help my dad everyday but I believe he is planning on doing this until he can find an alternative.
My dad is really happy to be back there and my brother said he was crying tears of relief and happiness. It just breaks your heart because you just want what's best for your parent.
I am taking him to his doctor on Thursday so I will talk with them about the situation.
I was just looking for direction since this is the first time I have had to experience one of my parents decline and trying to find a place that will help him. I also feel like maybe I put too much trust in these new caregivers because they make you feel like they know how to handle and care for his type of personality.
If I wake my mom from a sound sleep (during the day), she sounds drunk, with slurred speech. I can tell she's been sleeping. She's had periods of sleeping a lot, unrelated to being given a sedative. My mom also has no short-term memory, so she'll say she hasn't been told something when I know she's been told multiple times, because I'm the one who's told her. So what seniors report and what reality is can be two very different things. Not intentionally on their part, but because their brains aren't working right.
If your dad has mild cognitive decline, you need to observe him very closely, because those symptoms can come and go from day to day or even hour to hour. So did the home give him a sedative? Possibly. But I think there's a strong possibility that your dad simply had a bad day and that's what happened. It sounds like it's time to really read about the meds he's on (side effects) and get a good handle on what his mild cognitive impairment looks like from day-to-day.
You should get him to his doctor and report his symptoms; slurring, reporting that he slept for two days. You might want to check with the board and care home about what they objectively observed about your dad5symptoms while he was there. Do they alert families if patients are behaving oddly?
If yyour dad is going to be cared for in a facility, family has to develop a trusting relationship with the caregivers, and the caregivers need to know when to call and report a problem. I don't know if it's worthwhile to try to backtrack and see if this can actually be a good setting for dad. Where is he being cared for now? Is that working?
What do you mean by real proof? Like a doctors verification? I don't think I have any real proof but then how to you prove that a sedative was given other than my dad's slurring of words on the phone and than an hour later seem fine and my dad claiming he believed he was sedated?
My father was diagnose with mild cognitive problems but compared to the other residents he is pretty independent He does take quite a few pills and has diabetes, is hard of hearing and has vision problems. My father had been complaining about the caregivers but I thought he was just having problems adjusting having someone help him. He, however, did not feel that they were helping him. He felt that they were bossing him around and not being respectful of his space. I did talk to the caregiver about my dads concerns but the caregiver would say that he is being respectful and that it is my dad who does not want to cooperate.
I should also say that it wasn't my decision to removed my dad from the home, it was my dad and my brothers decision to move my dad out.
If you have proof.....real proof....of wrongdoing contact a lawyer before you decide to just not pay the rent.
I don't know about the contract aspect of what happened, but we need more information to give you good answers.