According to an audit just released, oversight of the quality of care in Louisiana’s veteran homes located in Bossier City, Jackson, Jennings, Monroe, and Reserve, is lacking.
Specifically, all five homes—which house more than 700 people—were cited for deficiencies.
These ranged from failure to dispose of garbage properly to causing resident injuries due to a failure to update care plans. For example, one resident drowned in a pond because the Reserve facility failed to follow the care plan, which specified that they were prone to wandering.
Although close to 4,000 incidents were reported in 2014 alone (and more than half of these were related to resident falls), auditors also found that the Department of Veterans Affairs does not routinely analyze data from these incidents and update care plans. In fact, they routinely ignored their own internal quality assurance reviews and federal surveys. And although the homes entered into contracts with medical, pharmaceutical, radiology, and physical therapy providers, which totaled close to 8 million between 2012 and 2014, staff did not monitor whether or not they provided quality services.
Shocking Injuries and Evidence of Neglect
Some of the other notable oversights included:
- Failure to ensure that care plans provided adequate supervision to prevent accidents for residents at a high risk for falling;
- Failure to follow up on an allegation of molestation; and
- One resident, in particular, falling 22 times within 11 months, without any evidence of investigation.
Officials have responded that many of the findings either have already been or will be addressed by the new quality assurance program launched in October of last year.
It is of course natural for families to demand accountability for injuries and wrongful deaths at veterans’ facilities. Although neglect and abuse in veteran homes can be similar in nature to what takes place in nursing homes for the elderly, it can be more challenging to address these issues through litigation precisely because the government runs these veteran facilities, and suing the government is never easy.
However, it is possible for an experienced attorney to assist you in bringing suit under the Federal Torts Claims Act, which effectively allows you to claim compensation if damage is caused by the wrongful or negligent act of a federal employee acting in the scope of their duties. The same applies to any family member who loses their loved one as a result of negligence in a veterans home.
Our Louisiana Attorneys Provide Compassionate Representation
If you suspect your loved one is a victim of neglect in a veteran facility, contact us today at (504) 522-7885 to review the options available to you. Our New Orleans personal injury attorneys at Harrell & Nowak will work to get the justice you deserve.