Plaintiffs in Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit Win Case

A family in Oklahoma City has been awarded one million dollars by a jury that determined their mother suffered abuse at the hands of nursing home employees. The nursing home abuse lawsuit was filed after family members placed a hidden camera in the patient’s room at the facility.

While the original intent of the camera was to identify the reason behind the disappearance of their mother’s possessions, what the camera revealed was much more disturbing.

Hidden camera place by daughter

The family decided to put their 96-year-old mother, Eryetha Mayberry, into the Quail Creek Nursing Home in Oklahoma City in 2012. Mayberry was suffering from dementia at the time. The first clue that things weren’t quite right was the disappearance of some of Mayberry’s belongings, a problem chalked up to other residents in the nursing home. It was this concern that prompted Mayberry’s daughter, Doris Racher, to place a hidden camera in her mother’s room, in hopes of getting to the bottom of the disappearances.

When the family looked at the footage a couple of months later, the findings were distressing. They witnessed an aide at the nursing home stuffing rubber gloves into their mother’s mouth. Another aide was caught on film hitting Mayberry on the head. The aides were also seen lifting Mayberry from her wheelchair and tossing her onto a bed.

Nursing home sued after abuse revealed

The family sued Quail Creek Nursing Home for nursing home abuse, using the footage from the camera as evidence. In February 2015, a jury found in favor of the family and awarded the plaintiffs $1.2 million in damages. Since this case went to court, Oklahoma has also passed a law allowing cameras inside nursing home rooms. Oklahoma is the third state to pass such legislation, following New Mexico and Texas. Recently, a number of additional states have begun considering similar legislation, in light of growing concern about this problem.

The truth about nursing home abuse

Nursing home abuse is far more prevalent in the United States than most would want to admit. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, more than 900,000 adults lived in nursing homes in 2008. Of that number, approximately two-third were female and nearly all are at least 65 years of age or older. Abuse in nursing homes comes in many types, from physical abuse, which is the most common, to psychological, financial and sexual abuse. Some nursing home patients also suffer from patient-to-patient abuse.

One of the most obvious signs of nursing home abuse is often injuries like fractures, bruises and abrasions. Other signs of possible abuse include withdrawal of your family member from activities she once enjoyed or unusual depression. Poor hygiene, bed sores and other unattended medical needs could also be indications of neglect, another type of nursing home abuse that can be just as detrimental to your family member. These signs should be brought to attention of the nursing home management and local law enforcement, if necessary.

Now that the Oklahoma City jury has rendered its verdict, Mayberry’s family believes justice was served. One of the aides implicated in the medical malpractice lawsuit plead guilty to abuse and neglect. A second appears to have fled the country and has not been located at this time.

However, legal representatives said they plan to appeal the verdict. They have also stated that the $1.2 million award was excessive, considering the total worth of the Quail Creek Nursing Home is only around $2.8 million.

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