Dumping or Transferring Patients Is Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home residents who are transferred, “dumped” or evicted from long-term care facilities are victims of nursing home abuse. These issues, which are far more common than most people think, are especially troubling because nursing home and assisted living facility residents and their families often simply don’t know they have rights and can fight back.

Long Term Care Nursing Home Evictions Increase

Residents of long term care facilities such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities are often kicked out of their residences without warning and, many times, these actions violate state and federal laws. It’s an ongoing problem that elder care lawyers say will only get worse with time as America’s baby boomers continue to seek alternative care situations.

Rules Being Broken without Consequence

Nursing home abuse lawyers say that facilities around the country are breaking the rules when it comes to evicting nursing home residents. Those rules, as defined by the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 42 CFR 483, require that facilities must permit residents to remain there unless:

1. The transfer or discharge is necessary for the resident’s welfare and the resident’s needs cannot be met in the facility;
2. The transfer or discharge is appropriate because the resident’s health has improved sufficiently so the resident no longer needs the services provided by the facility;
3. The safety of individuals in the facility is endangered;
4. The health of individuals in the facility would otherwise be endangered;
5. The resident has failed, after reasonable and appropriate notice, to pay for (or to have paid under Medicare or Medicaid) a stay at the facility. For a resident who becomes eligible for Medicaid after admission to a facility, the facility may charge a resident only allowable charges under Medicaid; or
6. The facility ceases to operate.

When one of the above occurs, federal law also requires everything to be documented in order to avoid foul play. Unfortunately, many facilities simply don’t follow those rules and transfer or discharge patients they just don’t want to care for anymore. There have been numerous reports of nursing home facilities falsely accusing residents of violence, forging documentation in order to get rid of unwanted patients or, believe it or not, dumping patients into a hospital emergency room and then refusing to take them back. Unfortunately, many patients, or their families, don’t know that filing a lawsuit is an option. 

Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse, contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney today to talk about your situation and determine whether you might be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Long term care facilities have responsibilities to those they serve, and when those responsibilities aren’t met anyone injured as a consequence can, and should, fight back.