Personal Injury Law

Elder Abuse Settlement Leads to an Investigation of Home Care Providers

Many of us in Tennessee and around the country that cannot afford nursing home care for our loved ones turn to agencies that provide care for people at their home. This seems like a good option for many people because it allows their loved one to stay in their environment and to be comfortable and feel secure. However, unfortunately many home care provider agencies face the same kinds of problems that nursing homes do. If you feel like you or someone you care about has been the victim of elder abuse in a nursing home or in your own home, then it is important that you speak with a Tennessee nursing home abuse lawyer right away. They will work with you and make sure you get the care and compensation you deserve.

After a case was settled over elderly abuse of a woman, it was found that a shocking number of home care providers for seniors, have felony convictions on their records. It was also found that a simple way to guard against this that was approved by legislature is being ignored by the state.

Two years ago, Rose Michael, 92, and her family lost $30,000 from a home provider hired by an agency. The care provider Wessa Tanubo pled guilty in 2009 to felony financial abuse after it was found out that she had been signing checks to herself and making fraudulent purchases on Rose?s credit cards. After this, the family learned the care provider had previous felony convictions due to drug charges in 1994. After that, she was in and out of prison from 2000 to 2004 for parole violations. In 2008, she was also had a restraining order put against her so that she would stay away from her own child. Then the Home Care Assistance Company put Tanubo into her home to be her home care provider.

The family trusted that the Home Care Assistance agency had performed national and criminal background checks as well as local criminal background checks on their care providers like they were told. However, the agency?s background check failed to bring up Tanubo?s criminal record and history. The family then sued Home Care Assistance for elder abuse, based on false advertisements about proper background checks. The agency after reaching a settlement with the family now does criminal background checks through the Department of Justice on all their care providers.

Full post as published by Tennessee Law Blog on November 14, 2010 (boomark / email).