Two former employees of a Tyler, Texas nursing home have received sentences of five years in prison and probation, respectively, following a 2022 incident in which a resident with dementia fell to his death while tied to a wheelchair.
The first employee arrested in the case received two concurrent five-year sentences for charges of injury to an elderly or disabled person and tampering with evidence, despite pleading not guilty and claiming that he had restrained the resident to protect him from harm as he had dementia and a history of falling.
A second employee was later charged with injury to an elderly or disabled person causing reckless body injury, due to him causing harm by ignoring the restraints. The indictment said that the second employee had a legal duty to act, and had assumed care, custody, or control of the elderly individual by virtue of his employment at the facility. He was found partially at fault for the fatal injury suffered by the resident on account of his omission in ignoring the restraints.
The second employee pleaded guilty on April 12, 2024, and was sentenced to 5 years’ deferred probation. He was also ordered to complete 400 hours of community service.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Each resident should be free from chemical and physical restraints except as follows: when authorized in writing by a physician for a specified period of time; when necessary in an emergency to protect the resident from injury to the resident or to others, in which case restraints may be authorized by designated professional personnel who promptly report the action taken to the physician; and in the case of an intellectually disabled individual when ordered in writing by a physician and authorized by a designated qualified intellectual disabilities professional for use during behavior modification sessions. Mechanical supports used in normative situations to achieve proper body position and balance shall not be considered to be a restraint.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures for nursing services and other trained disciplines in providing quality care for residents, supervision and training of staff, and the use of restraints. Also review your policies and procedures for timely and properly reported allegations of abuse. Update policies as needed.
- Train staff regarding restraints, preventing abuse and neglect, and when to report incidents to their supervisor, the state agency, or through the facility’s Hotline. Document that these trainings occurred and file the signed document in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit to ensure that staff are aware of what constitutes a restraint, and that any restraint used on residents is authorized by a physician and for the specified period of time. Also audit to ensure that incidents of potential abuse and neglect are fully investigated, documented, and reported to the proper authorities.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
