Lexington Medical Center Extended Care Abuse and Neglect Attorneys
Lexington Medical Center Extended Care Facility is located just outside Lexington, South Carolina. Judging from the photos of smiling elderly residents on its promotional website, you’ll find no hint of abuse or neglect.
Families who believe in Lexington Medical Center’s marketing strategy have no problem leaving aging relatives in their care. Sadly, the beautiful photos on the website give no idea of what can go on behind closed doors. As with many other nursing homes, you must know how and where to look to find evidence of alleged abuse or neglect.
The Hughey Law Firm knows. We’ve successfully pursued claims against Lexington Medical Center when its negligence left our clients injured and facing huge medical bills. If Lexington injured you or a loved one, here’s why you want to call us.
We Make Negligent Care Facilities Pay
If you or your loved one sustained injuries while a resident at Lexington Medical Center Extended Care, you need a legal representative who will work hard to make them pay. At Hughey Law Firm, our Lexington Medical Center Extended Care Abuse and Neglect Attorneys have always fought for traumatized clients and their families. We’ve approached each case believing that vulnerable elderly residents deserve quality care and respect.
Our legal team has investigated our clients’ cases and determined how their injuries occurred. We’ve identified the negligent and abusive parties, and we have done whatever it took to make every responsible party pay.
Hughey Law Firm’s Case Results
Since 2007, Hughey Law Firm has fought to make negligent parties pay for the damages they caused. Through our steadfast efforts, we have recovered over $190 million for our injured clients.
When possible, we have worked face-to-face with adversaries, aggressively negotiating some of our most complex cases. Our attorneys have resolved negligence issues in mediation and worked out settlements during court-mandated conferences. We have done our best to resolve our clients’ cases without the litigation costs and complications. When necessary, we have prepared our cases, filed lawsuits, and presented our evidence in court.
As nursing home cases involve complicated issues, we can’t guarantee specific case results. We can, however, promise our clients to work tirelessly on their behalf.
Our case results demonstrate our commitment:
- Nursing Home Negligence: $1,375,000.00: Our client sustained pressure sores while living in a nursing home.
- Group Home Abuse, $750,000: Our client sustained multiple injuries and loss of brain activity due to abuse and intentional acts
- Adult Daycare Liability, $$850,000: Our client suffered carbon monoxide poisoning during a fire at a caregiver’s home.
Nursing Home Facility Abuse and Neglect in Lexington, South Carolina
A family can’t always meet their aging loved one’s daily care needs. Often, they rely on residential facilities like L.M.C. Extended Care. Professional caregivers provide the assistance and attention some elderly people need.
Sadly, sometimes facilities in South Carolina injure vulnerable seniors in their care.
Abuse and neglect occur so frequently in long-term care settings that health and enforcement agencies classify them by category and type.
- Physical: Physical pain, injuries, and impairments
- Sexual: Any non-consensual sexual contact
- Emotional or Psychological: Humiliation, verbal abuse, and threats
- Neglect: Inappropriate personal care, poor medical care, bedsores, overmedication, dehydration, and malnourishment
- Financial: Unauthorized use or theft of funds, property, or assets
Caregivers who commit abusive acts often target elderly people with cognitive, physical, or behavioral impairments. They don’t always recognize caregiver behavior as abuse or neglect. If they understand what’s happening, they can’t always explain the details or testify against an abuser.
Lexington Medical Center Extended Care
The Lexington Medical Center Extended Care facility is part of the Lexington Medical Center (LexMex) healthcare network. Until recently, the group operated as Lexington County Health Services District, Inc., a quasi-government entity.
In one recent year, the county government approved the group’s transformation to non-profit status. As clarified in the Lexington County Chronicle, the move to nonprofit status was largely organizational and financial. Very little changed in the company’s day-to-day operations.
L.M.C. Extended Care is the group’s skilled nursing facility. The location provides long-term care, Alzheimer’s care, and rehabilitation services. The facility’s website conveys a sense of community and peace of mind.
Some Medicare surveys and client ratings tell a different story.
Nursing Home Rating and Review Sites
Family members and friends who had personal experiences with L.C.M. Extended Care have left negative first-hand accounts on nursing home review websites.
- Reviews on Caring.com discuss problems with food, housekeeping, rehabilitation, staff shortages, and medical care. One former resident’s friend suggested that prospective residents spend time there during non-peak visiting hours.
- Several comments on Senior.com gave the facility one-star reviews. They discussed inadequate medical care, inadequate bathing, and poor nurse-to-patient ratios.
- On SeniorAdvice.com, a person commenting on her late father’s care gave the facility one star because “…there is no lower rating!”
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Ratings
Medicare.Gov posts information about all care facilities subject to CMS inspection surveys.
Look no further than the L.M.C.- Extended Care Nursing Home summary page star ratings to see the facility’s problems.
- Overall Rating: 2 stars out of 5
- Health Inspections: 2 stars out of 5
- Staffing: 3 stars out of 5
- Quality of Resident Care: 2 stars out of 5
- COVID Vaccination Rates: Residents, 89.4 percent; Staff, 81.7 percent. News19 recently reported that L.M.C. Extended Care had 26 fatalities, the second-highest nursing home fatality rate in South Carolina.
- Fire safety inspections & emergency preparedness: No citations.
- Medicare Penalties: Two fines in the past three years.
- 7-29-2020, $11,417: “Failed to report an allegation of abuse“
- 12-4-2019, $13,905: “Facility failed to ensure an environment free from neglect”
Who Is Responsible for Abuse and Neglect at L.M.C. Extended Care?
When your loved one resides at L.M.C. Extended Care, paid staff should provide all their personal care, meals, and medical needs. They also set visiting hours and arrange social events with family and other residents. Facility administrators hire, train, and supervise caregiving staff. This high degree of resident and employee control makes L.M.C. legally responsible for resident injuries due to abuse, neglect, and negligent actions.
Extended care facilities also have statutory duties under state and federal codes.
CMS enforces federal guidelines and regulations through local agencies.
- South Carolina: Title 43 – Social Services Codes
- Federal Public Health Regulations, 42 CFR §483: Medicare-certified nursing homes must set standards that comply with Medicare’s “Rights and protections in a nursing home.
- The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control enforces CMS guidelines through random surveys and complaint investigations.
- The Department of Social Services’ Adult Protective Service investigates non-criminal complaints.
- Vulnerable Adults Investigative Services in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division evaluates criminal complaints.
What Damages Can a Resident Recover for Their Injuries?
A nursing home settlement usually includes Economic Damages, General Damages, and sometimes Punitive Damages.
Economic Damages
Economic, or special, damages include all out-of-pocket costs for treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation.
- Hospital expenses
- Doctor expenses
- Medications
- Physical and psychological therapy
- Prosthetics and mobility equipment
- Relocation costs
- Funeral and burial expenses
General Damages
General damages pay for neglect and abuse-related psychological and emotional trauma.
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of spousal relationship
- Diminished family relationships
- Lost bodily functions
- Scars and disfigurement
- Wrongful death
Punitive Damages
When a case goes to trial, SC §15-32-510 allows a jury to award punitive damages. An injured plaintiff must show clear and convincing evidence of “willful, wanton, or reckless conduct.”
How Do Extended Care Facilities Defend Themselves?
Despite overwhelming evidence, residential care facilities rarely acknowledge resident abuse or neglect. That’s an unthinkable action for a nonprofit when caring for others is their primary business. Their control over the injured person and their employees is their most obvious liability issue.
Control also assists them in mounting a successful defense.
Because a facility has control over a resident’s care and their medical records, its administration can withhold critical information from scrutiny.
- If a physician treats a resident, their documentation won’t necessarily connect the injuries to neglect or abuse. When a resident’s family visits, the harm their loved one endured isn’t always noticeable.
- A facility’s element of control is one reason why government agencies must maintain complaint systems and conduct random inspections. A CMS investigator might not notice every issue, but the issues they document sometimes establish a pattern of negligence, abuse, and neglect.
At Hughey Law Firm, our attorneys understand the demands inherent to proving neglect and abuse. That’s why we have always prepared our clients’ cases long before negotiation, mediation, or trial. From day one, our attorneys work tirelessly to produce the best possible results.
Lexington Medical Center Extended Care Abuse and Neglect Attorneys
If you believe your loved one is a victim of Lexington Medical Center Extended Care’s abuse or neglect, we want to help. Our attorneys represent vulnerable residential care victims throughout the area.
Call us at (843) 881-8644, click our chat window, or complete our contact form at Hughey Law Firm online. We’ll provide a complimentary consultation and determine if we can help you.