Rape in long-term care facilities is common, underreported and often ignored, allowing it to continue says Boca nursing home abuse attorney Joe Osborne.
If you read the term “sexual predator” in the news you might assume it involves the sexual assault of children. Sexual predators also operate in Florida assisted living facilities and nursing homes, where they work. Nursing home abuse attorney Joe Osborne says rapes in nursing homes are underreported and the government does little about them.
In a lengthy and grim report CNN goes into detail about the problem of rape in nursing homes and how ineffective government regulators are to prevent it from happening. They summed up their findings this way,
…(V)ictims and their families were failed at every stage. Nursing homes were slow to investigate and report allegations because of a reluctance to believe the accusations -- or a desire to hide them. Police viewed the claims as unlikely at the outset, dismissing potential victims because of failing memories or jumbled allegations. And because of the high bar set for substantiating abuse, state regulators failed to flag patterns of repeated allegations against a single caregiver…It's these systemic failures that make it especially hard for victims to get justice -- and even easier for perpetrators to get away with their crimes.
CNN found it’s difficult to learn the extent of the problem because state regulators lump allegations of sexual abuse with other forms of abuse. When these claims are investigated it’s rare that allegations are substantiated. Of 386 sexual abuse cases in Illinois since 2013, 59 were substantiated. In Texas 11 of 251 sexual assault complaints in the 2015 fiscal year were substantiated. Wisconsin informed CNN it didn't substantiate any reported sexual abuse in the last five years.
Federal data from the Administration for Community Living shows that there have been about 16,000 complaints of sexual abuse reported in long-term care facilities since 2000. Agency officials told CNN that number represents part of the problem because they count only cases where state long-term care ombudsmen got involved.
CNN reports that facility inspection reports filed nationwide between 2013 and 2016 and an analysis of actions taken against long term care facilities show,
CNN found this epidemic of sexual assault of the elderly and disabled couldn’t happen without the negligent or intentional actions of nursing home management.
CNN’s investigation shows that government regulators are not equipped to handle this problem for many reasons. The reality is that lawsuits filed on behalf of sexual assault victims in nursing homes may be the most effective way to hold a negligent nursing home accountable for allowing these crimes to take place.
If a family member living in an assisted living facility or nursing home in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach Counties is the victim of a sexual assault, contact Boca Raton nursing home abuse attorney Joe Osborne at (561) 293-2600 or fill out this online contact form. We can talk about the situation, how the law could apply in your case and the best legal options to protect your rights and obtain compensation for your loved one’s injuries.