My client’s 94-year-old mother was killed while in hospice. How? She fell out of bed, broke her femur, and died within days. She fell out of bed because the hospice provider didn’t believe my client and her family when they said she had a doctor’s order for bed rails. I wrote a letter to the hospice CEO alleging negligence and senior abuse and requested damages. The “Senior Counsel” finally replied, stating that they bore no responsibility. The good news is we can litigate negligence.
In his email, the attorney used initials without explanation. I was a bit surprised because legal writing 101 requires defining initials that are not widely used. For example, the initials USA are common for the United States of America, but DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) is not. Therefore, you can write USA without a definition but not DNR. I found out that the initials FG stood for the victim’s name, and DON meant Director of Nursing. Once I understood that the attorney was using initials to describe a patient under his company’s care, I had an #seniorabuse moment. This man doesn’t care about his company’s patients – he cares about liability and the bottom line. How does that help my client’s Mother?
The Real Problem With Hospice
I want to chastise this hospice provider and their callous attorney, but is it really fair? Attorneys mirror their clients. Ergo, as offended as I am that he would not spell out the patient’s name, he is as offended that I think he’s…
