A man who suspected his
wife was being abused by nursing home staff hid a video camera in her
room, capturing two unprovoked attacks by a worker, according to a police report.
Detectives used that evidence Wednesday to file first-degree felony
abuse charges against the 30-year-old nurse aide.
The police report stated the wife, who was paralyzed
by a stroke years ago and also has dementia, has lived at the home for
the past three years. Several months ago the husband said his wife told
him she was being abused, the report stated. An internal investigation
at the nursing home was conducted and later closed because his wife was
unable to identify her abuser, the report stated. The husband told
police he decided to set up a video camera in his wife’s room, which
caught two separate incidents on tape, the report stated.
During one incident in June, the nurse aide allegedly forced the wife out
of her wheelchair, striking her three times on the arm before slinging
her onto her bed. The force of the incident caused the wife to hit her
head on the headboard, the report stated.
During another incident recorded in July, the worker allegedly picked
up a doll the wife had in her lap and struck the wife with it in her
chest. The nurse aid then wheeled the wife to her bed and “roughly”
placed her in it, causing her to hit her head on the headboard, the
report stated.
The report noted that both incidents were “totally unprovoked.”
The aide reportedly denied ever laying a hand on the wife. When
confronted with the video, she said she was protecting herself from the
wife hitting her. For more, read the story.
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Robert W. Carter, Jr. is a
Virginia attorney whose law practice is dedicated to protecting the
rights of the victims of nursing home and assisted living neglect and
abuse in Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Lynchburg,
Danville, Charlottesville, and across Virginia.
