Ky. Caregiver Faces Serious Abuse Charges

21-year-old Billy Spicer faces multiple criminal charges stemming from nursing home abuse allegations in a Clark County group home.

According to Attorney General Andy Beshear, Mr. Spicer was an overnight caregiver at a facility housing intellectually or developmentally disabled adults. At one point, Mr. Spicer either sealed a resident’s room with duct tape to keep the resident from leaving, or he failed to remove such restraint. A grand jury indicted the man on three counts, and if convicted of all three nursing home abuse charges, Mr. Spicer faces a maximum 15 years in prison. He is currently free after posing a $10,000 bond.

“One of the core missions of my office is to protect Kentucky’s most vulnerable citizens from abuse and exploitation – and to prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law,” Mr. Beshear vowed.

Nursing Home Abuse

Caregiver abuse is perhaps the most under-reported form of unintentional injury. Many victims are physically unable to report such instances or they are unaware that the abuse occurred; similarly, many caregivers and family members are quick to discount such allegations. Even if the victim is able to report the abuse and if others would consider the allegations credible, and those are big “ifs,” many incidents still go unreported, because the victims fear reprisals or they do not want to cause problems for the abuser, especially if the abuser is a trusted caregiver or a family member.

However, it is certain that, as of 2010, there is a greater proportion of people over 65 alive today than at any other time in United States history. In addition to older people, younger people rehabilitating from serious injuries or disabled individuals can also be nursing home abuse victims. These victims are entitled to compensation for their:

• Economic Damages: Many nursing home residents are very physically frail, so the slightest use of force causes severe and permanent injuries.
• Noneconomic Damages: All abuse victims normally suffer from severe emotional trauma, and nursing home abuse victims are no exception to the rule.

Despite the Attorney General’s bravado in the above story, these cases are difficult to successfully prosecute, largely because of the high burden of proof in criminal cases. So, negligence lawsuits may be the best way to not only compensate current victims, but also prevent future incidents.

Nursing home abuse is on the uptick. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Cave City, contact Attorney Gary S. Logsdon. We stand up for victims and their families.