Report: Granny Cam Reveals Abuse in North Carolina Nursing Home

 Posted on January 06, 2020 in Nursing Home Abuse

If you have a family member or a loved one residing in a nursing home or skilled nursing facility, you may have concerns about how he or she is being treated by the facility’s staff. Is your loved one getting enough food and water? Are medications being given at the right times and in the right dosages? Are staff members kind and caring? To allay such concerns, many families have installed surveillance cameras—sometimes called “granny cams”—in the rooms of their loved ones in nursing homes. Unfortunately, not everyone likes what the cameras show, as was the case for a North Carolina woman late last summer.

Surprising Footage

According to local news outlets, the woman installed a hidden camera inside a picture frame and placed the frame on a countertop in her mother’s room at a Cherryville, NC, nursing facility this past August. The woman was concerned that her mother was not being fed properly or checked in on often enough. Her mother is reportedly blind and has Alzheimer’s disease.

The woman, however, said she got the surprise of her life less than 24 hours after installing the camera. She said that footage revealed a nursing assistant yelling at her mother while changing her mother’s clothes. The assistant also reportedly moved the resident “violently” across the bed while changing her. The next day, the camera captured a similar incident involving a different employee.  

Quick Action

The woman went to the director of the nursing home with the video. The director reportedly fired the two employees who were involved and contacted social services. The official social services report showed that an investigation was not conducted because the two employees were fired, and the matter was considered closed.

News reports indicate that the local district attorney is not filing criminal charges for elder abuse against the employees, possibly due to the way in which the video footage was obtained. North Carolina does not have any laws that address the installation of cameras in nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities. The installation of such cameras is often a complicated legal issue because of privacy and consent concerns.

Illinois Laws Regarding Granny Cams

In the state of Illinois, family members of a nursing home resident are permitted to install surveillance cameras in the resident’s room, provided that all residents of the room have provided express permission. The facility must be notified as well. The camera must be plainly visible in a fixed position, and notice must be given to anyone who enters the room that the camera is recording. Secret hidden cameras are not permitted.

Call a Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

If you have questions about nursing home surveillance cameras or any other concerns about your loved one in a nursing home, contact an experienced Illinois nursing home injury attorney. Call 312-535-4625 to schedule a free consultation and case review with a member of the team at Schwartz Injury Law today.

Sources:

https://www.nbc12.com/2020/01/07/concerned-daughter-captures-elderly-mothers-nursing-home-abuse-hidden-camera-nc/

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=099-0430