Louisiana nursing home operators charged in deaths

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13398578.htm

Louisiana nursing home operators charged in deaths

BATON ROUGE, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The owners of a nursing home where 34 people were found dead after Hurricane Katrina have been arrested and charged with 34 counts of negligent homicide for not evacuating those patients, the Louisiana attorney general's office said on Tuesday.

Mable Mangano and Salvador Mangano Sr. surrendered to Medicaid fraud investigators in Baton Rouge late Tuesday afternoon and were being held in a parish prison.

The Manganos declined an offer from St. Bernard Parish authorities of buses to evacuate the residents of their facility, on top of a contract with an ambulance service they already had but did not use, the state said.

"When we decide we're going to put ourselves in harms way, we do it voluntarily and it's our problem. But you can't do it when you have the care and control and custody of patients," Attorney General Charles Foti told a briefing.

edit: added more details

[xultar]

1. Now if we can get them to arrest brown for the deaths @ the convention

centre it will be all good!

[Birthmark]

3. Not just Brown

Bush accepted responsibility.

[LSparkle]

2. which authorities? FEMA?

[rocktivity]

6. since FEMA turned away buses and food, too

Shouldn't Brown, Bush, and Chertoff be charged, too?

rocknation
:wow:

[sabra]

15. St. Bernard Parish authorities

[LiberalinNC]

4. Sickening!!! What they did!

To leave sick and old people to die like that, it's just awful!

[Ilsa]

5. As a nurse, this really scares me.

I don't know all of the details. I keep wondering: what if they called for help evacuating the day before and no one came? What were they supposed to do if they couldn't get help moving them?

NEVER MIND; I JUST SAW THE LAST LINE.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. This pound of flesh shit is maddening

Here is a longer article. It appears they declined help because they HAD assistance lined up with another facility and that fell through. Perhaps it was too late to do otherwise once power went out.

<snip>
Various accounts have surfaced: that the Manganos thought they had the situation in hand and refused buses offered by local officials; that an agreement with another nursing home for transportation somehow fell apart.

What is known is that of some 60 patients — elderly, mentally disabled, convalescents — about half were found dead at the facility. It has been reported that those who could walk got out and those who were bedridden didn't make it. It also has been reported that a table had been found nailed over a window, apparently in a last desperate attempt to halt the deluge.

When they think about the last minutes there, people simply shake their heads and fall silent, unable to express what they imagine.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2005/09/12/m1a_katrina_main_0912.html

[onenote]

8. If they refused to evacuate the residents

and left them to die...throw the book at them. But it won't surprise me if the facts are not that clear.

onenote

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

9. That does not appear to be the case. The article I cited above

states they had an arrangement with another facility and that is why they declined aid, then those arrangements fell through...perhaps it was too late. By all accounts, the place was filling up like a bath tub

[onenote]

11. which is why I said that the facts probably aren't clear

onenote

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

13. Oh I know...it really bothers me that charges appear to be being filed

in a "cover our asses with both hands" manner.
There is no need for the DA to bring charges this soon except for grandstanding.

[Ms. Toad]

17. If this is the nursing home where 30 deaths were previously reported

My recollection from prior articles is that this is not the first time they have chosen not to implement their evacuation plan. Unfortunately, I cannot find the previous articles.

From a previous article, however: " said he had offered Ms Mangano two buses at 2pm the day before Katrina hit to evacuate her residents. Ms Mangano declined, believing many of her charges, some of whom were in their 80s or 90s, were too frail to be moved. “She said, ‘I have five nurses and a generator and we’re going to stay’,” he said."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,23889-1772020,00.html

[LostinVA]

10. I read on DU the other day that when she declined the offer

The storm was a Cat 2. I just don't know.... if she had moved the patients and some died, and the storm stayed a Cat 2, then she would be condemned, too....

[tkmorris]

12. Sets an interesting precedent does it not?

Failing to provide reasonable care to prevent deaths due to the hurricane and subsequent flooding, resulting in death, is an actionable offense. Hmm.

It seems to me an awful lot of people could be charged using the same logic. I won't single anyone out but......... :evilgrin:

[NYC]

18. A useful precedent.

Time will tell.

[Whoa_Nelly]

14. Heard on one of the MSM channels last night that the owner had a different

story about what happened, and was in touch with the DA or AG of LA...don't know more about that...

[leveymg]

16. The State of LA could have Bush and Brown arrested under the same law

Why not?:eyes:

It's called Negligent Homicide, whether committed by a nobody nursing home operator or the most incompetent President of the United States.

The only different is the number of counts, 34 vs. thousands.

See, U.S. v. Nixon, (1973), a seated President is not above judicial power and may be prosecuted for acts committed while in office.

[Whoa_Nelly]

19. Since the nursing home poeple are indicted, then this should also apply to

Nagin, for not getting all out of NO, to Blanco, for not getting all the help, to FEMA, for not acting in a timely or efficient manner, to Cheney, for ordering that the pipeline be made operable over the needs of hospitals, to Bush, for staying on vacation and fiddling while Rome burned.