Home Care Nurse Indicted After Being Caught On Camera Abusing Disabled Man
A Saddle River, New Jersey, nurse has been indicted after being caught by a hidden camera abusing a severely disabled man that was on a ventilator.
When the mother of the disabled man had concerns over her son’s treatment by his nurse, she placed a hidden camera in the home to capture the nurse’s care. The camera caught Dorothea Harvilik slapping and mistreating the 26-year-old paralyzed patient.
The mother of the patient brought the video to Harvilik’s employer, a Teaneck home healthcare agency that provides in-home nursing care. Following the viewing of the video, the agency fired Harvilik and notified authorities of the allegations by the patient’s mother.
Harvilik was indicted on one count of fourth-degree assault on a disabled person on April 4. Her license was permanently revoked following the incident by the New Jersey Department of Health. The department reviewed the video in question and made the permanent decision.
If Harvilik is convicted, she will face up 18 months in prison. This is in addition to a fine upwards of $5000.
This is the third incident of elder abuse in New Jersey over the course of the last few months that has been charged by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutors. The other alleged encounters included Adeline Philippe, a former certified nursing aide from the New Jersey’s Fireman’s Home in Booton, NJ, and Cairy Chrisphonte, a former aide at Daughters of Miriam nursing home in Clifton, NJ. Both events included physical mistreatment of dementia patients at the facilities indicated.
The Harvilik incident, as well as a string of others, were the catalyst for the Safe Care Cam program. The program loans micro-surveillance cameras to individuals that suspect patient abuse without any cost. Through the cameras, families are able to have the video evidence they need to prosecute healthcare professionals that mistreat and abuse their loved ones.
When abuse or neglect occurs at the hands of nursing home staff to your family member or loved one, you can trust in Attorney Barry Sugarman to provide you the legal counsel you need to fight for your rights to dignified care and compensation for injuries and Wrongful Death. Contact Sugarman Law at 866-740-9185 or fill out this contact form for a consultation.
