Nursing Home Negligence
Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer
Typically, families don’t really take the responsibility to place an aging loved one in a nursing home or long-term care facility casually. They do so to ensure that their dear one obtains the medical support and attention that he or she needs. They do it to safeguard their loved ones from the negative consequences of declining mental or physical health. When you leave your loved one’s care to a nursing home, you want them to get high-quality care, have their needs fulfilled, and be treated with decency and respect. Sometimes, elderly persons in long-term care facilities may be neglected or abused. Whenever it occurs, it’s vital to figure out who’s to blame. That is when Philadelphia personal injury lawyers can help you.
What Is Nursing Home Neglect?
While both abuse and neglect are significant acts, they are not the same thing. The purposeful infliction of hurt, intimidation, or any punishment that causes bodily harm, anguish, or psychological trauma is defined as nursing home abuse.
Nursing home neglect is defined as a staff member’s failure to meet the facility’s quality of practice. It might be the consequence of shoddy hiring practices, a lack of employee training, or staffing shortages. Negligence is harder to see than abuse, yet it may be just as dangerous.
In circumstances of negligence, employees may be unable to:
- Whenever assisting patients with mobility difficulties, follow all safety guidelines.
- Whenever a patient asks for help, give it to them.
- Include a secure, well-kept environment.
- Ensure that you have enough food, drink, clothes, and shelter.
- Assist with medical or dental needs.
- Administer wound care as directed for injuries such as bedsores.
What Could You Try If a Nursing Home Isn’t Taking Care of You?
Whenever abuse or neglect occurs, it’s critical to act promptly and firmly to avoid future injury. The very first step is to notify facility management or officials of any incidents of neglect.
Following the filing of the original investigation, it may be necessary to seek legal guidance from a knowledgeable lawyer.
Nursing facilities can be held legally accountable for the harm caused to residents as a result of negligence through civil litigation. A wrongful death lawsuit can be launched when a person dies as a result of the nursing home staff’s actions or inaction.
What is the Best Course of Action?
If your close one has been the victim of nursing home neglect, abuse, or extortion, you have three options for legal action. The first is to ask an adult protective services organization to conduct a comprehensive inquiry. The second step is to approach the officials and file criminal accusations against the people accountable. The third option is to take civil action in the form of a lawsuit for abuse or neglect. This action is being launched in order to correct the situation and recover damages for injuries as well as unjustified anguish and suffering.
If you or a loved one has been abused at a nursing home, you may be eligible to bring a civil complaint against:
- The one who is to blame for the abuse or neglect.
- The facility’s owner for irresponsible recruiting and training procedures, failing to maintain a secure environment or failing to guarantee that the facility’s care followed industry standards.
- If a vendor that provides the nursing home with employees or services is found to be culpable for neglect or abuse, the vendor is held accountable.
You may indeed be able to seek compensatory damages for your lost one’s pain by launching a complaint against the persons involved. You may well be able to impact meaningful change and avoid this sort of coverage from continuing to other nursing home patients by making this move and demanding the involved parties accountable. You are not only safeguarding and then doing the proper thing for your family, but you may also be assisting other families in avoiding more misery.