Get Ahead in Your Personal Injury Case

What You Should Know About Nursing Home Negligence

24 July 2018 by Kenneth Pierce

Putting a loved one into a nursing home is a big decision, and not one that most families enter into lightly. No matter how much effort you put into choosing a home for your family member, there's no guarantee that they will get the standard of care that you expect. If your loved one has been neglected or mistreated, or even if you suspect that's what's happening, you should call a negligence attorney, like Franklin L. Jones, Jr., right away. Here are some of the things you should know about negligence in nursing home care.

Nursing Homes Have a Specific Duty

Any type of care facility like a nursing home has certain standards of care that they are legally bound to provide. They must meet the patients' basic needs, including food, medical care, clothing, and cleanliness. These basic personal care requirements are not negotiable, and failure to provide them, even if it's just not bathing the patients regularly or failing to distribute needed medications, constitutes neglect.

These facilities are also legally required to have sufficient staffing for each shift based on the number of residents in the nursing home. All of the staff, including contract workers for security companies and independent aides, must be properly trained, certified, and qualified to work in the facility. Failure to maintain this staff can also be seen as neglect toward the patients and the facility.

Negligence Can Be Hard to Prove

When it comes to nursing home negligence, proof can be complicated. After all, elderly patients, especially those with neurological or age-related illnesses, can be prone to falls and other similar problems. That doesn't necessarily mean that their fall or injury was due to negligence on the part of the nursing home.

If, however, a patient falls because they were not being adequately monitored or cared for, or because the facility isn't being properly maintained, this can be evidence of neglect. You'll have to talk with your loved one as well as any other residents who may have been around when the injury happened in order to document this.

Also, if you're seeing signs of persistent and repeated bruising, weight loss, worsening symptoms of any illnesses, or anything similar, it's worth looking into the care that your loved one is receiving.

An elderly patient who was previously very social and has become withdrawn, quiet, or jumpy is often a sign of elder abuse as well. Patients will become skittish because they are trying to avoid the punishment or abuse that they have been suffering. Pay attention to your loved one's behavior and personality, as well as that of those around them.

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