Nursing Home Injuries, Abuse,
And Deaths
What are your legal rights after a nursing home injuries?
A nursing home is a dedicated long term care nursing facility, which is also known as an “assisted living facility”. For this section, we will refer to all of these facilities colloquially as: “nursing homes” or “nursing facilities”.
Placing a loved one into the care of a nursing home is a very difficult decision to make for any family. When well run, a nursing home can provide a safe space, and a caring nurturing environment for the person committed to the care of the nursing home. A professionally operated and managed, safe nursing facility also provides peace of mind for the family and the security of knowing that your loved one is receiving the vital care and support that they need.
Memory issues, and dementia are common reasons for families to seek the care of a professional nursing facility for their loved one. However, loss of lower body strength and mobility issues are also very common reasons that a person may decide that they can no longer physically care for themselves alone, and thus seek the full-time care of a dedicated nursing facility.
A negligently run or negligently managed nursing facility can become a house of horrors where residents are neglected, subjected to physical or emotional abuse and in the most extreme situations, serious injury or death may result.
The rights of nursing home residents are protected and guaranteed by federal law under 42 C.F.R. § 483.10, and under Colorado State law by 6 CCR 1011-1.
Examples of common nursing home injuries and causes of action may include:
Bed Sores: Bed Sores are caused by negligence and neglect, period. There is no excuse for the formation of bed sores on a resident’s body. Bed sores are open sores caused when a resident is laying in the same body position in their bed for too long. The blood flow becomes restricted, and the skin begins to die causing a “pressure ulcer” or other sign of necrotic skin issue. Bed sores are serious injures that can easily lead to hospitalization and even death when left untreated and ignored by nursing home staff.
Lack of care associated with personal hygiene: If a resident is not properly washed and cleaned after they have soiled themselves, skin rashes and other skin irritation from mild to severe can develop as a result of the prolonged exposure of the skin to human waste. This condition is caused by negligence and neglect, and can lead to open wounds, sores, infection and even death.
Falling Injuries: Residents with compromised mobility or loss of lower body strength are especially prone to serious injuries that may result from falls. Nursing facilities have a statutory duty to evaluate the functional ability of residents and to formulate a care plan based on their individual needs; this includes employing safeguards and precautions to prevent falls and fall related injuries of residents. Falling injuries incurred by nursing home residents can lead to broken bones, other serious injury, or death.
Lack of medical treatment and negligent administration of prescription medications: Nursing home residents have a right to medical care and proper medical treatment. Residents also have a right to both receive and/or refuse (if they so choose) medical care, prescription medication and other pharmaceutical services. As you may imagine, older residents can suffer from a variety of physical and mental ailments that require medication both prescribed and over the counter to treat. The negligent or intentional denial of medical treatment, the misadministration or lack of administration of medication to a resident can have serious immediate health consequences for a nursing home resident including permanent impairment or even death. The lack of necessary medical treatment both for routine check ups, and physicals as well as for more immediate emergency procedures can easily lead to the serious injury or death of the resident.
Malnutrition: Nursing home residents have a statutory right to adequate and appropriate nutrition and hydration. Residents have a statutory right to be adequately fed and to receive the hydration that they need to stay healthy. This basic human need must be vigilantly monitored and maintained to ensure the health and safety of the resident. If a resident is not fed and does not receive adequate liquids their health can quickly deteriorate leading to serious complications and even death.
Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Mistreatment, and Neglect:
Nursing home residents have a constitutional, statutory, and basic human right to be treated with dignity and respect and to be free from mistreatment, neglect, intimidation and other abuse at the hands of nursing home management or nursing home staff. Nursing home residents have the right to make a complaint to the management or the staff of a nursing home without fear of retribution or retaliation.
Wrongful Death: See Wrongful Death. Wrongful Death as the name implies, is a death that should never have occurred, but did in fact occur, due to the negligence or wrongful act of another person or entity. If your relative or loved one dies while a resident of a nursing home from other than natural causes, Accident Injury Attorneys can help.
At Accident Injury Attorneys, we represent families whose loved one has been injured, or died due to nursing home accidents, nursing home injuries, or cases of nursing home abuse and neglect.
Cases involving nursing home abuse and nursing home deaths can be highly complex and sophisticated from a litigation standpoint, your family will need an experienced attorney fighting for the rights of the family members left behind.
If you are grieving the loss of a loved one which resulted from the negligence or other wrongful acts of a nursing home or its staff members, call Accident Injury Attorneys today to schedule your free, no cost consultation with an attorney today.
