Nursing homes are places where we send elderly relatives so they’re cared for. These institutions specialize in keeping seniors healthy and engaged in a range of social activities. Most high-end nursing homes provide the residents with the perfect facilities to avoid any chances of complaints.
Nevertheless, there are places where residents have to deal with shabby conditions and even lose their lives due to a lack of long-term care.
What is a Wrongful Death?
When someone dies due to the disregard or dereliction of the nursing home, it is considered a wrongful death, meaning that the care center failed to look after the resident in the best possible way.
According to a study by Med Care, 30,000 wrongful deaths happen due to negligence by the nursing home.
The majority of the states allow only the immediate family members to take legal action against the wrongful death. Immediate family members include spouses, domestic partners, children, and parents.
In some exceptions, siblings, grandparents, and other family members can do the required deed.
Some Common Examples of Wrongful Deaths
There are a few common reasons for wrongful deaths:
- Broke a Bone due to Falling
The most common cause of wrongful death is from breaking bones by falling in nursing care.
- Malnutrition
Weightlessness, dehydration, and infection cause malnutrition and health conditions. This shows how inefficient nursing homes are while feeding their patients.
- Incorrect Medication
Giving overdose or wrong medication tells you that the nursing home did not bother to read the doctor’s prescription and how it resulted in the resident’s death.
How to Hold Nursing Home Facilities Accountable after a Wrongful Death?
Everyone wants the best for their elderly loved ones. It’s why we trust the nursing homes to take special care of our loved ones and look after their needs.
However, learning that you did not lose them due to natural causes but because of sheer oversight and ignorance can be devastating. Surely, you’ll want to hold them accountable.
While the procedure may seem complicated, having an expert wrongful death attorney fighting your case is the best way to navigate the legal landscape. Your attorney will prove the defendant’s misconduct in the following ways:
- Failed to Provide the Basic Standard of Care
The foremost duty of a nursing home is to provide the elderly with basic and standard care through food, water, clothing, hygiene, shelter, and medical care. The employees of the nursing home have to ensure that all the citizens that come under its umbrella are being given the essential elements for survival.
Prove this in court with strong evidence: what was the use of leaving their beloved on their premises when they could not even carry out their primary obligations?
- Breach of Duty
Various things fall within a nursing home’s duty. It includes providing residents with the correct medication on time so their health doesn’t worsen. They also have a duty to provide a wheelchair or walking stick with a vigilant attendant to prevent falls.
But when they fail to do these things, it’s considered a breach of duty. Show evidence to prove this in front of the jury that the management failed to be present at all times, busy with their distractions instead of focusing on what’s more important.
- Cause of Death
Your attorney must prove that your loved one passed away due to a breach of duty. It might sound easy, but it can be difficult to determine as other aspects like the resident’s physical condition, age, and other internal or external factors may have contributed to it as well.
If your attorney gathers enough evidence to prove that the staff’s negligence was the reason behind the death, then you stand a chance of winning the case.
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