Nursing Home Abuse | Video Transcript
What is a Nursing Home Abuse and Malpractice Case All About?
A nursing home case is when someone who is a resident of a nursing home gets injured by the careless treatment of the staff at that nursing home. In some cases, death results from that careless treatment.
As everyone knows, as our population gets older, we all have a loved one our ourselves at some point in time will end up in a nursing home. And we're concerned that the nursing homes be safe, that the treatment be appropriate. And it's our role to protect the residents of nursing homes to be sure that they get the proper care.
I feel strongly about these cases, perhaps more strongly than I should. But I am convinced that sometimes the older people who are confined in nursing homes do not get the proper care that they need.
We have a board certified internal medicine doctor who has years of practice as directors of various nursing homes. When someone calls me, I immediately call our physician and go over the facts to determine whether there has been a legal claim that could be asserted.
In some situations, the families need to be told that the care that they receive was the best possible. But in other situations, it is clear that the care they received was below the standard.
It's my opinion that many nursing homes are not properly staffed. And the reason they are not staffed is for economic reasons. These nursing homes are a big business and staff is a very large expense. And it's unfortunate for the residents, they have a facility, they have a bed but they do not have the proper staff to care for the types of residents they are having. And as a result the standard of care frequently is diminished to a deplorable state.
Nursing home cases are very, very sad. The individuals who are in nursing homes are frequently in various states of needing medical care. And I believe the most acute cases need special care. And in many situations I've seen, because of their disabilities, are the individuals who are neglected. For example in a dehydration situation, or the malnutrition situation frequently I've found nursing homes staff just putting trays in front of individuals and not watching them eat, or helping them eat but simply just putting the food there, knowing meal after meal that they're not getting hydrated or having any nutrition yet doing nothing about it. And it's our goal to put some pressure on nursing homes to engage in a proper conduct in caring for their residents.
A lot of family members who have a person in the nursing home they expect abuse or negligence are afraid to engage an attorney because of the fact that the loved one is remaining at that nursing home and they feel that there will be some punishment associated with contacting a lawyer. We do not do anything without our clients' approval. Nothing. We do though, help them analyze whether there is a claim. And in some cases if there is below standard of care treatment we encourage that family member to move their loved one to another facility. And because of our knowledge we are able to suggest other facilities that we believe meet the proper standard of care for individuals that need that service.
As everyone could understand that it's very difficult for someone that is in a nursing home to effectively pursue their own legal rights or their own medical rights, they are depending on loved ones to do that. And it is clear that by statute and by case law that patients do have rights. They have a right to be treated properly and appropriately by everyone in the nursing home. And it's necessary for a family member to become their advocate to be sure those rights are effectuated.
If you think that there is a situation in which a loved one is not being properly cared for please give me a call.
