Choosing a nursing facility to serve as your loved one’s new home comes with enormous uncertainty.
Placing your loved one in a nursing home is difficult, and often comes after other family members have exhausted their abilities to care for an aging loved one. Even then, choosing a nursing facility to serve as your loved one’s new home comes with enormous uncertainty. You want to choose the nursing home best suited to your loved one’s needs and trust in the skill and care of the nursing home staff. However, sometimes the nursing home you select falls short of the standard of care and treatment you hoped for. In the worst cases, nursing home staff may engage in negligent behavior that harms your loved one physically, emotionally, or financially.
Understanding Negligence in Nursing Homes
Nursing home negligence is different from abuse in that the inaction of a staff member or an employee causes physical or emotional harm to the elderly resident. Negligence may not be intentional; however, it can still result in serious injuries or even the death of nursing home residents. Because the elderly have greater needs than people in other facilities, nursing homes arguably are held to a higher standard for ensuring their residents’ safety. Even unintentional neglect can be harmful in severe cases. For example, giving a resident the wrong dose of medication can have life-threatening consequences.
What Causes Nursing Home Negligence?
Cases of nursing home negligence are often the result of insufficient staffing. Employees who are stressed or overworked may be unable to provide the standard of care needed to keep residents healthy. Common causes of caregiver stress include poor training and understaffing. In addition, nursing homes may not properly screen or run background checks on the employees they hire.
Inadequate Staffing
Many nursing homes fail to keep their facilities fully staffed with adequately trained personnel, which reduces the facility’s overall quality. Impossible workloads lead to overworked staff who cannot fulfill their responsibilities and are more likely to make mistakes. Insufficient staffing generally leads to more falls and injuries. To make matters worse, seniors can’t get the help they need when they suffer a medical emergency.
Poor Maintenance
Another way nursing homes are considered negligent is when they fail to perform necessary maintenance to the facility. Because many elderly residents have mobility issues, the following problems can cause serious injury:
- Broken flooring or torn carpeting
- Water leaks that lead to slippery floors
- Inadequate lighting
- Loose or missing handrails
In addition to making necessary repairs, nursing homes must routinely inspect the facilities for potential hazards. If the facility knew about the hazard and failed to take action, a nursing home negligence lawyer can hold them liable for any resulting injuries.
Lack of Management
Neglect and abuse are shockingly common in nursing homes and result from poor management. Abusers and neglectful providers flourish in nursing homes with little supervision, allowing their behavior to go unnoticed for long periods. If you believe your loved one has been mistreated in a nursing home, you should contact an experienced nursing home negligence lawyer. Your attorney will identify if negligent supervision or management is the cause of your family member’s injury.
Contact The Snyder Law Group Today
The Snyder Law Group, LLC, proudly represents clients throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. Our experienced Baltimore attorneys understand the frustration that comes with an insurance company, medical professional, or other party that refuses to accept liability for negligent or reckless behavior. You can take heart in knowing there are talented and experienced lawyers ready to work for you. We are experienced in handling personal injury claims of medical malpractice or injury resulting from serious car and truck accidents, and have secured hundreds of millions in verdicts and settlements. Please visit our website, www.410thefirm.com, or call us at 410-843-3476, for more information. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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