Category Archives: Assisted Living

Bed Sores

Paying Attention: Nursing Home Staff

Bed sores are often the result of nursing home staff not paying a resident any or very little attention. A parent is left on their bed, unable to care for themselves, fecal matter accumulates, and there is a rapid break down of their skin. Serious infection follows. This is negligence at its most avoidable because the cause is simply lack of attention. Nursing homes are paid lots of money to take care of your loved one. Under no circumstances should a bed sore develop.

Awareness of Bed Sore Issues

In many cases, the family only becomes aware of the bed sore issue upon admission from the nursing home to a hospital after a loved one’s health seriously deteriorates.

Taking Legal Action

No one wants to have a bed sore that leads to more complications. How do you know if it is severe enough to warrant legal action? There is no bright line test for the severity of the bed sore to make it actionable. But the general rule is this: the worse the bed sore is and the more complications that result, the stronger the case.

The unfortunate issue with bed sores is that yours will probably not be an isolated occurrence. If your parent or loved one suffers from a bed sore at this nursing home, there is almost a guarantee that this is a chronic issue at this facility. Make sure it does not happen again to your loved one or anyone else at this facility.

Taking Responsibility for Nursing Home Negligence

Very rarely will a nursing home freely admit they are at fault. Often the nursing home will blame a previous nursing home, assisted living facility or hospital. Do not let them get away with it.

Action against a nursing home for this violation of trust can force them to hire the right staff, and your action may protect not only your loved one but also future residents. You are also holding the nursing home accountable for the trust you have given them for the privilege of taking care of your parent or loved one.

The Grand Bargain

Bed sores are often the result of a severe breakdown in the grand bargain—that in return for significant payment, a loved one is guaranteed a safe and secure environment. Please note that even if a loved one is on Medical Assistance, the nursing home is still being paid a very large sum for their care.

Once that bargain is violated and the bed sore issues are severe, you may have a case against that nursing home. Do not let them get away with it.

The Importance of Documentation

Always document the action or inaction by the nursing home staff (i.e. names, witnesses, pictures, dates, times, etc.). This is often the difference between a winning and losing case when legal action is required.

Feel free to give our office a call for a consultation.

Falls at a Nursing Home

Standard of Care to Prevent Falls

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities are under a duty to care for their residents.

This includes a standard of care when it comes to their residents who are at risk of falling. When a nursing home or assisted living facility breaches that standard of care and a resident is harmed, there may be a legal case against that facility.

Often the fall was completely avoidable and should have been prevented. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities are being paid lots of money to take care of loved ones. It is their responsibility to mitigate falls. It is their job. A single fall can be a life altering event, affecting a person’s quality of life for the rest of his or her life.

The Grand Bargain

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities are supposed to be safe havens for our parents and loved ones when living in the community is no longer viable. In essence you are trusting the facility to take care of your parent at a time when you cannot take care of them yourself. It is a grand bargain: the facility is paid handsomely for their care in return for taking every precaution to make the living arrangements safe. In some case, unfortunately, that trust is blatantly violated.

Nursing Staff Negligence

At some nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the nursing staff and aides are underpaid, untrained, overworked, and have high turnover. Mistakes are often repeated and not corrected. Their mistakes only comes to light when disaster strikes and a family member is willing to fight back and say that is not right.

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities want to limit their exposure to “accidents” and will want the resident to sign an arbitration clause to avoid a court trial. Do not sign the arbitration agreement. Signing an arbitration clause is akin to insuring less of a recovery and less accountability for the facility. Often times the facility will ignore the problem, pretend the issue does not exist, or blame the resident. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities know that their residents often suffer from dementia, are weak or physically unstable. These are not unknowns to nursing home or assisted living management, and they are obligated to take measures to address these risks.

Taking Legal Action for Nursing Home Neglect

How do you know when it is time to get an attorney involved?  The nursing home or assisted living facility has to have breached their standard of care to the resident (i.e., it was their fault, their staff was negligent in their action or inaction, etc.). Next, the resident has to be harmed to a significant extent. How much harm is enough? The harm at issue does not have to be permanent but must be significant.

Nursing home and assisted living facilities are big business in Maryland with the average cost of assisted living facilities at $4,000–$6,000 per month and nursing home costs at $8,000–$11,000 per month on average. Sometimes the facility does not hold up their end of the deal. Do not let the nursing home or assisted living facility get away with their behavior. For the sake of your loved one and countless others at their facility, someone needs to take a stand.

Recommendation #1: Document Everything

Take diligent notes of the negligent behavior (dates, names of those involved, witnesses, etc.). Unfortunately, not everyone has a photographic memory. Always document the issue. This helps establish your case when a judge gets involved.

Feel free to give our office a call for a consultation.