What is Nursing Home Negligence?

For those who can no longer care for themselves as they age, it may be necessary to enter a skilled nursing facility. While many seniors receive quality care in these facilities, the elder care system has well documented problems with abuse and neglect. When accidents and failures lead to injuries or a resident is the victim of intentional harm, a nursing home can be held liable.

The most vulnerable members of our society can be harmed in a number of ways. For example, many nursing homes fail to supervise patient's adequately, which often leads to slip and fall accidents that result in significant injuries and even death. Moreover, many facilities are owned by corporations that engage in negligent hiring practices or fair to properly train and supervise employees. In these situations, employees may neglect or abuse patients.

The most egregious cases of negligence occur when a facility fails to maintain adequate health and safety policies or fails to provide patients with adequate medical treatment. However, a patient who suffers an injury as a result of a medical mistake that does not meet the accepted standard of medical care may have grounds for a lawsuit.

In short, this standard is the type of care that a reasonably skilled medical professional would have provided under the same circumstances. Both the nursing home and the individual who was responsible for the resident's care may be held liable.

It is important to note that residents of facilities that accept Medicare are also protected by federal regulations. The environment in these facilities must be free of accident hazards as possible and each resident must receive adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents. Moreover, the Department of Health and Human Services - the agency that oversees these facilities, has banned the use of arbitration clauses in patient admittance agreements.

This is important because many skilled nursing facilities include mandatory arbitrations clauses in admittance agreements to resolve disputes. As a results, incidents of abuse and neglect often go unreported and patients and their families are often unaware of these problems when they are selecting a facility. Now, residents who are injured have legal recourse to hold negligent nursing homes accountable.

In the end, residents of skilled nursing facilities have a right to receive the care that they deserve. If you or a loved one has been injured in a nursing home, a personal injury attorney can help you obtain significant compensation.