When Has a Nursing Home Failed to Meet the Expected Standard of Care?
In their golden years, your loved ones may need special attention, either in assisted living or a nursing home. When you entrust the care of a beloved family member to such a facility, you expect that they’ll be safe and well-attended to…unfortunately, that’s not always the case. As more and more assisted living and nursing home facilities have focused on profits over care, more and more seniors have suffered needless injury because of negligence or carelessness.
What Is Negligence?
Negligence is a legal concept that offers a basis for recovery after a personal injury. While an injured person may always bring a lawsuit for intentional harm, personal injury claims are most commonly based on allegations of negligence. The fundamental requirement in a negligence claim is proving that the defendant failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances.
What Are the Most Common Types of Negligence in a Nursing Home?
There are a number of ways that a nursing home, or nursing home employee, can be negligent:
- The nursing home may be careless in its hiring practices, bringing in workers without necessary qualifications, or who have a prior history of abuse, neglect or other wrongful conduct
- The nursing home may negligently fail to adequately or properly train a worker, or to provide reasonable supervision of an employee
- The nursing home (or its staff) may be careless about keeping the premises free from potential safety hazards, such as wet or slippery floors
- The nursing home may fail to take reasonable measures to ensure that residents won’t engage in acts of violence toward each other
- The nursing home may fail to put reasonable practices in place to ensure the health, hygiene and safety of residents
- The nursing home may fail to provide reasonable attention, care or medical treatment to residents. As a result, residents may not receive necessary medications, may not be properly protected from falls, or may develop bedsores or other conditions
Contact Howard D. Popper, P.C.
At Howard D. Popper, P.C., we can help protect your rights. For a free initial consultation to discuss your options after a nursing home injury, contact our office online or call 973-993-8787 to set up an appointment. We have offices in Morristown and Newton.
We handle all personal injury claims, including nursing home neglect, on a contingent fee basis. You won’t pay any attorney fees unless we recover damages for your losses.