Nursing Home Wrongful Death Attorney
Wrongful death is a type of civil case, typically brought against a negligent party that has wrongfully caused the death of another. When a loved one passes away in a nursing home, the victim’s loved ones are usually bringing a lawsuit against the facility for the negligence of the nursing home’s staff. Nursing home wrongful death cases can be complicated.
If a nursing home patient lost their life due to the action or inaction of the nursing home staff, the family might be able to bring a wrongful death lawsuit. Chelsie King Garza will work with the survivors to determine if a wrongful death lawsuit exists.
Causes of Wrongful Death in a Nursing Home
Nursing home residents likely require professional help with their daily living. Nursing home staff have a duty to provide that help in a respectful and professional way. When they neglect this duty of care, residents may suffer the consequences. Wrongful death in a nursing home can be caused by several things, including nursing home neglect and abuse such as:
- Dehydration and failing to meet a patient’s dietary needs. Many nursing home patients require feeding tubes that may not be properly inserted, or those patients are allowed to feed themselves. Some nursing home residents are sometimes at risk of choking, yet; caregivers may rush through feedings or offer them food that doesn’t meet their diet restrictions. Severe dehydration, and failing to meet dietary needs can lead to death.
- Many nursing home residents are fall risks, yet many nursing homes do not take proper precautions to prevent falls. Wandering patients are at risk of falls, and when proper precautions are not taken, these falls can prove fatal.
- Nursing home patients may be bedridden or immobile, making them prone to bedsores, or pressure ulcers, or decubitus ulcers. If these open wounds are allowed to develop and are not treated, patients become vulnerable to severe infections, including sepsis.
- As stated above, many nursing home residents are immobile and need help moving from the bed to their wheelchairs. If an appropriate lift, in good working order, is not used to assist a caregiver, the resident may be critically injured during the move.
- Medication errors, such as giving the wrong dose, the wrong medication, or failing to give medication at all can result in a resident’s death.
Families entrust the care of their aging loved ones to nursing homes. This is often a very agonizing decision for family members to make, since most people are unable to provide the level of care that nursing homes offer. When the nursing home staff breaches this trust, they should be held accountable.
Getting Help in a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Case
If your loved one has been a victim of nursing home wrongful death due to neglectful care, an experienced medical malpractice attorney may be able to help you to recover damages for your pain and suffering. Chelsie King Garza has been helping the families of injured or killed nursing home patients obtain the compensation they deserve. Contact Chelsie King Garza today for a free consultation.
