A paper published in the journal Health Service Insights
reveals how understaffing in a nursing home can lead to your loved one receiving poor care. The more nurses and other staff on duty, the more time they can spend with each individual patient. Yet, scheduling more nurses costs for-profit nursing homes more money, and so understaffing occurs often.
If you believe your loved one has received care below the level that they deserve and that understaffing is one of the reasons, then you may have grounds for a lawsuit against the nursing home where your loved one lives or lived. Call our team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today for a free consultation with a Berwyn understaffing lawyer.
An Understaffed Nursing Home Endangers Residents
An analysis of nursing home staffing and patient outcomes published in The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing confirms that for-profit nursing homes may adhere to only minimum staffing standards, and in doing so, may compromise patient health through a low quality of care.
Payroll records indicate that positive nursing home ratings can mask staffing problems and that operating understaffed may be common even in nursing homes with five-star ratings from government agencies, according to PBS.
If your loved one lives or lived in a nursing home with regular or occasional understaffing, they may have experienced some of the consequences of staff shortages, including:
- Shallow, inadequate care during monitoring.
- Less frequent monitoring than your loved one needs.
- Your loved one suffering a health episode that caregivers do not detect or fail to treat quickly because they are stretched too thin.
- Staffers suffering from fatigue, exhaustion, and other effects of being overworked.
- Irritable employees who provide poor care because they care for more residents than they should have to.
- Your loved one suffering neglect or abuse.
Often, caregivers fail the residents who need them due to staff shortages. In these cases, the facility may be found liable for injuries or deaths resulting from this negligence.
Multiple Parties May Be at Fault for Nursing Home Understaffing
When a nursing home fails to meet nursing home staffing standards, and neglect occurs, multiple parties may get the blame. Some possible defendants in a nursing home lawsuit include:
- Administrators who decide how many workers to keep on duty at any given time.
- Individual employees who did not administer proper care to your loved one.
- Any government agency in charge of regulating nursing home staffing ratios that did not act properly, ultimately allowing the shortage to occur.
If you witnessed staffing shortages at your loved one’s current or former place of residence, then you should act. Even if you did not see the nursing home staff shortage take place, your loved one could show signs of neglect or abuse—often the aftermath of being understaffed.
For a free legal consultation with a Understaffing Lawyer serving Berwyn, call (800) 794-0444
Neglect and Abuse May Result from an Understaffed Nursing Home
When a nursing home fails to maintain the proper number of caregivers on duty, the patients suffer. Overworked nurses, doctors, and other employees can lead to nursing home neglect or abuse of residents.
Signs of Nursing Home Neglect
Look out for signs of elder neglect, which might include:
- Your loved one’s bedpan is full, particularly if you see this on more than one occasion.
- You detect body odor from your loved one, which may indicate staff does not wash them regularly.
- Your loved ones growing stubble, uncombed hair, and other signs that they do not receive regular grooming.
- Your loved one shows signs of fear, which may be due to overworked caretakers treating them in a way that makes your loved one nervous or scared.
- You spot neglect-related injuries, such as bedsores, which happen when your loved one lies in the same position for too long.
Signs of Abuse in Nursing Homes
Overworked employees may also be prone to abuse your loved one. You should look for signs of elder abuse in your loved one, which may appear as:
- Unexplained wounds on your loved one.
- Uncharacteristic outbursts by your loved one, either physical or verbal.
- Injuries, such as broken bones, especially if they happen more than once.
Pay attention to any feelings you have that your loved does not receive the proper level and form of care. Neglect and abuse of the elderly can take a significant toll on your loved one’s health and may ultimately shorten their life span, while almost certainly harming their quality of life.
If you suspect that your loved one has experienced nursing home abuse or neglect, contact the proper authorities to get them to safety. Next, call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm for guidance on moving forward with a claim or nursing home lawsuit.
Berwyn Understaffing Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
A Nursing Home Lawyer Will Fight for Your Loved One’s Rights
The elderly often cannot fend for themselves, which promotes the occurrence of elder neglect or abuse. A nursing home attorney does have the capacity to fight for your loved one, however.
Our team will:
- Speak to you and your loved one, creating an official record of the mistreatment that they experienced and reasons you believe understaffing caused or enabled the mistreatment.
- Investigate staffing practices at the nursing home where your loved one received inadequate care, collecting any evidence that suggests inadequate staffing as a cause.
- File your case in court before the relevant statutes of limitation expire.
- Explain your options for legal action, which may include negotiating a settlement from the defendants in your case or filing a lawsuit to pursue an award.
- Serve as your legal counselor from our first meeting until your case is complete.
We will handle this case of inadequate staffing and bring the responsible parties to justice.
Click to contact our Understaffing Lawyers today
Recoverable Damages
If we reach a settlement or receive a judgement in your loved one’s favor, you may get the compensation you need to cover:
- The cost of your loved one’s stay at the nursing home where staffing shortages was a problem.
- Medical costs related to abuse or neglect caused by understaffing.
- Non-economic costs, such as pain and suffering.
The party responsible for the inadequate staffing that led to neglect or abuse for your loved one should cover the financial and emotional consequences of their negligence. The above items represent only a few of the possible damages your case may yield.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form now
Call a Berwyn Understaffing Lawyer at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm
The team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm works for you, which means that you do not pay anything out of pocket, and we only collect a fee if you receive compensation. We strive to ensure that your loved one lives safe from any further harm and that the responsible parties pay for any harm resulting from their negligence. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today for a free consultation.
Call or text (800) 794-0444 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
