Many families make the difficult decision to place their family members in a nursing home to ensure they receive quality care and proper supervision. Nursing homes are places where the elderly should remain safe and provide everything an older adult needs when they can no longer care for themselves.
Unfortunately, accidents still happen anywhere, including nursing homes. If an accident in a nursing home is the direct result of negligence on behalf of the nursing home’s staff, then the resident might be able to pursue a case to receive compensation for their out-of-pocket expenses and the pain and suffering they endured.
If you want to take legal action against a facility involved in a loved one’s nursing home accident, a Jacksonville nursing home accident lawyer with Pintas & Mullins Law Firm could answer your questions and guide you through the legal process. Call us today at (800) 842-6336 to schedule a free case evaluation.
How to Determine if the Nursing Home Has Legal Responsibility
In most cases, families want to know whether the nursing home is legally responsible for compensating their loved one for medical expenses or pain and suffering related to their nursing home accident.
The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 indicates that if a resident of a nursing home suffers an accident-related injury as a resident of a nursing home, they might be able to pursue legal action against the nursing home under the following conditions if the facility:
- Failed to train their employees to properly care for and supervise residents at all times.
- Did not staff the facility with the proper number of employees.
- Did not maintain equipment, such as walkers, medical devices, or wheelchairs, that led to an accident.
- Failed to properly monitor facility staff to ensure residents received proper care at all times.
- Negligently hired and/or retained employees, including failing to perform background checks or verify an employee’s qualifications.
- Did not provide appropriate nutrition and hydration to residents, leading to a frail or weakened state that resulted in an accident or slip and fall.
- Exposed residents to environmental or toxic materials that affected their health and safety.
- Did not properly prepare and administer medications or failed to ensure that a resident properly consumed their medication to ensure their health.
- A nursing home staff member or employee intentionally abused or harmed a resident.
- Failed to provide adequate security, which resulted in a resident wandering (eloping) from the facility or a third-party entering the facility and harming a resident.
If you think your loved one experienced an accident that resulted from any of the above-mentioned actions on the part of the nursing home, you may have the right to pursue justice.
Many of these types of cases that involve nursing home accidents can prove complex and challenging. Whatever your circumstances, you can consult a Jacksonville nursing home accident lawyer at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm to better understand your legal rights. Give us a call today to schedule a free consultation where you can discuss your case.
Types of Recourse Available After a Nursing Home Accident
Most family members want to do something following their elderly loved one’s accident in a nursing home to ensure they receive compensation for their out-of-pocket expenses from the negligent party and justice for their loved one. The following are the types of recourse that remain available for family members after an accident occurs in a nursing home.
Florida Adult Protective Services
The Florida Department of Children and Families offers guidance regarding how a family can initiate an investigation into elder abuse or neglect of their family members. If you feel the nursing home is responsible for your loved one’s accident, you may consider speaking with them to learn more about your options for reporting the abuse or neglect in the nursing home.
Contacting Local Law Enforcement
Depending on the facts and circumstances of your loved one’s accident, you may have a reason to immediately contact local law enforcement. There are circumstances where family members can press criminal charges against parties that exhibit abuse toward the elderly in Florida.
Pursue Civil Litigation
If you believe the action (or inaction) taken by the nursing home directly resulted in the accident your family member suffered, you might be able to pursue civil litigation through a neglect lawsuit against the nursing home.
Even if a nursing home employee was the negligent party, the nursing home facility is still responsible under the legal doctrine of “respondeat superior.” This legal doctrine indicates that employers are typically responsible for the actions of their employees during their employment.
Filing a lawsuit will not remove the damage and harm done to your loved one. However, it could provide the financial compensation necessary to pay the additional medical bills, and in some way, compensate your loved one for their pain and suffering.
Additionally, bringing a civil case against a negligent nursing home could help prevent this type of abuse or neglect from occurring against other residents. If you are interested in pursuing legal action, Florida Statutes §492.296, you generally have up to two years from the incident date to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you did not learn about the accident immediately, then you have two years from the date that you discovered that it happened.
For a free legal consultation with a Nursing Home Accidents Lawyer serving Jacksonville, call (800) 794-0444
Contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm Today
If your elderly loved one suffered an accident in a nursing home that could be attributable to a nursing home’s negligence or neglect, you could help your elderly loved one pursue financial awards.
A Jacksonville nursing home accident lawyer can explain your legal options and advise you on the steps to take next. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 842-6336 to share the details of your situation and get the help you need.
Call or text (800) 794-0444 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
