The residents of a Louisiana nursing home should never have to worry about getting enough water. Unfortunately, dehydration is a significant risk for older individuals. According to the Cleveland Clinic, this problem is compounded among the elderly population due to their diminished sense of thirst.
When it comes to elderly nursing home residents, it is the job of the facility and its staff to ensure that their basic needs are met. These needs include taking in enough water to remain hydrated.
If your loved one suffered from dehydration while living at a nursing home, they could have a viable claim for negligence against the nursing home. The attorneys of Pintas & Mullins Law Firm are ready to aid you and your loved one with filing a claim for compensation. Call (800) 842-6336 to see what a Louisiana dehydration lawyer may be able to help you with.
Risks of Dehydration Among the Elderly
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), elderly people are at a higher risk of dehydration for multiple reasons. In general, people lose the ability to retain water in their bodies as they age. Older people also lose the ability to identify thirst as easily as younger individuals. This diminished sense of thirst often plays a major role in dehydration among seniors.
Seniors also do not have the same ability to conserve water through their renal system compared to younger people. As they age, their kidneys do not filter and remove fluids efficiently. Certain types of medication can also play a role in dehydration among seniors.
The health risks for dehydration among the older population are clear. As their bodies take in less water than it needs, an array of potentially serious health consequences can arise. These conditions include:
- Issues with the urinary tract, including infections
- Kidney stones
- Kidney failure
- Seizures due to electrolyte imbalance
- Heat-related injuries
- Hypovolemic shock related to low blood pressure
In some cases, these conditions can have fatal consequences if they persist. Given the risks associated with dehydration, it is vital that nursing home staff ensure each resident remains hydrated.
Signs of Dehydration
It is the responsibility of the nursing home and its staff to ensure your loved one remains hydrated. These individuals often fail in this essential duty, however. With that being the case, your loved one is best protected by friends and family keeping careful watch for the signs of dehydration. In most cases, it is possible to identify these signs before they lead to serious health complications. It does not take long for dehydration to begin taking its toll on elderly nursing home residents. Some of the signs of dehydration to watch for include:
- Less frequent urination
- Dark yellow urine
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Dry mouth
- Dry skin
Any of these signs could indicate dehydration. If you notice these signs, notify the caretaker right away. Continue to monitor your loved one to ensure the condition improves.
The Louisiana dehydration lawyers at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm are ready to aid you in this challenging situation. Our team can pursue legal action on your loved one’s behalf in an effort to hold the negligent parties accountable. Contact us as soon as possible to learn how we can help you.
For a free legal consultation, call (800) 842-6336
Nursing Home Negligence and Dehydration
Ensuring residents remain hydrated is one of the most basic duties of a nursing home. When administrators and employees of these nursing homes fail in this basic duty, their negligence can result in dehydration for their residents, which could lead to you pursuing a legal claim for the damages they caused. Some of the ways a nursing home employee could cause dehydration in a resident through negligence include:
- Failing to provide water to a resident
- Failing to supervise a resident to ensure they keep up the necessary amount of water intake
- Lack of aid for residents with physical limitations that makes swallowing difficult
- Understaffing
- Improper monitoring of medication that can cause dehydration
Failing to notice the signs of dehydration is only one of the potential ways a nursing home could face liability. If an employee fails to notify the appropriate medical care providers of signs of dehydration, they could also face some liability.
In some cases, dehydration is caused by a failure at the top. This could include hiring unqualified employees or failing to implement effective training protocols. Understaffing also plays a major part in many instances of dehydration. When employees are responsible for too many residents at once, it is inevitable that their degree of care will diminish.
Nursing homes exist to provide the kind of expert care that most families cannot handle on their own. It is only reasonable that they face the consequences when they fail in providing for these basic needs. A successful legal claim could recover a significant monetary award from the nursing home, their owners, or the responsible employees. This award may cover everything from your loved one’s medical bills to their physical suffering.
An attorney can carefully review the circumstances that led up to your loved one’s dehydration. This could involve interviewing employees, reviewing employment records, and evaluating medical records.
Reach Out to a Louisiana Dehydration Attorney Today
Any delay in the pursuit of compensation on behalf of your loved one only works in favor of the nursing home. The longer you wait to pursue legal action, the more challenging it could be to successfully pursue a claim.
Do not hesitate to contact the attorneys of Pintas & Mullins Law Firm right away. To learn how we could help with your loved one’s claim, call (800) 842-6336.
Call or text (800) 842-6336 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form