When a nursing home remains chronically understaffed, nursing home residents simply do not receive the care and attention they deserve. In some cases, understaffing leads to elder abuse and neglect, which can result in serious injuries or even death.
If your elderly loved one suffered neglect or abuse due to understaffing in their nursing home, learn how a New York City understaffing lawyer may help you seek compensation for their injuries. Consider visiting with our legal team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm for a free consultation.
Nursing Home Staffing Requirements
Nursing homes must maintain appropriate staffing in order to ensure that elderly residents receive proper care, medication, nutrition, and other necessary requirements for their health and safety.
Federal Law
The Nursing Home Reform Law of 1987 set minimum requirements regarding the staffing of nursing homes. These nursing home staffing requirements include having a registered nurse at the nursing home for a minimum of eight consecutive hours every day. A licensed nurse must also be on duty at the nursing home 24 hours a day.
Additionally, the nursing home should ensure that their nursing home has appropriate enough staffing to meet all of the needs of the senior residents living there.
Additional Recommendations
According to Health Service Insights, additional research indicates that the more staffing a nursing home has, the better the care the elderly residents usually receive.
Understaffing Connected to Elder Neglect and Abuse
When employees of nursing homes are either overworked or understaffed, or in some cases both, they simply do not have the continued resources to ensure the safety of all residents in the nursing home facility. With the inability to carefully monitor all residents appropriately, accidents due to neglect can easily occur, either intentionally or unintentionally.
With the additional stress placed on nursing home workers that remain understaffed and overworked, tempers flare easier and frustration occurs, which can lead to elder abuse. Some of the types of events that may occur when nursing home residents remain unattended, neglected, and abused include the following:
- Dehydration or malnutrition: The inability of employees to provide adequate nourishment or hydration affects residents negatively.
- Falls: In some cases, a senior resident will attempt to go to the bathroom, get food or water, or leave their bed or wheelchair unassisted, resulting in a fall. Additionally, if the nursing home remains understaffed and employees overworked, they may fail to remove debris in the common walkways, causing senior residents to also fall.
- Soiling of clothes: When residents remain unable to either walk to the bathroom or go to the bathroom unassisted, they may soil their clothes. Sitting in wet underwear for long periods of time can lead to bedsores and other infections.
- Bedsores: When an elderly resident is bedridden or unable to move from their wheelchair, they may develop bedsores. When left unattended and untreated, bedsores can actually turn skeptic and cause serious medical problems or death.
- Medication errors: When nursing home staff employees rush to get medications prepared and distributed to residents, errors can easily occur that lead to serious injuries or death.
- Infections: When residents do not receive prior care, they may develop infections, such as urinary tract infections, bacterial infections, sepsis, or respiratory infections. Additionally, if a nursing home remains perpetually understaffed, they may not have the time or resources to properly clean common areas or dining rooms, which can lead to breeding grounds for bacteria, resulting in infections.
For a free legal consultation with a New York City Understaffing Lawyer serving New York City, call (800) 794-0444
Understaffing in Your Elderly Loved One’s Nursing Home
If you suspect that the nursing home that your elderly loved one lives in remains consistently understaffed with overworked employees resulting in elder neglect or abuse, you should immediately contact the management of the nursing home to voice your concerns. You may also request documentation regarding their staffing standards. Examine the records provided to see if the nursing home complies with federal requirements and regulations.
If your elderly loved one endured any kind of abuse or neglect that you believe was a direct result of the nursing home remaining understaffed, a New York City understaffing lawyer may help you understand how to receive justice on behalf of your elderly loved one and receive possible compensation for their injuries.
New York City New York City Understaffing Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
A New York City Understaffing Lawyer May Handle Your Case
Your elderly loved one in a nursing home deserves respect as well as appropriate care and protection. When a nursing home facility remains perpetually understaffed, the employees remain overworked, which can easily lead to mistakes, negligence, or even direct elder abuse.
If you feel your elderly loved one suffered any kind of injuries as a result of understaffing in their nursing home facility, consider how a New York City understaffing lawyer may help you conduct an investigation, help you understand your legal options and ensure your elderly loved one receives justice.
Consider contacting Pintas & Mullins Law Firm to learn how to protect your elderly loved one’s legal rights.
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