Losing a loved one is always heartbreaking. However, knowing that your relative died because of a nursing home’s negligence could be devastating.
While nothing can bring back your loved one, you deserve justice and compensation for your loss. Help is available. You can consult a San Antonio death lawyer to determine whether you could file a wrongful death lawsuit against a negligent nursing home.
Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today at (800) 842-6336 for a free case evaluation.
Reasons for Wrongful Death in the Nursing Home
Wrongful death in a nursing home could occur for many different reasons, but they all have in common that the nursing home acted negligently. Here are some of the most frequent reasons for wrongful death claims arising from nursing home abuse and neglect.
Falls
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 1,800 nursing home residents die from falls every year. Many of these falls were preventable. Nursing homes should have various steps in place to minimize falls, including:
- Keeping living areas free of clutter and tripping hazards
- Installing appropriate grab bars and handrails
- Assessing residents for their risk to suffer from falls
- Monitoring residents, according to their fall risk assessment
- Assisting residents when they move around the facility
- Ensuring residents wear adequate clothing and footwear
- Having a strength training program
- Adjusting medications if needed
- Providing mobility aids, such as walkers and wheelchairs
If your loved one died due to a preventable fall in their nursing home, you could potentially hold the nursing home to account. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today to learn more.
Bedsores
Nursing homes can prevent bedsores (also called pressure ulcers) with adequate care and vigilance. If a patient develops one, the staff can treat it so that it doesn’t turn gangrenous.
Bedsores are skin lesions that develop due to pressure on bony body parts, such as hips, heels, elbows, and the tailbone. A nursing home can take numerous actions to prevent bedsores or stop them from getting worse, including:
- Frequently changing the position of a bedridden patient
- Keeping skin clean and dry
- Moisturizing skin
- Ensuring meticulous personal hygiene of the resident
- Providing appropriate wound care
- Ensuring residents are well-nourished and hydrated
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), severe bedsores are a “never event”—something that should not occur with a good standard of care. If your relative died due to an infection or other complications arising from severe bedsores, you could recover compensation, such as medical bills, loss of companionship, funeral expenses, and more in a wrongful death suit.
Malnutrition and Dehydration
Seniors can suffer from various conditions that impact their ability to eat, drink, and digest food. Sometimes, medications can interfere with a senior’s appetite or nutrient absorption. The nursing home is responsible for helping residents eat and drink and monitoring residents’ intake of food and liquids to ensure that they remain adequately nourished and hydrated.
If a resident has specific nutritional needs due to a medical condition, the staff should ensure they receive meals that meet these requirements.
If your loved one died due to malnutrition or dehydration, you could hold the nursing home responsible for its negligence. You can consult a San Antonio death lawyer to determine if you could sue the nursing home for wrongful death.
Physical Abuse
Sometimes, a nursing home fails to keep your loved one safe from violent employees, residents, or guests. Physical abuse, such as kicking and shoving a resident, can have horrific consequences and cause fatal injuries. If your loved one died from an injury caused by physical abuse, you could hold the nursing home to account.
General Neglect
Many nursing homes that cut corners to maximize profits end up neglecting their residents. Staff shortages, untrained staff, and lack of resources can all contribute to the general neglect of residents.
Neglect can encompass ignoring residents’ essential daily needs, such as personal hygiene, meal preparation, and administering the necessary medications. This neglect can lead to preventable illnesses, such as infections, or a general decline in nursing home residents’ health and well-being. In the worst cases, general neglect can result in untimely deaths.
Statute of Limitations for Wrongful Death Cases
You could have many reasons why you could file a wrongful death case against a nursing home, including medical malpractice and medication errors. If you have questions regarding whether your loved one suffered a wrongful death, you could contact a San Antonio death lawyer today for help. Timely action is of the essence, as Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003 sets a two-year deadline for filing wrongful death lawsuits.
For a free legal consultation with a Wrongful Death Lawyer serving San Antonio, call (800) 842-6336
Contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm for Help Now
We understand that losing a loved one due to preventable neglect or abuse in the nursing home can upset the entire family. Your family member’s death should never have happened, and you do not have to accept egregious and criminal neglect of your loved one.
We cannot turn back time, but we can help you pursue justice and compensation for your loved one’s suffering and your grief. We can potentially help you recover compensation, such as medical expenses, funeral expenses, pain and suffering, and more.
Taking on a nursing home by yourself, while not impossible, can cause plenty of stress, consume your time, and prove challenging. For these reasons, you might want to hire a nursing home abuse lawyer to help with your wrongful death claim.
A San Antonio death lawyer can identify all responsible parties in the unlawful death of your loved one, file the necessary documents, and stand by your side through the entire process of a wrongful death lawsuit.
Other ways in which we can help you get justice include:
- Assessing and researching your case thoroughly
- Gathering the evidence and paperwork to prove your case
- Interviewing witnesses and providing expert witnesses for your lawsuit
- Investigating the failures of the nursing home
- Calculating your damages and potential compensation
- Negotiating with the defendants for a fair settlement
- Taking your case to court and representing you at trial
Nursing home abuse and neglect are illegal, immoral, and despicable. If the worst has happened and your loved one died through the reckless actions of a nursing home, call the legal team at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm for help today at (800) 842-6336.
Call or text (800) 842-6336 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
