Pennsylvania Nursing Home Lawyers
Nursing home residents need an intense level of care and attention. That is why we have nursing homes and why nursing home care is so expensive. Nursing home neglect can quickly turn fatal, and it is a form of abuse. Nursing home neglect often goes unrecognized and unreported. If you believe that your loved on is or has been the victim of nursing home neglect, please talk to our Pennsylvania nursing home lawyers today.
Types of Nursing Home Neglect
Nursing home neglect comes in many forms, but it is always dangerous. Neglect includes failure to provide any of the following:
- Supervision
- Protection from safety hazards
- Protection from assaults by nursing home staff, other residents, visitors, and intruders
- Nutrition and hydration
- Moving and turning of immobile patients
- Hygiene
- Clean bedding and clothing
- Medical attention
- Medications
- Assistance with bathroom needs
- Assistance needed to prevent falls, such as helping a resident get from the bed to a chair
Nursing Home Neglect Injuries
Nursing home neglect can be deadly. Neglect can result in a fatal accident, or a more gradual decline in health. Survivors of nursing home neglect may be permanently injured, have a lower quality of life, and a shortened life-span. Nursing home neglect injuries and accidents can include:
- Falls and fractures
- Bedsores and infections
- Malnutrition and dehydration
- Illnesses and Infections
- Medication errors
- Severe sunburn
- Choking on food
- Physical and sexual assault
- Elopement and wandering
- Cuts, burns, and other injuries
Causes of Nursing Home Neglect
Nursing home neglect is not always as obvious as other forms of abuse. When you visit, the staff may seem caring and attentive. Understaffing is often at the heart of nursing home neglect, and some nursing homes will employ a higher staff to resident ratio during visiting hours when they know they will be observed. Many incidents are not reported to the family or the doctor. Usually, when a family learns of one adverse incident, it is the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
Nursing home neglect can also be the result of inadequately trained or under-skilled staff, poor nursing home policies and procedures, and failure to properly monitor and supervise nursing home staff.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse in Pennsylvania, please call us today or submit an online questionnaire. The initial consultation with our nursing home lawyers is free, and if we agree to represent you, we will work for a contingent fee, which means we won’t get paid for our services unless you receive a settlement or an award. In Pennsylvania, a personal injury lawsuit must be filed before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.