Nursing home injuries are too common among U.S residents. Yet, when it comes to handling requirements, many people choose to take such commitments to nursing home facilities.
Injuries suffered at a nursing home are likely to cause physical and emotional pain to the victims.
Nursing homes facilities have trained medical personnel or hired independent contractors to provide medical care to residents that offer treatment to the injured resident. Such has special knowledge to provide nursing home care medical needs.
But sometimes, medical care provided to the patients may be substandard, amounting to medical malpractice. If they perform their duties without reasonable care, they may be held liable for injuries suffered by the resident as a result.
If you sent your senior to a nursing home but realized they are suffering from injuries, you may take legal action against the negligent person.
Dealing With A Nursing Home Injury
Seniors in nursing home facilities are prone to injuries, either due to lack of care or body conditions.
The fact is that as people age, their immunity tends to lessen and, as such, become prone to injuries. But, these injuries can be a result of accident or negligence.
The nursing home staff is supposed to offer care to the resident, and if this doesn’t happen, then liability may step in.
Suppose your loved one has suffered from nursing home injuries, but the medical care professional failed to provide appropriate medical care. In that case, you can hire an attorney in Anchorage to help you determine whether you may file a medical malpractice claim.
There are many reasons why a resident or their family members may file a medical malpractice insurance claim. Some of these include:
- Lack of informed consent: Let’s say a resident was suffering from a broken arm or leg due to a fall, and such require surgery. The doctor has to inform such a patient of the dire need to conduct surgery before they proceed.
Where such a patient is not in a position to make a decision, a family member may be called upon to sign a form to indicate they have understood the treatment and given the leeway for surgery.
- Surgery errors: These are common errors in nursing home injuries. If for instance a surgeon operates the wrong body part, this is considered negligence, and such a resident can sue for damages.
- Medical misdiagnosis: A significant number of residents suffer injuries due to misdiagnosis. This is extremely dangerous to seniors as it can aggravate existing injuries or even lead to death. If a doctor fails to diagnose resident injuries or makes an incorrect diagnosis, this leads to medical malpractice. Some of the common misdiagnoses include cancer, heart attack that are prevalent among the elderly.
- Wrong prescription: If a medical prescription ends up causing harm to a resident, this may lead to a valid medical malpractice case. Under such, it has to determine that the nursing home doctor made a mistake while prescribing drugs
When it comes to claiming damages, it has to be established that the nursing home facility was liable. For any medical malpractice case, one best factor considered for liability is whether the responsible party observed the standard of care. Often, a medical expert may be called upon to testify what could have been done under the circumstances.
Filing Your Medical Malpractice Claim
If your senior has suffered at the hands of negligence medical staff in a nursing home, you need to file a claim. However, for any case, it has to be established that:
- The nursing home doctor had a duty of care towards the resident.
- The nursing home facility failed to uphold such duty of care.
- The resident was harmed as a result. The actions of the liable nurse or doctor must have a connection with the resident injuries.
Note that a patient may suffer injuries without the nursing home doctor’s intent to cause harm. Here, no valid claim may be filed, but where such actions that led to injuries could have been avoided, then negligence must be established.
Who May Be Held Liable
Sometimes it becomes an uphill batter to determine who may be liable in a nursing home injury
It’s deemed that a nurse or a doctor is always under the care of a nursing facility. Therefore for any injury suffered due to negligence, the nursing home facility may be held liable. The same case may apply to the nursing home medical doctor who acts negligently to cause such harm.
The rules that apply when a patient has been harmed by a doctor in any hospital setting apply in a nursing home. This is the only best way to get damages for injuries.
If your resident has suffered in the hands of nursing home staff supposed to provide medical needs, you need a lawyer right away. This type of case will come under medical malpractice. Go here and read how a medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine a fair settlement for your case.
Such cases are complex and would require someone who understands how to connect the actions of the liable party with injuries suffered.