Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse – Medical Malpractice

When a nursing home accepts a resident into its facility, it has a responsibility and owes certain duties to the resident to meet his or her specific needs related to his condition. Many of the injuries and accidents that commonly occur in nursing homes are the result of negligence, and sometimes even intentional acts of abuse. When a nursing home causes harm to a resident because it fails to act responsibly, the nursing home should be held accountable.

Signs that your loved one may be receiving inadequate or poor treatment in a nursing home may include any of the following:

• Unexplained injuries (i.e., bruises, fractures)
• Falls
• Rapid weight loss
• Pressure sores (also called bed sores and pressure ulcers)
• Sudden decline in physical or mental condition
• Change in behavior
• Afraid or fearful of staff and/or other residents
• Wandering outside the facility (or into inappropriate areas inside the facility)
• Foul smell continuously or frequently
• Infections such as sepsis, osteomyelitis, urinary tract infections, infected pressure sores

Examples of common nursing home abuse and neglect claims include the following:

• Assault by nursing home staff or other residents (i.e., fear of harm and/or fear of any offensive touching)
• Battery by nursing home staff or other residents (i.e., any harmful or offensive touching, can be sexual or violent)
• Physical or chemical restraint (above minimum required by the resident’s condition)
• Malnutrition (failure to provide appropriate diet and/or assist in feeding)
• Dehydration (failure to provide appropriate liquids and/or assist in drinking)
• Inappropriate medications (over-medication, under-medication, incorrect medication)
• Negligence resulting in unexplained injuries, falls, fractures, decline in health, worsening condition and other injuries
• Unsanitary and unclean conditions (failure to provide/assist in toileting, incontinent care, personal hygiene and a clean room including fresh bedding/linens and safe floors)
• Stealing, theft, fraud, forgery
• Bed sore, pressure sore or pressure ulcer development or worsening
• Infections
• Insufficient number of staff in relation to the number of residents
• Inadequately trained and/or overworked staff
• Inappropriately supervised staff
• Negligent hiring and retention of staff (i.e., employing staff with criminal history)
• Wandering outside the facility

Federal and State Laws and Regulations for Nursing Homes

Both the federal and South Carolina state governments seek to protect nursing home residents through laws and regulations governing nursing homes.

Federal Nursing Home Reform Law requires each Nursing Home to:

1. “Care for its residents in such a manner and in such an environment as will promote maintenance or enhancement of the quality of life of each resident”
2. “Provide services and activities to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident in accordance with a written plan of care….”

Rights of Nursing Home Residents

Federal and South Carolina state regulations set forth specific requirements as to how nursing homes are to provide care and treatment to residents and protect the rights of residents. For example, South Carolina state regulations require training of caregivers in nursing homes as well as sufficient numbers of staff to provide proper care to residents.

Experience Counts

Because of attorney Joe Griffith's experience in litigating nursing home cases, he will be able to quickly pinpoint and review the relevant information contained within the abundance of paperwork from the nursing home. He is familiar with the specific types of documents maintained by nursing homes, the many federal and state requirements governing nursing homes and the issues unique to nursing home abuse and neglect cases.

For example, because of the advanced age or preexisting medical condition of nursing home residents, the nursing home often tries to argue that injuries were unavoidable or inevitable because of the resident’s health instead of the nursing home’s own negligence. However, if the nursing home’s conduct caused harm, worsened an existing condition or hastened the decline or death of a nursing home resident, thereby causing additional and unnecessary pain and suffering, the nursing home should be held responsible. Whether the nursing home’s failure to properly care for and treat your loved one resulted from corporate greed valuing profits over people’s welfare, systemic problems such as inadequate staffing of caregivers or simple human error, the nursing home has a duty to protect and care for each of its residents and should be held accountable for such failures when they cause injury or death.

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