On more than one occasion, family members have agreed, often reluctantly, to put an aging loved one in a nursing home, in hopes of ensuring the delivery of expert and loving care. Unfortunately, there are times when a nursing home patient becomes the target of abuse or neglect.
If that abuse or neglect injures the unfortunate patient, the family members have reason to think about launching a lawsuit against the unsatisfactory facility. The following paragraphs offer information that can guide the thinking of someone that has given thought to filing a claim against a nursing facility. The family’s first step should involve making a determination. It needs to determine the exact nature of the alleged neglect or abuse.
Examples of neglect or abuse that has harmed one or more patients in a nursing home:
• Assaultive conduct by doctors or by members of staff
• Theft or financial exploitation
• Neglecting to administer required medication
• Giving the patient the wrong medication
• Inadequate staffing
• Lack of supervision of staff
• Neglecting to monitor the patient’s food and water, in order to ensure adequate delivery of nutrition and refreshment.
• Failing to provide family with adequate help, when the patient needs to get to a scheduled doctor’s appointment.
• Failing to make adequate arrangements, when the patient must get transported to a medical facility, such as one that carries out a dialysis procedure.
Facts about the Long-Term Care Homes Act:
That act, which applies to the long-term care homes in Canada, contains a list of regulations. Those regulations outline the established standards that any long-term care home should meet. Homes that do not meet such standards provide the families of the housed patients with a reason for filing a personal injury claim.
Steps to take after filing a claim:
Hire a personal injury lawyer in Burlington. You need to obtain evidence of the fact that the home has not met the established standards, as outlined in the Long-Term Care Homes Act. Get pictures of the problem created by the abuse or neglect. This could be a visible injury, or it might be an emotional or behavioral problem. In the latter case, it would be necessary to get a photograph that highlights the patient’s emotional state or the patient’s strange behavior.
Consult with a medical expert (possibly a psychiatrist). Obtain a written report that verifies the connection between the patient’s condition and the treatment received by the same patient. Share all that material with the hired injury lawyer. Work with that member of the legal profession, in order to counter any claims made by the facility that has failed to perform as expected. All such facilities are expected to handle all sorts of situations, even emergencies, including disasters brought-on by the weather.
