When a family moves their loved one into a nursing home, they trust that staff will provide compassionate care in a safe and secure environment. But when that trust is broken, the consequences can be devastating. In some cases, staff negligence and safety violations don’t just cause discomfort or injury; they can lead to an avoidable death.
If you’ve lost a loved one under troubling circumstances in a nursing home, it’s important for you to understand your legal rights. Our team can help you determine whether staff negligence or safety violations contributed to the death of your family member.
Understanding Nursing Home Negligence
Nursing home negligence occurs when a facility or its staff fails to provide an acceptable standard of care. This is not limited to intentional harm. In fact, most cases of fatal nursing home negligence stem from omissions—staff failing to take timely or appropriate action.
Negligence may include failing to monitor residents for changes in health, missing or mismanaging medications, or not following established safety procedures. When a facility consistently fails to meet even the most basic standards, the risk to vulnerable residents rises sharply.
Common Types of Staff Negligence Leading to Death
Staff negligence that results in fatal outcomes can take many forms. There are a few common examples, including:
- Failure to Monitor Medical Conditions: Many residents in nursing homes have chronic conditions that require ongoing monitoring. When staff fail to track vital signs or administer timely care, treatable conditions can spiral into life-threatening emergencies.
- Improper Medication Administration: Medication errors are shockingly common in nursing homes. Both dosage errors and medication mix-ups can have fatal consequences for residents.
- Neglect of Basic Needs: Residents rely on staff for food, water, hygiene, and mobility assistance. Failing to meet these basic needs can result in malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores, or infections. Each of these issues can be deadly if not addressed.
Facility Safety Violations That Endanger Lives
Negligence does not always happen at the individual level. Sometimes, the facility itself is unsafe due to a variety of reasons, such as:
- Inadequate Emergency Procedures: Facilities must have plans in place for evacuations, medical emergencies, and natural disasters. When staff are not trained to implement these plans—or the plans don’t exist—residents’ lives are at serious risk.
- Fall Hazards: Falls are among the leading causes of fatal injuries in nursing homes. If a facility lacks proper staffing, transfer protocols, adequate equipment, or fails to address known fall risks, it may be liable for wrongful death.
- Infection Control Failures: Infections like pneumonia and COVID-19 can spread rapidly in a nursing home setting. Facilities that do not follow infection control protocols may allow outbreaks that result in resident deaths.
Warning Signs of Negligence
Family members are often the first to notice something is wrong, but they may not realize that a loved one’s death was preventable. While not every nursing home death is caused by negligence, certain red flags may indicate a deeper issue, including:
- Sudden, unexplained changes in condition before death
- Poor documentation of health concerns or treatments
- Conflicting accounts from staff about what happened
- Signs of malnutrition, dehydration, or pressure sores
- Lack of timely notification about emergencies or transfers
If you observe any of these signs, please speak up. If your concerns are not addressed and lead to injury, our team is here to help.
Proving Liability in a Nursing Home Negligence Case
Nursing home death cases can be difficult to prove, especially when facilities are unwilling to admit fault. Your attorney can investigate thoroughly to gather evidence that supports your claim.
Some of the evidence frequently used in these cases includes the following:
- Medical records and autopsy reports
- Nursing notes, including treatment provided or not provided
- Staff schedules
- Training logs
- State inspection reports
- Witness testimony from other residents, visitors, or whistleblowers
- Expert analysis from medical professionals
The goal is not only to build a strong case but to uncover the full truth of what happened.
Contact a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Regarding a Fatal Negligence Case
The death of a loved one in a nursing home can have devastating consequences across multiple generations of the same family. If you believe that your loved one passed away due to systemic failures in their nursing home, a civil lawsuit could provide your family with a measure of justice.
At Nurenberg Paris, our team of skilled litigators understands how difficult the loss of a family member can be. These situations are only made worse when learning that an act of negligence at the hands of the people charged with caring for your family member was to blame.
Let a Cleveland wrongful death lawyer from our firm serve as your advocate. Contact us today for a free consultation.
