Inadequate Staffing
Was Understaffing the Cause of a Nursing Home Injury?
Nearly all reasonable people can agree that residents in nursing homes and group homes deserve quality, respectful care. Elderly and disabled people normally live in long-term care facilities because their families are unable to provide the round-the-clock care and monitoring that they need. Many long-term care facilities provide excellent care. Unfortunately, however, neglect and abuse do occur in nursing home and group home settings, far more often than we would like to admit.
More often than not, once we begin an investigation regarding a nursing home or group home injury case, we discover that the underlying cause was inadequate staffing. As managers seek to control costs, they may find it convenient to hire fewer caregivers. The results can be devastating to residents. Common examples of negligence resulting from inadequate staffing and failure to monitor residents of nursing homes include:
- Bed sores: nearly always evidence that a resident was not turned often enough in bed
- Falls from a bed or when transferring from a bed to a chair or vice versa
- Malnutrition or dehydration, often a sign that an older or disabled person was not properly encouraged to eat or drink at mealtimes
- Medication errors, including wrong dosages or failure to administer medications on schedule
- Staph infections and other infections caused by bacteria or viruses
- Injuries resulting from wandering off or elopement, including pedestrian accident fatalities
Contact a Nursing Home Injury Law Firm for Advice and Help
If you or your elderly or disabled family member suffered a serious injury or if your loved one died under questionable circumstances in a nursing home, you should consult with an experienced attorney. Nursing home attorneys at RGLZ offer information, advice and advocacy in cases of nursing home neglect or abuse. All personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no fees to us unless we recover compensation for you. To schedule a free consultation with one of RGLZ’s Suffolk County or New York City personal injury lawyers, call 866-639-5567 or contact us by e-mail.