Nursing home staff did not put a hand on your loved one. It was not a nurse, an assistant, or another staff member who punched your loved one. It was not an orderly or maintenance person who tripped your loved one. However, it may be the nursing home staff who are responsible for her death if your loved one was physically attacked by another nursing home resident and died as a result.
Here’s Why
While nursing home staff may not have abused your loved one, they may have neglected your loved one. More specifically, they owed your loved one a duty of care. They were supposed to take reasonable actions to keep her safe and, instead, she was attacked, injured, and ultimately killed by another nursing home resident.
For example, reasonable nursing home staff should have:
- Assessed each nursing home resident and to determine if any is a threat. Steps should be taken to monitor residents who may be more likely to attack others. If the nursing home lacks the necessary resources to control that resident, then the nursing home has a duty to the other residents to discharge the threatening resident to a facility that is equipped to handle him.
- Checked on residents regularly. This may alert nursing home staff to potential problems and prevent potential attacks from escalating.
- Responded promptly to any attack. Any delay in responding to a call for help could result in a tragedy.
- Made efforts to keep residents apart. If there are residents with known conflicts and it is reasonable to anticipate that the conflicts may become physical, then the nursing home may try to keep the residents apart by putting them on different floors and in different activities.
Nursing home staff can also take other steps to prevent resident on resident attacks, injuries, and fatalities. If you have questions about what happened to your loved one and about whether the nursing home could have been at fault, then we encourage you to learn more about your legal rights. You can begin right now by watching our free videos and reading the related links provided on this page.
Has Your Loved One Been Injured In A Nursing Home?
If you believe your loved one is being subjected to nursing home abuse you need to speak with an experienced Kentucky nursing home neglect attorney as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our office directly at 888.450.4456 to schedule a free consultation.
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