Category: nursing home neglect

Nursing homes in the U.S. have a major problem with understaffing. Experts estimate that about half of all nursing homes in the U.S. are not properly staffed. They suffer from high rates of turnover. When nursing homes in California are not properly staffed, the residents can be neglected and abused as a result.

Many elderly people are forced to live in nursing homes because of the high level of care they need. Typically, family members put a lot of thought and effort into selecting a nursing home for their loved one. They entrust the nursing home staff to provide proper care and attention to their loved ones. The residents may require constant monitoring and care because of their medical conditions.

If understaffing does occur at a nursing home, a number of preventable medical conditions can result. One of the most common is bedsores (also called pressure sores). Bedsores are a sign that a nursing home is not providing proper care, which may be because of understaffing. Bedsores can be easily prevented by keeping a resident active and providing proper nutrition, repositioning the patient regularly, keeping the facility clean, and identifying bedsores early.

Some other signs that a nursing home is not properly staffed and not providing proper care is bad hygiene of your loved one, torn or dirty clothing, hunger, dehydration or malnutrition, long periods of being unsupervised, and a lack of medical or dental care. It is the duty of nursing home managers to be aware of what is happening with patients in a facility.

If your loved one is showing signs of abuse or neglect in a nursing home, you should speak with the administrators. You may also choose to talk to a California nursing home abuse or neglect attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles nursing home malpractice attorney at 310-385-0567. My team can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

I am so sorry to hear about the fall. Falls are very dangerous for the elderly and preventing them should be a priority for nursing homes. Unfortunately, many homes are understaffed and may put profits ahead of patient safety. You should speak with an attorney in the Los Angeles area to learn more about your legal options.

Nursing homes have a basic duty to tend to the needs of their patients and to keep their patients safe from harm. Debris and clutter in a nursing home can be a very serious issue because it can easily lead to falls. Elderly nursing home patients often suffer very serious injuries in falls. The elderly tend to heal very slowly. If your loved one has been hurt in a fall in a nursing home, it is critical that the incident and why it occurred be investigated.

An attorney can help if a nursing home patient falls and is injured because of a cluttered facility. Although a fall case may appear to be simple, a trip and fall can have very serious long-term consequences for patients. When an elderly person falls, he or she may suffer serious injuries that threaten the mobility and health of that person permanently. Elderly patients can be immobilized permanently from falls. Some pass away from complications due to falls. Although preventing falls should be a concern for all nursing homes, it is not.

If your parent or another loved one has fallen in a Los Angeles nursing home, you should speak with a Los Angeles personal injury attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles nursing home malpractice attorney, at 310-385-0567. My team can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

I’m so sorry to hear about your parent’s injuries. When a family chooses a nursing home for a loved one, it is usually a difficult decision. A great deal of time and care normally go into choosing the right place. When an injury occurs, it can be devastating on the family.

Every nursing home lawsuit is different. The compensation that your family can expect is dependent on a number of factors that are unique to your situation. Some factors that can be used to determine the value of the case include medical costs, pain and suffering of the patient, loss of a normal life, and disfigurement. The amount awarded depends on the extent of the injury as well as state laws regarding nursing home cases.

Courts also consider other factors when determining the value of a nursing home injury case. If the nursing home has insurance, it may be easier to negotiate with the insurance company over damages than with the facility itself. If the facility has a poor track record of patient care, it may be more likely to want to resolve cases quickly than a facility with a poor history. The patient’s age can come into play – if the patient is younger, the person’s life is generally given a higher value than an elderly patient. If the facility acted egregiously, the case may be worth a higher value. If the family members of the victim were actively involved in his or her care, they are more likely to receive compensation than a family who only appeared when it was time for a payment.

As you can see, a lot can go into determining the value of a nursing home injury case. Every case is different. If your parent was harmed in a nursing home, the first step should be speaking with an attorney about your legal options. Contact Doyle Law at 310-385-0567. Our team can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

Many nursing home residents are unable to move themselves from one location to another. In that case, they typically need the assistance of nursing home staff to move from their beds. Most facilities have rules for transferring patients. Depending on the weight and the mobility level of the patient, there may need to be two or more staff members to move a patient, and a mechanical lift may even be required.

If a patient in a nursing home is dropped, the results can be catastrophic. Nursing home patients are typically frail and already in a weakened position. If a nursing home resident is dropped, the individual can suffer broken bones, damage to internal organs, traumatic brain injuries, or even death. Falls are the leading cause of injury death in individuals 65 years old and older.

If a patient is dropped in a nursing home, the fall often involves a failure to follow protocol for transfers. The nursing homes may be understaffed or poorly train their employees. There may not be sufficient equipment that is needed for safe transfers. In most cases, the root cause of the patient’s fall is the negligence of the nursing home.

If your loved one has been dropped in a nursing home, you should speak with an attorney about your family member’s legal rights. He or she may be entitled to compensation for damages. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles nursing home negligence attorney at 310-385-0567. My team can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

When you choose a nursing facility for a loved one, you are putting a large amount of trust into the facility to properly care for your loved one. Unfortunately, it is very common for nursing homes to injure and neglect their patients. As a loved one, it’s critical that you be able to recognize the signs of a poor-quality nursing home so that you can identify a problem before it gets worse.

Many family members live out of state and away from their parent in the nursing home. In that situation, other than visits, most of your information may be provided by staff at the home. If you stay in contact consistently with the staff and ask specific questions, you may be able to monitor your family member’s care. If your loved one is able to speak and coherent, you can get some insight about their condition by speaking with them directly.

However, the best way to assess the condition of a family member is to visit them in person. While visiting a family member, trust your instincts, and never assume that everything a staff person says is accurate. It can be very difficult to get reliable information from some elderly loved ones. There are some signs you can look for though which can be an indication of a problem. Those include bed sores, dirty clothing, behavioral changes that occur suddenly, bruising, broken bones, cuts, sudden weight loss, or the appearance of being overly medicated.

If you do notice alarming signs, the situation may be resolved by discussing it with a staff member or the director of the nursing home. In very serious situations, you may be ready to take legal action. If you believe your loved one was harmed at a Los Angeles-area nursing home, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call me today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

I am very sorry to hear about the medical problems. Gangrene occurs as a result of the death of body tissue in and around a pressure sore (also known as a bed sore). If the pressure sore is serious enough, it can reduce blood flow in and around the wound. This can increase the ability of bacteria to grow, which can result in gangrene.

Gangrene usually develops as a result of a lack of proper health care after a pressure sore becomes infected. The tissue can deteriorate. When that happens, it normally changes colors and can develop an odor. If not caught soon enough, there may not be any medication that can help, which means that surgery or even an amputation may be the only option. Death can also be a result.

Gangrene often occurs in people who have circulation problems. Those are often caused by diabetes, vascular disease, or other medical issues. Residents or nursing homes can be some of the most susceptible to developing gangrene. They may easily develop pressure sores that, if left untreated, may turn gangrenous. However, with proper care, pressure sores can often be avoided.

If your parent developed gangrene in a nursing home, it likely occurred as a result of poor medical care. If you are in Los Angeles, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles personal injury attorney, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

I’m sorry to hear about the nursing home. Unfortunately, poor care for residents of many nursing homes has become a way of life. More and more companies are entering the senior care industry as the baby boomers age, and in many cases their primary motivation is profit. As a result, shortcuts may be taken and necessary services could be eliminated, which can cause nursing home residents to suffer harm. If your loved one has been harmed during a nursing home visit, he or she may be entitled to compensation.

Typically, signs of poor nursing home care are evident before actual injuries occur. Some common signs in many patients are unexplained bruises or broken bones, sudden death, patients wandering from the facility, frequent falls, and emotional withdrawal. California has laws in effect designed to protect nursing home residents in California. If a facility fails to follow those laws, it can be held liable for any injuries that may result.

If you believe that your parent’s nursing home is responsible for any injuries, you should take a few preliminary steps. First, talk to the people in charge at the nursing home, as well as at the corporate level about the injuries. If you believe another injury may occur again, you should be proactive and take steps to move your parent from the facility. If the injuries are significant, you may choose to speak with the authorities.

Nursing home negligence or abuse can be very hard on both the resident and the resident’s family members. If you want to hold the nursing home responsible for your parent’s injuries, you should speak with an attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles nursing home negligence attorney at 310-385-0567. I may be able to help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

I’m sorry to hear about your mother. Whether or not you can sue the nursing home depends on the circumstances of what happened. Wandering away from a nursing home (also known as elopement) is very common, especially among those who are cognitively impaired. If you believe your loved one was neglected by a nursing home, you should speak to an attorney.

There are roughly five million people in the U.S. with Alzheimer’s disease. There are many other cognitive diseases that can lead to wandering in addition to Alzheimer’s. About two-third of nursing home patients have some type of cognitive impairment such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. If a facility does not secure itself well, patients may wander outside and be unable to find their way back, which can lead to death or accidental injuries.

Nursing homes must take steps to keep patients from wandering. Patients must be identified as being at risk for wandering. The facilities should be properly staffed, so that there are enough people to keep an eye on patients and recognize when one is missing. Technology should be implemented that will alert staff members if a patient leaves their designated area. Also, if a patient does leave, family members should be informed immediately and the authorities notified.

If your loved one wandered away from a nursing home and was harmed as a result, you should speak with an attorney. Nursing homes are responsible for taking precautions to prevent patients from wandering. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles nursing home negligence attorney at 610-651-8272. My team can help.

Broken bones are a big risk for the elderly. Older people offer suffer from bone loss and osteoporosis, which can make bones more at risk of a break. Broken bones can happen in a fall, or can sometimes occur without trauma, when the bones become weak and brittle. In some cases, broken bones can happen as a result of repetitive motion or overuse.

If your loved one broke a bone in a nursing home, it’s important that the nursing home develop a plan to treat the broken bone. Normally, the bone has to heal, and therapy may be necessary in order to facilitate that healing.

Unfortunately, many nursing homes are understaffed or not managed correctly. The patients’ needs may not come first, which can result in broken bones. In some cases, broken bones are not quickly diagnosed, and the patient can suffer. The actions of nursing home staff can cause bones to break, particularly if the staff are not properly trained or supervised in how to deal with patients.

For most younger people, a bone break will heal and does not impact the rest of that person’s life. For a nursing home resident, bone breaks can produce catastrophic results. The bone break may cause other medical conditions. It may not heal properly, and can greatly decrease the person’s quality of life.

If your loved one has suffered from a broken bone in a nursing home, and you are concerned about whether the nursing home caused or contributed to the broken bone, or you believe the home did not diagnose the broken bone, you should speak with an attorney. The nursing home may have committed negligence. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles nursing home negligence attorney, at 310-385-0567. My team can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

There are millions of older Americans living in assisted living facilities, and that number is on the rise. The benefits are that assisted living is frequently less expensive than nursing homes or home health care, and they offer patients more independence and privacy.

Finding the appropriate facility for a loved one can be overwhelming. In most cases, the search should begin months or years before the facility is needed. If you are in an emergency situation and feel pressured or rushed, you are not likely to make the best decision.

For each facility that you are visiting, you should tour the facility, and attend any open houses or special events that are offered. You can ask for recommendations from your parent’s doctor, who may be able to provide a lot of information about which facilities are preferable. When you have narrowed in on a couple of facilities, you should make unannounced visits, and do not be afraid to answer the tough questions as they relate to your parent’s care.

While touring facilities, look to see if it is clean and well organized. Try to ascertain how many activities are available, and if they are activities that your parent would be interested in. You should eat a couple of meals there to determine if you enjoy the food. Are the rooms large enough and well laid out so that your parent would feel at home? Do the residents there seem interested and engaged in life? Does the facility help with medication, assistance with bathing and dressing, and more?

If you have chosen an assisted living facility, and you believe the assisted living facility has provided your parent with poor care, discuss that with the supervisor of the facility. If the treatment has harmed your parent, you may wish to discuss your options with an attorney. The facility may have committed either medical malpractice or standard negligence.
Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles assisted living malpractice attorney, at 310-385-0567. My team can help. Call us today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.