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Nursing home sued over resident’s fatal fall

On Behalf of | Sep 28, 2018 | nursing home abuse and neglect

Those who entrust the care of their loved ones to nursing homes in Rome do so with the expectation that the staffs of such facilities are willing and equipped to provide the type of monitored and consistent care they themselves cannot. If concerns exist about a facility’s ability to do so, one may look at the fact that a facility is licensed through the state as evidence that such worries are not warranted. Yet simply because a facility has a current license to provide care does not mean that instances of abuse and neglect have not happened there before. 

The story behind a recent lawsuit filed by the family of a former resident at an Oregon nursing home illustrates this fact. The facility had been cited for violations over failing to monitor residents while in the restroom, to prevent and treat bed sores, to investigate incidents between residents, and to administer medications appropriately. Yet despite these issues, the facility was licensed at the time of the incident addressed in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the woman needed assistance in using the restroom in order to avoid falls. Yet prior to her death, she had complained repeatedly that the facility’s staff had been slow in answering her requests for assistance, prompting her to walk to the bathroom herself. She ultimately suffered a severe fall after again failing to receive timely help from the staff. She died shortly after the incident. 

In this particular case, investigators found the facility to be at fault and issued a citation and a fine. Such punitive action, however, need not stop the families of victims of neglect from seeking legal action on their own. Those wanting to do so may want to seek out the services of an experienced personal injury attorney. 

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