Nursing Homes

America is rapidly growing older. Currently, there are over 40 million people above the age of sixty-five in the United States. As the baby boomer generation transits from middle age to older adulthood, this number is expected to rise to 87 million by the year 2050.majority of these older people, at some point of time will need a form of nursing home or assisted living facility (ALF).

While most of the ALF’s provide competent and complete care, there are various cases when the quality of care provided is not up to the standards resulting into medical malpractice. When dealing with the medical malpractice in the care offered in assisted living facilities and nursing homes, general neglect is one of the most common types of abuse. Additionally, older adults are at an increased risk of mismanaged health care and physical, emotional and mental abuse. The consequences of medical malpractice, abuse and neglect are devastating. This form of negligence can result in malnutrition, dehydration and even death for elderly people left to the care of staff members at nursing homes and ALF. In such cases, family of the patient should file a lawsuit in order to receive some monetary compensation for an injury or loss endured.

Nursing Home Abuse Continue to Rise

Nursing homes in the United States are considered as one of the best options to seek care for an elderly people and to reduce the burden of in – home care. However, for many people it is a risky venture to handover the life of their loved one’s in the hands of strangers. Over the past few years, there has been increase in the incidents of medical malpractice at assisted living facility. With the reports of medical negligence, abuse and malpractice everywhere in the news, assisted living facility are often considered as an unsafe option. However, it is essential to know all the facts related with it so that you can help you family member in the best possible way.

Nursing Home Negligence in Disguise

Many types of abuse, malpractice and negligence can occur in an assisted living facility or in a nursing home. However, majority of the nursing homes are considered safe and above or at government standards. The bottom line is that to keep a loved one in an assisted living facility without carefully evaluating the care offered by them is a gamble. Due to this reason, it is essential to understand how to rate assisted living facility and nursing home and what step to take if medical malpractice occurs, particularly for a executor of an estate or a family member. For example, f you suspect that some medical malpractice or abuse occurs in the nursing home then immediately contact an experienced nursing home lawyer specializing in nursing home malpractice or negligence to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to improve the living situation for an elderly person.

Nursing Home Negligence – A Dangerous Mistake

One of the most important things for an individual is to be aware of how to evaluate nursing homes in the different ways to know how the abuse and malpractice occurs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently reported an example of this. The FDA discovered that malpractice occurred in various assisted living facility and nursing homes across the country. This particularly occurred in medication mix-ups causing death of several disabled individuals or elderly people and injuring many others. According to the information recently released by FDA, over the period of last four or five years many assisted living facility and nursing homes reported instances of medication mix-ups. The nursing homes should have provided people with medical grade oxygen but instead they provided completely different gas including a cryogenic vessel of industrial grade nitrogen causing deadly nursing home medical malpractice.

The FDA cited various examples where staff members of different nursing homes mistakenly connected vessels of not only carbon dioxide but also nitrogen into oxygen hookups. This error may lead to pain and death among innocent elderly people who should be getting that most essential care in their remaining years of life. If due to this type of negligence, your elderly loved one looses his life then it is important for you to know where to find help. You should immediately contact an experienced nursing home attorney to discuss the possibility of filing a nursing home lawsuit. A nursing home lawsuit not only helps you in retrieving the compensation for the pain and suffering but also ensures that an assisted living facility or nursing home with a previous record of negligence and malpractice gets punishment so that nobody else in the future suffer unnecessarily.

According to the reports released by FDA, employees’ working at the nursing homes and ALF’s failed to properly check the labels on the gas vessels. Additionally, employees were improperly trained for the posts they held. Due to this negligence by the nursing home director, many elderly people lost their lives over the period last five or seven years. Nursing home director is responsible for training and hiring individuals.

This type of nursing home malpractice or negligence responsible for the death of many elderly or disabled people admitted in an assisted living facility or nursing home to receive medical relief and attentive care is unacceptable in the present society.

Solution to Nursing Home Negligence

Although, there is no way to protect loved ones or to prepare oneself from the form of unexpected nursing home malpractice that might take place but it is possible to provide an individual with all the necessary knowledge that can decrease the risk of nursing home abuse. Primarily, seek out the advice of an experienced nursing home lawyer who can offer you with legal assistance and advice in a time when perplexing situations create situations in which decision-making becomes difficult.

Additionally, it is important for individuals to have complete knowledge of the Safety Medical Device Act that came into effect in 1996. The United States, federal Food and Drug Administration passed this act keeping in mind the hazards found in a nursing home or ALF when medical equipment or gas vessels are located through out the facility. This coupled with the walkers, crutches, wheel chairs and other tentatively dangerous equipments that can result into deadly situations. This act clearly states that nursing homes have to report the deaths and injuries caused medical devices and to follow the tracking needs of potentially dangerous medical devices. Families seeking care for their elderly people should ask for details of training of those responsible for taking care for their loved ones. Moreover, if in any case, nursing home abuse or malpractice occurs, do not hesitate to contact an experienced nursing home attorney who will help you in filing a nursing home lawsuit. Only after contacting a nursing home lawyer, you will get to know the exact information and the possible monetary compensation that you may get.