An Alabama nursing home is facing a wrongful death lawsuit following a fire drill gone tragically wrong.
While the circumstances surrounding the accident remain unclear, the victim in this case, a 93 year old woman, was confined to a wheelchair. During what seems to have been a routine fire drill, an employee of the nursing home rolled the woman outside, and apparently left her unattended, or otherwise unsecured. The woman’s wheelchair then rolled down the hill, and threw her into a ditch, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the woman’s estate, alleges that the woman was found lying facedown in water, and was then taken to a hospital where she died three days later. The cause of death was aspiration pneumonia.
The lawsuit claims that the nursing home employees acted negligently in placing the woman in a hazardous area and failing to protect her from harm. It seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
In many cases, such as by the facts alleged here, an accident is not just an accident. Unfortunately, someone else’s carelessness or negligence can lead to accidents, and people lose their lives. The term negligence implies that someone acted in a manner which is inconsistent with what the average person in a similar situation might do. For example, in medical malpractice suits, the standard for determining negligence is what a practitioner with similar training, in the same geographic location, would do in treating a patient with the same medical condition.
In wrongful death cases, the death of the victim does not necessarily prevent the responsible party from being held accountable for his or her actions. The family members of the deceased accident victim may still be able to hold a negligent party responsible for the death of their family member by bringing a wrongful death lawsuit. In some cases, family members may also bring a separate claim on behalf of the deceased person’s estate, called a survival action.
If you believe that your loved one or an elderly friend in the Maryland or the Washington D.C. areas has suffered injury or death as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact the knowledgeable nursing home negligence and abuse attorneys at Lebowitz & Mzhen right away. Our attorneys can evaluate your case and help assess whether your loved one or friend may have a cause of action against the nursing home, and we can advise you regarding what to do next. Our firm has many years of experience representing people from across Maryland in securing compensation for injuries, and in some cases wrongful death, caused as a result of nursing home neglect or abuse. Contact our office today at (800) 654-1949 in order to set up your free and confidential initial consultation. You can also contact us online through our website.
More Blog Posts:
Department of Health Substantiates Claims of Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published May 6, 2013
Oklahoma Considers Hidden Camera Law to Protect Nursing Home Residents, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published April 26, 2013