A former nurse is on trial for her role in the death of a 77-year-old nursing home resident that occurred last December. According to a story by WCPO Cincinnati, a witness who was at the nursing home visiting her mother witnessed the abuse that led to the patient’s death.
Apparently, during the woman’s visit with her mother, she witnessed the nurse “yelling at the patient, physically trying to move her from the walker in a pretty violent matter.” Later, the patient lost consciousness in the bathroom, and within 15 minutes she was dead.
About one week later, once allegations of wrongdoing came to light, the nurse was fired by the nursing home facility. In a public statement, the nursing home explained that, “[t]he facility is fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation and will continue to remain committed to providing quality care to the residents on a daily basis.”
The nurse will go to trial later this year and is facing a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Nursing Home Abuse Is Rampant Across Maryland and the United States
In Maryland and across the U.S., nursing home abuse is more common than many would like to believe. The reasons for the high incidence of nursing home abuse are several. Some suggest that nursing home management is constantly under pressure to provide as few staff members as possible in order to keep profits high. In response, however, those nurses that are present on any given day have massive workloads that result in patients not being given the individual attention they deserve. And, in some cases, like the case described above, nurses lose their temper and begin to abuse residents.
However, nursing homes and the nurses employed there are under a duty to provide responsible care to all residents. After all, they are being compensated to provide care. So when an individual nurse or nursing home management’s negligent or abusive conduct results in the injury or death of a resident, the resident’s family has a right to recover for the early loss of their loved one.
Recovering in a Maryland Nursing Home Abuse Situation
If you believe that your loved one is currently being abused by nursing home staff, the most important thing to do is to get them out of the nursing home as soon as possible. Once your loved one is safe, you should speak to an experienced Maryland nursing home abuse attorney as soon as possible. It may be that you or your loved one can recover a monetary award based on the nursing home’s abuse or violation of their duty to provide adequate care. To learn more about how to bring a lawsuit against a Maryland nursing home, click here or call 410-654-3600 today to schedule a free initial consultation.
See More Blog Posts:
Ohio Nursing Home Sued for Providing Inadequate Care, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published February 3, 2014.
Central Texas Nursing Home Faces Wrongful Death Suit for Allegedly Providing Negligent Care, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published January 27, 2014.