Nursing homes take on an enormous responsibility when they accept a resident into their care. Of course, a Maryland nursing home is required to provide residents with a safe living environment, keeping residents free from the potential abuse of staff members and other residents. However, there is also an affirmative duty taken on by nursing homes to provide a certain level of care. When a nursing home fails to live up to this standard, the facility may be liable through a Maryland nursing home negligence lawsuit.
There are many different types of nursing home negligence. Nursing home residents are often unable to provide for their own basic needs, and rely on others to help them with routine daily tasks such as bathing, eating, and taking medication. In some cases, patients suffer bedsores after a neglectful nurse fails to check up on them as frequently as necessary. One area of care that is infrequently discussed is the level of medical care that a nursing home is required to provide.
Of course, nursing homes are not expected to function at the level of a hospital. However, nursing homes should employ properly credentialed staff who are educated on how to care for an at-risk population. Thus, certain failures are inexcusable. According to a local news report, a Veterans’ Administration (VA) nursing home was fined for providing the wrong medication to a resident. Evidently, the home was cited for providing the wrong medication as well as for administering medication in a manner that did not follow the physician’s instructions.
The exact nature of the error was not released; however, the nursing home will be issued a daily fine until it is in “substantial compliance” with regulations. This was not the first time that particular nursing home was under scrutiny. Evidently, back in 2008, a resident was beaten to death by another resident who repeatedly struck him with a cane. The nursing home was investigated and subsequently fined after authorities determined that the facility did not appropriately report the resident’s death as was required by law.
Holding a Nursing Home Accountable
Establishing liability in a Maryland nursing home negligence case requires that a plaintiff show that the nursing home employee or management violated a duty of care that was owed to a resident. Additionally, the plaintiff must prove that the nursing home’s breach of this duty was the cause of the resident’s injuries. This is called the causation requirement. Given that many Maryland nursing home residents already suffer from various ailments, establishing causation can be tricky and is best left to an experience Maryland nursing home attorney.
Is Your Loved One at Risk?
If you have a loved one in a Maryland nursing home, and you believe that they are not being provided the treatment that they need and deserve, contact the dedicated Maryland personal injury lawyers at the law firm of Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC. At Lebowitz & Mzhen, we represent nursing home residents and their families in all types of claims against negligent or abusive staff members and the management that oversees their actions. To learn more about how we can help you with your situation, call 410-654-3600 today.
More Blog Posts:
Maryland Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements Must Be Clear to Be Enforceable, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published February 8, 2019.
Important Arbitration Opinion May Impact the Rights of Maryland Nursing Home Residents and Their Families, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog, published January 22, 2019.