When a parent goes to live in a nursing home, it can be easy to second-guess oneself with questions about the care she is receiving and what role you should play in monitoring her well-being and taking action regarding the administration of the nursing home if need be. Taking care of the elderly is not an easy job, and nursing home workers experience many challenges, but the companies and owners who operate nursing homes by law are required to provide safe facilities and services, and many unfortunately take shortcuts to increase profits at seniors’ expense. This often presents a dilemma for adult children of seniors in how to proceed. Take the example of a mother falling in her nursing home: is this just a fact of life for seniors, or is it time to contact an attorney?
Getting to the Bottom of Why the Fall Occurred
Of course, not every fall by a senior in a nursing home is going to be the result of an illegal action thus leading to a potential suit. Certainly, for any senior who is ambulatory, there is the risk of a fall occurring.
For purposes of the law, the question becomes why the fall occurred. If your mother fell because she slipped on an oily floor surface that nursing home staff had failed to clean for hours or end, there may be a strong of a premise liability suit along with questions about the staff’s neglect of their residents. If the fall occurred because the elder was improperly placed in a bed, wheelchair, or other device, this can raise questions of liability as well. Furthermore, if the fall occurred because the senior was suffering the effects of ailments brought on by forms of abuse by caregivers (i.e. overprescription of drugs, inadequate medical care, bedsores due to neglect), this can also point to liability.
How an Elder Abuse Attorney Can Help
As the adult child of the nursing home resident, your visibility into what occurred may be limited, as your parent, caregivers, and others might give conflicting stories about what occurred. Caregivers and administrators, keen to limit their liability, may also give you an unclear picture of what the applicable rules, regulations, and legal standards are for addressing issues like questions surrounding a fall.
If you do have reason to suspect that a parent’s fall or other issues in a nursing home might be due to elder abuse or other legal inadequacies, speaking with an elder abuse attorney who deals with these types of matters regularly can give you some much-needed perspective on whether there is cause for concern, and what options you might have in pursuing legal action to protect your parent.
Contact the CA Elder Abuse Attorneys at Johnson Moore Today
At Johnson Moore, we have dedicated our practice to defending the elderly from abuse. We know full well that elder abuse victims and their families often face stonewalling, denial, and even intimidation when they try to take action against elder abuse. We will listen to your concerns and assess what steps we can take on your behalf. Contact Johnson Moore today to schedule a free consultation on your potential California elder abuse claim.
