Nursing Home Negligence

A nursing home has a duty of care that must be maintained.

There are dozens of acts or failures to act that can lead to nursing home negligence, and unfortunately, these are common in aged care facilities. Negligence includes:

Physical mishandling of elderly patients

Careless handling by a staff member can cause a resident to bang into a wall or a piece of furniture, slip, fall, or otherwise sustain an injury. It’s important to note whether this is abuse, neglect, or purely accidental.

General neglect and lack of compassion for the elderly

Neglect of a resident concerning their personal and medical needs can include ignoring that they need help toileting or bathing, allowing them to stay unwashed or in dirty clothes, or not adhering to medication schedules for pain relief or other symptoms.

Medical dosage errors

This can include negligence in the type of medication given to the resident, the dosage or number of medications given, the method of medication administration, the timing of medication administration, and failure to properly document all medications and administration processes.

Surgical and aftercare errors

A surgical error can cause infection, sepsis, amputation, disability, or even death. Surgical aftercare is often provided in the nursing home and is a point at which elderly patients are particularly vulnerable. Medical negligence is often seen in nursing home situations.

Failure to adequately treat infections

Untreated, even the most minor infections can swiftly escalate into life-threatening illnesses. Medical neglect such as failing to treat an infection (such as a UTI or an ear infection) can lead to extreme illness and even death.

Failure to provide diagnoses and referrals

Residents can be put at serious risk due to any failure to accurately diagnose life-threatening illnesses and provide timely referrals to appropriate medical specialists.

Failure to provide adequate hygienic supervision

Many residents require supervision and help regarding bedding, personal care, showering and general hygiene. Failure on the part of the nursing home staff to provide oversight and assistance is a failure to discharge the duty of care.

Failing to detect malnutrition

Deliberate malnutrition of a resident is abuse, not neglect. However, if malnutrition isn’t deliberate, but goes unnoticed, a claim for negligence can be made.

Other negligence claims may arise from the nursing home, nursing facility, assisted living facility, or aged care facility-related issues, such as failing to ensure that adequate health and safety audits are undertaken.

Additional scenarios include neglecting to ensure that appropriate building actions are completed to reduce the risk of unsafe walkways, trip hazards, stairs and bathrooms that could cause injury to elderly patients.