The employees of a nursing home have a very big responsibility and because the responsibility is so great, there are many staff members who help run the day to day operations. When a facility has so many employees handling medication, cooking food for residents, assisting with personal hygiene and medical needs, it isn’t too uncommon for a resident to become a victim of elder abuse.

Should a resident be given the wrong medication and then fall ill, an experienced nursing home attorney would be able to investigate the claim. But let us give you an example that may not be so clear if the nursing home is responsible. What if a resident who has been diagnosed with dementia leaves the facility and wanders away? Is the nursing home responsible? The resident acted on their own and the staff can’t be held liable since they can’t watch everyone, right?

A resident wandering away from a facility is far too common. And a nursing home abuse lawyer would investigate the claim and perhaps they discovered that they are lax in their security. Maybe the attorney finds that the facility has a high turnover rate and never explained the security protocol to new staff members? The point is that even if you feel that the nursing home may not be responsible for an injury, illness or incident, you should still contact a elder abuse lawyer.

When a nursing home is not responsible

The focus of this article speaks to the responsibility of the nursing home when an injury has occurred. We have given you an example as to how a facility may be responsible, but you may not know whether it is the fault of the nursing home or not. The following will explain how an injury may occur, but the facility and staff are not at fault. How can this be?

Beds that residents use are often motorized and have been known to malfunction and cause injuries. In this case it would be the manufacturer of the bed that would be responsible, not the facility. Recently, many residents of three nursing homes contracted salmonella due to unsanitary conditions. While at first glance, it may seem that the nursing home would be at fault, but in this case, as with many facilities, the food service is contracted by a local vendor.

In the examples given above, only an experienced nursing home abuse attorney would be able to uncover who was harmed and what did they lose? What pain did they experience and how much suffering did they endure. The investigation would pinpoint who was at fault and was it both a 3rd party vendor and the facility?

Once you sign up with us, you owe us nothing up front. In fact, if we don’t win your case, you won’t owe us a dime. If you suspect that your loved one is either being neglected, abused or both, call us right now. We are ready to take your call at anytime day or night. We want to be your lawyer.