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Proving negligence after a nursing home injury: Part I

Posted in Nursing Home Neglect on Tuesday, November 25, 2014.

With Thanksgiving coming up later this week, many of us are thinking about family. We are grateful for family members who are still with us, even if we can’t see them as often as we’d like. Many Americans are also thinking about their elderly parents or grandparents who, due to failing physical or cognitive health, need to be in a nursing home.

The majority of nursing homes in the United States offer competent and compassionate care. Unfortunately, residents in some facilities are injured by nursing home neglect or intentional abuse. If you or a family member were injured by such abuse/neglect, there are legal options. In today’s post, we’ll discuss what is needed to prove nursing home negligence.

Nursing home residents can be injured in a number of ways that often point to nursing home negligence. Perhaps the facility did not properly vet its employees to make sure they weren’t dangerous. Perhaps the nursing staff is inadequately trained or supervised. Perhaps there are simply too few staff members to handle daily operations. Perhaps the property itself is unsafe.

In order to hold a nursing home liable for negligence, you need to prove three things. These include:

  1. The defendant(s) breached a duty of care to you or your loved one
  2. The injuries suffered were caused by the breach
  3. The conduct of the defendant(s) caused the injury

In most cases, “defendants” will refer to the nursing home’s owner and/or one or more employees.

Please check back next week as we continue our discussion. We will explain more about the three allegations listed above. We’ll also discuss some common arguments nursing homes might use to defend themselves in court.