When someone has a loved one in a nursing home, they expect that loved one to be cared for. Unfortunately, there are more than enough cases of nursing home employees abusing one or many of the residents. When this occurs, it is important to contact a dedicated injury attorney so they can work on establishing liability in Palm Beach Gardens nursing home abuse cases. If one of your loved ones has been taken advantage of, make sure they get the proper representation they need.
Liability in Nursing Home Abuse Cases
Liability in a nursing home abuse case requires three things. The nursing home must have done something wrong and what they did wrong caused injury. The elements are bad conduct, and injury, and evidence that the injury was caused by the bad conduct. Evidence used to determine liability in nursing home abuse cases includes the nursing home records, medical records, the staffing records from the facility, and other documents of that nature.
The responsibility of care in a retirement home is to do everything reasonable to maintain the highest physical and mental well-being of the resident. The duty to ensure the physical and mental well-being of the resident is breached whenever the nursing home does anything that is a detriment to the resident’s mental or physical well-being. It can be a broad group of things that can do that, but all of them can be summarized as a lack of appropriate care.
Nursing Home and Hospital Differences in Duty of Care
The duty of care in a nursing home is different than that in a hospital. In a hospital, they have an obligation to use reasonable care; in a nursing home, residents have specific rights that are set out in Florida Statute 400.022, including the right to receive adequate and appropriate health care and support services. In a nursing home, the legislature sets out specific obligations, duties, and responsibilities that the nursing home has to the patients as opposed to just a general concept that might apply to a hospital. Among those specific obligations that a nursing home has to the resident is to make sure that they get adequate and appropriate health care and that they are free from abuse and neglect.
Responsible Parties in a Nursing Home Abuse Case
The possible responsible parties in a nursing home abuse case can be the company that licenses the nursing home that holds the license from the state. Often, they have management companies that are responsible for the day-to-day operations as well as direct caregivers; that is, the nurses and the certified nursing assistants can be defendants in these cases as well. The responsible party in these cases are being held liable for their bad conduct and the harm that was caused by the bad conduct.
When a lawyer establishes liability in a Palm Beach Gardens nursing home abuse case, an individual can recover medical bills for medical care that was caused by the wrongful conduct. The resident can also recover damages for their pain and suffering. If the conduct was so harmful that it killed the resident, the resident’s spouse and/or children can recover for their pain and suffering as a result of the death.
Contact a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Today
Chapter 400 of the Florida Statutes includes the specific statutes or laws in Florida that provide protection for nursing home residents in Palm Beach Gardens and throughout Florida. The same is true for the cases against assisted living facilities.
The best way to help someone who has been abused is to hire a lawyer who has a history of establishing liability in Palm Beach Gardens nursing home abuse cases. The sooner that a person who has experienced nursing home abuse can get a lawyer involved, the better off they are. A lawyer could get evidence while it is fresh and could interview people before they move on to other jobs.