Nursing Home Negligence
There comes a time in a person’s life, where they or their family members need to decide if a long-term facility, such as a nursing home, is the right move. One needs to be ensured that they will be taken care of in a nursing home and that no negligence will occur. Families worry about their loved ones just as much, and it is important for all that their mother, father, grandparents or any other relative is safe in a nursing home and does not fall victim to nursing home negligence. Although there are many fantastic nursing homes out there, there are many cases of nursing home negligence. In today’s era of aging baby boomers, nursing homes will only get busier, and thus more negligence cases may arise.
Nursing home negligence can be physical or emotionally caused. For example, in 2013, CTV news reported that an 85 year old woman was being mistreated in a nursing home in Peterborough Ontario. She was seen having a feces-covered rag waved in her face and also having her diaper changed with the door wide-open. There were also suspicious circumstances surrounding a black eye and bruises. Another example of nursing home negligence includes a growing concern regarding residents being given potentially lethal anti psychotic drugs, which can be used to help aggression and acting out. There are certain types of these drugs that can cause severe adverse reactions and many residents, who are not even prescribed these drugs, have been victim to this adverse reaction as they have been ingesting the drug. Other types of nursing home negligence include dropping residents, yelling at residents, neglecting residents and leaving residents unattended for hours upon hours, which can create bedsores. According to the Long-Term Care Homes Act, Nursing homes have a zero-tolerance policy for any time of negligence or abuse. Therefore, if negligence occurs, those people injured, should be compensated.
Nursing homes are expected to provide a safe environment for those living there, and many are! A nursing home should be a clean, happy and pleasant place where people can live without worry of negligence. However, if you are a resident of a nursing home, or you are a loved one of a nursing home resident, that has been victim to nursing home negligence, do not hesitate to contact our personal injury law firm to find out what your legal rights are.