NEW ORLEANS, LA —Nursing home neglect and abuse is in the news again, with the preventable death of an elderly man in Annandale, Minnesota. In an unimaginable instance of neglect and incompetence, the nursing home had “no system, policies, or procedures in place” to ensure that patients received their medication as prescribed.
Louisiana routinely fares much worse than Minnesota in nursing home evaluations, with patient-advocacy group Families For Better Care ranking Louisiana an “F” on an A-F scale in its most recent survey. States are rated in categories such as licensed nurse-patient ratios, health inspection results, and number of ‘severe deficiency’ citations from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Data is drawn from CMS, and a ranking is assigned based on comparisons with other states. Another group, Medicare Advocacy, states that staffing deficiencies are a leading cause of patient neglect and harm. In a recent years, Louisiana nursing homes have received multiple deficiency citations, including “jeopardy-level” staffing deficiencies.
If your loved one has suffered neglect or harm in a nursing home facility, he or she may be able to recover damages. In any case of medical malpractice, a plaintiff can only win if it is proven that a doctor, or facility, failed to meet the medical standard of care, or in other words, if the doctor or facility failed to provide “the type and level of care an ordinary, prudent, health care professional, with the same training and experience, would provide under similar circumstances in the same community.”
Nursing homes have very specific standards that they must maintain. Facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid must follow strict federal regulations, and are subject to inspections by federal monitors. All nursing homes must be licensed. When selecting a nursing home for your loved one, be sure to check the results of each facility’s most recent inspections. Should you believe that your loved one has been harmed by the neglect or failure of a doctor, or nursing home staff member, an experienced attorney can determined whether or not the harm to your family member was due to the facility’s failure to meet the medical standard of care. If so, you may be able to recover damages in a medical malpractice case.
Often times, our elderly cannot speak up and advocate for themselves. It’s essential that we ensure that our elderly, if they must be in a nursing home, are in a facility that takes its responsibilities seriously, and meets all state and federal requirements. It is equally important that we help our elderly loved ones to find justice if they have been injured due to the neglect, incompetence, or abuse of a nursing home facility or its staff. Should you feel you or your loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, call The de Boisblanc Law Firm today, and speak to an attorney who will fight for the justice you deserve.