Wrongful Death Cases in Nursing Homes

Nursing homes are a place where we expect our loved ones will be cared for by professionals. Unfortunately, all too often poor care in nursing homes can lead to premature death in the elderly.

If you believe nursing home negligence may have played a role in the death of your loved one, contact PKSD today. The dedicated nursing home abuse attorneys will investigate your claim and help you get the compensation your loved one deserves.

In many cases these deaths are not investigated properly to determine if a wrongful death has occurred. Because the elderly often have multiple pre-existing conditions, it may quickly be assumed that their death is attributed to one of those conditions.

In extreme cases, elder care facilities may attempt to deliberately cover up the cause of death if they believe negligence may have played a role.

Physician Assumptions

Many elderly patients suffer from a variety of life-threatening medical conditions. Often times, a physician may be quick to assume that a patients death was a result of a preexisting condition without performing a thorough investigation to be sure.

Knowing an accurate cause of death, however, is very important in determining if a nursing home should be held responsible for a patients death.

Fear of Litigation

A wrongful death is considered to be any situation in which a person dies because of the intentional acts or negligence and carelessness of another.

If a nursing home facility fears that negligence may have contributed to a patients death, they may attempt to cover it up or fail to perform a thorough investigation into the cause of death. This can be an attempt to avoid a civil lawsuit in which they may be forced to pay a large sum in damages.

How to Know if You Have a Wrongful Death Case

Most wrongful death cases against nursing homes are due to negligence in situations where the facility failed to give proper care, resulting in the death of the patient.

You may want to consider an investigation into the cause of your loved ones death if he or she suffered from one of the following conditions.

Infections, dehydration and malnourishment in nursing home residents can be symptoms of common illnesses, but they are also signs of nursing home neglect. Most of these conditions are preventable and can be avoided with proper care.

Medication errors are also common in nursing homes and can lead to the wrongful death of a patient. If your loved one died after a recent medication adjustment, a medication error could have played a role in his or her death.

Call 414-333-3333 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form.