People are reaching advanced age at a rate never seen before in history. This is an excellent addition to the quality of life that many Americans can expect, although it requires new standards of care for many of our elder citizens.
Nursing homes and other residential care facilities make this responsibility easier for the family members and friends of those unable to attend to all of their own needs. They include security and round-the-clock fulfillment of medical needs, which is very attractive to Florida’s aging population.
The burden of care can lead some staff or facilities to become negligent in their duties and, although this is rare, nursing home abuse or neglect can have disastrous consequences. This is why the people close to nursing home residents must be careful in selecting and monitoring the home for their loved ones.
In the case of a tragic loss or injury due to negligence, family members of residents have the right to sue the people or facility responsible for substandard care. The family of a burn victim sued her former nursing home in Port St. Lucie, claiming their negligence cost the woman her life.
The 97-year-old woman was in good health until she was outside during a scalding heat wave. The experience made her fall while unattended and the heat continue to burn her skin and cause a fever complicated by an infection. The woman’s family believes the facility should have been accountable for her safety at the time.
An attorney can help the family of nursing home residents sort out the legal options after a tragedy. A lawsuit may be the last recourse to ending a dangerously low level of care.
Source: Palm Beach Post, “Family sues assisted living facility where mother suffered burns,” Susan Salisbury, Jan. 25, 2018
