Fatal Nursing Home Injuries

Massachusetts Nursing Home Wrongful Death Attorneys

Whenever we place a loved one in a nursing home, we’re trusting that the facility will take good care of our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. Some nursing homes have nice websites, take you on nice tours, and talk about all the activities and attention that your loved ones will have. Then, once you walk out the door, everything changes. The elderly in these facilities are often neglected and untreated. This can cause a variety of problems for them. But, nothing is worse than if our loved ones pass away due to the negligence of a nursing home. These fatal nursing home injuries can change the trajectory of an entire family.

Nursing Home Falls

Each year, about 1 in 4 adults aged 65 and older falls. For many, the injuries are minor bumps and bruises. For about 25% of these falls, the consequences can be very severe, causing broken bones and head injuries. Unfortunately, falls cause many deaths throughout Massachusetts. This is especially true in Nursing Homes, which account for approximately 18% of all elder falls that result in death.

This is why nursing homes must be proactive in preventing falls. This includes screening all nursing home residents to evaluate what risks they have for a fall. This can include physical limitations such as needing to use a wheelchair or walker, mental limitations such as moderate or severe cognitive impairment, as well as side effects from medications. While a nursing home cannot prevent every fall, it must take reasonable steps to curb preventable falls.

Nursing Home Neglect

Our loved ones go into nursing homes because we don’t have the resources to care for them ourselves. Nursing Homes are paid exorbitant amounts not only to house the elderly and infirm, but also to take care of them. While nursing home staff are not doctors, they’re trained medical professionals that know how to take care of nursing home residents.

Neglect comes in many shapes and sizes. It can be as simple as not maintaining proper hygiene. It can also be as serious as failing to make sure that a resident is moved to prevent bed sores. No matter how the neglect happens, it’s a slippery slope that makes neglect take a turn.

Nursing home residents are often frail. Simple problems that younger and healthier people would be able to overcome can be fatal for many nursing home residents. This is especially true of neglect. When the elderly aren’t cleaned, bathed, or taken care of, their health spirals. Whatever mobility they used to have is sapped, and they’re unable to fight off even minor infections. What some consider “minor” neglect can snowball in a nursing home.

Experienced Wrongful Death Attorneys

At Marcotte Law Firm, we have decades of experience representing families whose loved one have passed away due to the negligence of someone else. We understand how important it is for a nursing home to be vigilant in its care for the elderly. Our parents and grandparents deserve better than being neglected in a nursing home. They shouldn’t feel helpless and should be treated with dignity.

If your loved one passed away because of a nursing home’s negligence or neglect, call the Wrongful Death Lawyersat Marcotte Law Firm for a free, no obligation consultation.