Nursing Home Negligence

If you have a loved-one in a nursing home, you want to know that they are being taken care of just as you would take care of them at home, if you had the means to do it. But in reality, we know this is not the case.

We see continuing cut-backs in the medical industry in efforts to off-set the increase in the rising costs of supplies and services and decreasing payments by insurance companies. This is reflected in less staffing, lacking supplies and cutting corners any way the medical provider is able to – regardless of the impact these actions will have on the patients. This can lead to many serious problems for patients in the nursing home.

Some of the most common problems that we see in nursing homes are patients developing pressure ulcers due to not being turned often enough or if they are incontinent, not having their brief changed often enough. If pressure ulcers are not recognized in the early stages, they can become a serious problem for the patient. If the area is not treated appropriately, the ulcer can become infected and this infection can lead to a more serious infection. There are numerous complications that can occur from a pressure ulcer that is not treated appropriately. Various standardized tools can be used by the nursing home to determine the patient’s risk for developing pressure ulcers and should be completed on all patients when they are admitted to their facility.

Another common problem in the nursing home is patient falls with injury. There are many interventions that can be used in an attempt to prevent a fall, but these interventions are not always implemented by the nursing home staff. Using the bed rails is one way of deterring the patient from rising without assistance. There are also bed alarms that are used to alert the staff when the patient changes from a lying to sitting position. Other interventions that are available are chair alarms, low beds and floor mats. These should be used on any patient that is a risk for falls. A facility should determine the patient’s risk for falls by using a fall risk assessment tool. There are many varieties of these tools available. The most common injuries resulting from nursing home falls are head injuries and hip and/or bone fractures.

Be sure you ask questions of the nursing home on these issues. It is your right to know. Our loved-one’s safety is our top priority. The nursing home should be open and honest with you regarding their protocols on preventing pressure ulcer and fall prevention measures.

The expert who prepared this article has over 18 years of professional experience including home health care, nursing home care and hospital acute care.  She earned her Bachelors of Nursing degree at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  She also completed training for legal nurse consulting at The Medical Legal Consulting Institute.

This expert has extensive experience with medical record review, regulatory guidelines including Joint Commission standards, policy and procedure analysis and development, nursing home compliance, and hospital compliance.  She is currently self-employed as a Legal Nurse Consultant providing her expertise to clients to assist them with achieving the answers they require and giving patients the answers they deserve.
To have this expert review your case, prepare a report/affidavit and be listed as one of your experts, please contact American Medical Experts at 888-678- EXPERTS.


This medical malpractice article was written by an expert witness working with American Medical Experts, LLC (AME). AME is the nation’s leading source of medical experts for case review and testimony; AME also offers the lowest flat rate fees on Complete Case Reviews ($695) and Expert Witness Reports ($995). For more information, call 888-678-EXPERTS (888-678-3973) or visit AmericanMedicalExperts.com.