The elderly shouldn’t have to fear the thought of living in a nursing home. When transitioning from independent living to assisted care, the seniors shouldn’t have to worry about neglectful workers failing to provide adequate care.
Unfortunately, abuse and neglect are commonplace for many nursing homes because managers do not monitor and manage their workers properly. In many facilities, there are not enough workers to handle the patient load, and many seniors become devastatingly ill. COVID-19 is among the leading causes of death for the elderly living in nursing homes where no safety protocols are followed to protect residents against the virus.
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A Failure to Perform a Duty
During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, all nursing homes and hospitals implemented safety measures to reduce the spread. All workers wore masks in the presence of all residents, and visits with the elderly were limited to video chats and discussions through closed window glass.
All staff members were tested daily for the virus to keep anyone who was exposed from infecting others. Due to failures to complete these tasks, many seniors in nursing facilities have succumbed to the virus. If you have a loved one who has died of COVID-19 in assisted living, contact The Fernandez Firm now for a consultation.
The Cold Hard Facts
As of October 2021, 1,800 seniors have died in nursing homes because of exposure to COVID-19. That is 1 in every 12 people who lost their lives due to the failures of the administrators to continue to protect residents from the virus. With some states lifting the mask mandates and going back to business as usual, many healthcare workers in the facilities aren’t following strict protocols and placing seniors at risk.
Accountability for Failures
By filing an abuse or neglect lawsuit, the family can hold the staff and administrators responsible for exposing their loved one to the virus. If the senior dies, the family may have a wrongful death case. The legal claim could give the senior loved one or their family financial compensation for pain and suffering, incurring medical treatments, mental trauma, permanent effects from the virus, or a decrease in their quality of life because of COVID-19.
Evidentiary Support for the Claim
To substantiate the liability, the litigant must show that the elderly person contracted COVID-19 from a worker, doctor, or nurse. They must have been infected with the virus while at the nursing home and not while they were away from the facility. The medical evidence must show that there was an outbreak among workers or other patients that was mismanaged causing the virus to spread to the victim identified in the claim.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare workers weren’t aware of the risks. All they knew was that it spread quickly and was fatal in a high percentage of cases. In nursing homes throughout the country, there were record high deaths among seniors. A year later, healthcare facilities must follow strict measures to prevent the spread of the virus and keep their residents safe.
A failure to follow standard protocols resulting in infection or death of seniors makes the administrators and workers liable. Families of elderly patients in a nursing home can file a lawsuit if their loved one contracted the virus or died because of its effects.
