All nursing homes should set out with the goal of protecting patients and providing a high level of care. When mistakes take place or nursing home staff members are poorly trained or incompetent, negligence can lead to poor care and even injuries or death.
A wrongful death lawsuit was recently filed in West Virginia, where a nursing home is being accused of neglecting a patient, ultimately resulting in her death in 2011. The lawsuit asserts that the victim was treated with disregard, and that she suffered broken bones through falls and other incidents, according to a news report.
A news report states that the woman resided at the nursing home in Montgomery County from January 2011 until June of that year.
Her estate is now seeking punitive damages for what the lawsuit describes as “systemic abuse and neglect.”
This case is an example of the legal recourse available to families when nursing homes neglect or abuse patients. Nursing homes in West Virginia have a legal duty to provide a certain standard of care, and when they fail to do so patients are at a significant risk of suffering harm. In many cases, nursing home neglect is the result of nursing homes failing to properly screen and train employees. Nursing homes can be held liable and accountable for nursing home neglect, and victims of such neglect and their families may be entitled to compensation for injuries.
Victims of nursing home abuse or neglect and their families may be wise to seek legal counsel.
Source: The West Virginia Record, “Wrongful death suit filed against Montgomery General,” Glenna Herald, Aug. 26, 2013