Assisted livng facilites provide an invaluable service to the families of individuals who may be too old or sick to take care of themselves. Not only are they convenient, but they also provide senior citizens with a safe space where their medical, social and other needs are taken care of by highly skilled health professionals. However, there’s been a worrying trend in nursing homes across the country as seen by the almost weekly news items that uncover neglect by nursing home staff, leading to serious injuries, health complications and even the deaths of loved ones that were entrusted to these facilities for care and specialized attention.
Are you looking for nursing home lawsuits attorneys to help with a probable claim? If you believe your loved one was unfairly treated by nursing home staff, causing them to suffer injuries or health complications, we can help. Please contact us TODAY at 1 (773) 825-3547 to speak with our best nursing home malpractice attorneys. The call is FREE, and there’s no obligation. We have a wide network of attorneys who will be more than capable of handling your claim as well as access to resources that you don’t have to pay out of pocket after discovering your loved one’s injuries. Call 1 (773) 825-3547 NOW to speak with a nursing home attorney to learn more about our personalized legal services.
Nursing Home Abuse – Choking May Be A Sign of Negligence
Unfortunately, choking is a leading cause of death in nursing homes across the country. Given the fact that some senior citizens are of advanced age, they may not be able to eat unmonitored, and therefore need help. This means that a nursing home attendant should assist the individual or help them eat in order to monitor the process should anything go wrong. In order to cut costs and boost efficiency at the cost of the elderly, some nursing homes across the country leave these individuals to their own devices, unmonitored, which makes it more likely that they will choke, and should this happen, nobody will be able to react in good time in order to save the lives of these senior citizens.
Choking and Nursing Home Neglect of High Risk Individuals
Choking is considered an accident. However, that does not exonerate nursing homes from responsibility or liability. This is because high risk patients are more likely to choke, making monitoring an activity that should be at the very least done on a daily basis until they are examined by a geriatric physician and cleared to be out of danger. In addition, assisted care facilities should follow a set standard of care to prevent choking in high risk individuals such as cutting up their food into small, manageable chunks, or pureeing the food so it can be drank, and not chewed. In some cases, having a feeding tube inserted into the individual’s throat and stomach can also help minimize and even eradicate choking.
Nursing Home Settlement – Do I Have a Case?
Nursing home abuse lawyers will tell you that in order to have a valid legal claim in these types of cases, there needs to be a resident-administration relationship which is usually a given once a senior citizen enters these facilities, a set standard of care which is usually mandatory and homogenous in every state, and the breaching of said standard of care, leading to the individual suffering compensable damages. Choking can be so dangerous that lack of oxygen to the brain can lead to brain damage, leaving a once vibrant citizen a hollow shell of their former self, needing even more, costly care from specialized centers that deal with such injuries. It therefore does not make sense for your family to suffer financially and emotionally for the negligence of nursing homes that you entrusted with your loved one without knowing about their history of negligence.
Nursing Home Lawsuit – Why You Absolutely Need a Lawyer
By working with a nursing home abuse attorney, you’ll be able to create a compelling case which includes an investigation into the practices of the senior care center which usually reveals many other instances of poor care (once you uncover one instance, chances are that this will reveal a history of negligence that other senior citizens have suffered), CCTV footage of your loved one’s room if available, showing the poor and inattentive care provided, as well as witness testimonies, medical reports and so much more.
Best Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers – Call Today!
If you believe that your loved one’s choking at a nursing home could have been prevented had workers taken the needed precautions, we’d love to hear from you. Simply call us at 1 (773) 825-3547 to learn more about how to go about seeking justice and compensation for your family member. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.