Who Is Liable In A Nursing Home Abuse Case?

Who Is Liable In A Nursing Home Abuse Case?

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Liability is a common question in all legal cases. Time and time again, numerous parties scramble to prove that they are not the ones at fault for whatever incident has occurred. However, the stakes are raised when the livelihood and well-being of a loved one such as an elderly family member are at risk. After so many cases of elder abuse neglect over the years in California, families are starting to push back by enlisting the help of California nursing home abuse attorneys. Joel Bryant is one of those lawyers, hoping to educate the public on cases of abuse in nursing homes and help those who are in need of legal aid.

California’s Nurse Shortage and its Consequences 

Working in a nursing home can be extremely challenging. There is a nationwide shortage of nurses and healthcare workers – meaning that those hoping to serve vulnerable populations in medicine have a rough go of it. Generally speaking, nursing homes make logistical changes to accommodate the lack of staff that they have. While they want as many residents as possible to increase revenue, nursing staff and elder residents alike may suffer the consequences.

One of the most commonly cited examples of why a nursing home staff may be driven to abuse one of the residents is overworking. Many healthcare facilities do not have enough nurses for the demand in their facilities leading to neglect on behalf of the nurses who are on duty. Furthermore, it may be the case that their frustrations and stresses are taken out on the residents themselves as they resent their workplace for the difficulties it brings them.

Other examples of how nursing home abuse may occur are lack of training, insufficient supervision, poor background checking or vetting in the hiring process, inability to care for patients with certain conditions, underpayment of nursing staff, and much more.

Determining Liability in Complex Cases

There are a few main types of abuse. While many people focus on the obvious such as physical or sexual abuse, financial, psychological/emotional, and self-inflicted abuse are also common forms of abuse and neglect in nursing homes. This is most often carried out by nursing home staff but may also occur by visitors, family members, or other residents in the elderly care facility.

All said and done, liability is determined based on the circumstances involved in the case. For example, it may be found that a nursing care staff and facility are not liable if a resident sexually abused another resident. In the case of a nurse stealing a resident’s credit card and using it for personal purchases, the fault is much clearer. In any case, the best path to determining liability in a nursing home abuse case is to contact an elder abuse attorney.

Joel Bryant Has Been Defending Residents for Decades

As clearly displayed, The question of liability in a nursing home abuse case is multifaceted. There are many different circumstances and factors that must be considered including the severity of the abuse if the case was ever reported to management by supervisors, and much more. 

However, no matter the case, you should always reach out to a California elder abuse attorney to help you in your endeavors. Cases are much more likely to be properly handled with the experience and help of one of these attorneys such as Joel Bryant.

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