Perfection not expected from nursing home staff, but due care is

Heart-rending emotions and exchanges are often on display when families in New Mexico and nationally discuss whether an older loved one should be moved to a nursing home for round-the-clock care.

Family members frequently anguish over that and can have conflicting emotions.

On the one hand, they recognize that such a change is singular, likely permanent and can entail stress for all involved.

On the other hand, though, and as we duly note at the proven Albuquerque personal injury law firm of Berenson & Associates, they often harbor hope that facility-provided attention will spell a strongly positive change. They note that “an aging or disabled relative could obviously benefit from the care that such facilities provide.”

Legions of individuals spanning the country are unquestionably happy and content with the care they receive at nursing homes.

Reams of collective and vetted evidence also underscores that many are not, though. We note on our website the “major betrayal” felt by families whose vulnerable loved ones “suffer due to neglect or abuse by those entrusted with their well-being.”

A recent article published in a national online media outlet stresses that nursing home neglect is driven by multiple and diverse catalysts. Here are a few representative facilitators:

·     Falls (very common and often preventable when staff fails to pay due attention to contributors like bad lighting, substandard carpeting and slippery/wet floors)

·     Staff inattention to a resident’s hygiene needs that are noticeable and can’t be personally attended to

·      Faulty hiring decisions (the above-cited article notes “employees with criminal histories, untrained employees and caretakers that don’t take much care in their job”)

·     Medical malpractice (e.g., misdiagnosis or medication error)

·     Improper supervision (especially regarding prominently vulnerable residents)

No reasonable person holds nursing home staff members and management principals to a standard of error-free perfection. It is certainly logical, though, that they be expected to care for those they serve with all due professionalism and in accordance with recognized standards of care.

When they don’t, a proven and empathetic legal team can step in to demand remedial action and help affected parties pursue maximum damages for any resulting harms suffered.