If your loved one has been involved in a tripping accident caused by neglect in an assisted living facility, you may be wondering whether you can sue the facility. According to the Occupiers’ Liability Act, these assisted living facilities must provide a safe environment for their patients and residents. This entails removing hazards that can cause slipping and tripping incidents and properly maintaining their facilities.
Therefore, if they fail to implement these regulations, they may be held liable for a fall accident in a nursing home. If your loved one fell or sustained injuries from improper medical administration, malnutrition, improper equipment use, environmental hazards, and being dropped by caregivers, you can file a nursing home negligence claim.
Liability for assisted living facility Injuries
In the assisted living facility setting, not every fall can be prevented, and not every slipping or tripping incident can lead to a viable personal injury lawsuit. However, if the care facility or any of the staff acted negligently or failed to take reasonable steps to prevent an incident from occurring, they can be held liable. For instance, all medical facilities are legally obligated to properly assess the health and medical needs of every patient during intake. Moreover, they must create and adhere to an individualized care plan that will protect the health and safety of the patient.
Therefore, there may be a good case for liability if a resident gets injured if the medical personnel fail to create an adequate care plan for the patient based on his or her health condition and individual needs. Furthermore, if they fail to regularly assess and modify the resident’s care plan as well as provide care according to the care plan, then they may be found liable. In addition, if health professionals in the facilities use improper care techniques and fail to follow the facility’s protocol like not responding to call buttons and care alarms, they may be held accountable for any injuries resulting from their negligence.
Moreover, if the managers in the facility hire unqualified employees, provide insufficient training, and fail to remove environmental hazards such as wet floors and defective flooring within a unit or public areas, they may be labeled negligent. Understaffing the facility is also wrong as it hinders the patients from getting safe and adequate care.
Looking for signs of injuries
Since the residents or patients may not report their slipping and tripping incidents for various reasons, their loved ones should look for any injuries such as abrasions and bruises. In addition, the relatives or friends of the patient can also ask to see the residents’ charts from the care providers. Under federal law, any relative that is acting as a guardian to the patient has a legal right to see the charts and must be given if they ask.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if a patient is injured in an assisted living facility because of the staff’s negligence, then you should contact an attorney for legal guidance and advice. The attorney will fight for you or your loved one’s rights.
