When a nursing home breaks your trust and neglects your loved one, it’s important to hold the facility accountable. To do so, families need to learn how to prove nursing home negligence in Texas.
Victims’ families can do a lot to help their attorney prove fault in a Texas nursing home negligence lawsuit. When you see visible signs of neglect, take photos. Report the abuse and get your loved one the medical attention they need. Next, remove them from the negligent facility. Once you hire an attorney, they will use all of this evidence to prove a nursing home’s negligence. Your lawyer will also prove fault by showing that a facility owed a victim a duty of care and breached it, causing damages to your loved one.
For a free case evaluation with our Arlington personal injury lawyers at The Queenan Law Firm, call us today at (817) 476-1797.
How to Help Prove Your Texas Nursing Home Negligence Claim
Compiling evidence in a nursing home negligence case can be difficult. When seniors are under a nursing home’s care, they may not see their families regularly, making it harder for their loved ones to recognize signs of abuse. This can complicate things when it comes time to prove a nursing home negligence lawsuit in Texas. However, there are things families can do to help their loved ones and support their claim against a negligent nursing home.
Take Photos of Injuries from Nursing Home Abuse
If there are visible signs of nursing home neglect, take photos. Families can photograph visible bruises or bedsores that have been caused by nursing home neglect. If a resident’s room is in disarray or unclean, photograph that as well. Take pictures of any visible indicators pointing to a nursing home’s negligence. This can go a long way in helping your Houston personal injury lawyer prove a facility’s negligent actions.
Report Nursing Home Abuse to the Authorities
Because it can be difficult for some seniors, especially those living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, to report neglect themselves, that responsibility may fall to a resident’s family. If the situation escalates to an immediate emergency, call Texas police and other emergency personnel. Otherwise, file a formal report with your loved one’s nursing home, informing it of your concerns.
Families can also reach out to the facility’s ombudsman, the representative of residents’ interests. To further document your complaint, you can also file a report with your state’s Adult Protective Services agency. Having multiple reports on the record can greatly support your future claim against a negligent nursing home.
Seek Medical Attention for Your Loved One
If a nursing home’s negligence has caused your loved one’s medical conditions to worsen, take them to a doctor. Nursing home neglect can take many forms, a notable one being the failure to administer residents’ prescribed medication. This can cause seniors to develop otherwise avoidable medical complications.
Other forms of nursing home negligence, such as failure to provide adequate food and water or give mobility-impaired residents walking devices, can lead to declining health and serious injuries. If a senior in your life has informed you of neglect, take them to a doctor immediately. These medical records can be invaluable during a Texas nursing home negligence lawsuit.
Change Nursing Home Facilities
Suppose you and your loved one have reported nursing home negligence to multiple agencies and intend to file a lawsuit against a facility. In that case, it is important to remove the victim from their current nursing home. The primary reason for this is to protect your loved one from negligent care. Additionally, it can hurt your claim if your loved one remains at a negligent facility. Families can work with our Dallas personal injury lawyers to find a suitable facility that provides their loved ones with the care they deserve.
What’s Needed to Prove Nursing Home Negligence in Texas?
Once you and your Texas attorney compile the right evidence, they will begin to build a case. Our lawyers’ goal is to prove a nursing home’s negligence so that your family can recover compensatory damages and your loved one can begin to heal. To do that, your attorney must prove three things during a Texas nursing home negligence lawsuit.
The Nursing Home’s Duty of Care
To recover compensatory damages for the wrongs done to your loved one, a Texas nursing home negligence lawyer needs to prove three things. The following aspects are vital in any nursing home negligence lawsuit:
- The nursing home owed your loved one a duty of care
- The nursing home breached the owed duty of care
- The breach in duty of care caused damage to your loved one
The first element, the nursing home’s duty of care, is the legal obligation of care and safety owed to your loved one. Without this duty, there can be no case. We may need records from when your loved one was admitted into the nursing home that show how the home knew of your loved one’s medical conditions and had taken responsibility for caring for them.
In Texas, nursing homes must provide a safe environment for residents. There is a standard of care that staff and administration must uphold so that residents have a suitable quality of life.
The Nursing Home’s Violation of Its Duty of Care
If nursing home staff or administration acts negligently and endangers a resident or damages their health, they have breached the owed duty of care. Compiling evidence of this breach is crucial, so it is important to document nursing home negligence and believe a senior in your life when they confide in you.
The breach of duty may differ in each case, and it is not always something that constitutes criminal behavior. Forgetting to provide medicine, withholding food, dismissing legitimate concerns from your loved one, and other acts of negligence may constitute a breach of duty.
Proving Damages from Nursing Home Abuse
After proving that the duty of care exists and that a nursing home breached it, our Fort Worth personal injury lawyers will show that your loved one sustained real damages.
These damages can be economic or non-economic. For example, if a nursing home’s negligence caused your loved one physical injuries, they can recover compensatory damages for medical bills and other expenses. If a nursing home’s negligence reduces your loved one’s quality of life, they can recover non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
How the Authorities Can Help Prove Nursing Home Negligence in Texas
You do not have to prove the nursing home’s abuse on your own. The authorities and your attorney can help you investigate for evidence.
Law Enforcement
When you first notice signs of abuse or neglect in your loved one, you should take them to a doctor and contact the local police. Describe to the police the signs of abuse you have noticed and provide any other evidence or information you might have. The police may use this information to launch a criminal investigation.
In many cases, nursing home staff and administrators are arrested and criminally charged after a thorough police investigation. On top of that, other victims might be identified and helped because of your quick action.
Texas Department of Health and Human Services
Certain state agencies should also be contacted about your abuse suspicions. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services oversees long-term care facilities within the state, including nursing homes. As such, this agency will be very interested in any serious complaints or allegations of abuse.
The Department may launch its own investigation into the nursing home. While the Department does not have the authority to arrest or assess criminal charges, it can force the nursing home to address the abuse and terminate abusive employees.
State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
We can also contact the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. These people act as advocates for the rights of nursing home residents across Texas, and their job is to protect the quality of life of those living in nursing homes.
Abuse allegations are taken very seriously by the Long-Term Care Ombudsmen, and they may be able to provide you and your loved one with resources to take action against the nursing home and protect your rights.
FAQs About Suing for Nursing Home Negligence in Texas
What Does Nursing Home Negligence Look Like?
Nursing home negligence may include physical, psychological, and verbal abuse in many cases. Victims often suffer assaults and physical abuse while also suffering emotional distress and turmoil inflicted by abusers. Remember, each case is unique, and the abuse your loved one experiences and the signs you should look out for will depend on your loved one’s specific situation.
What Evidence Should I Have to Prove Nursing Home Negligence?
Evidence to prove that a nursing home is responsible for abuse may include medical records from when your loved one was treated for their injuries. These records may be especially crucial if doctors find signs of old injuries that occurred while your loved one was in the nursing home. Witness testimony, security camera footage, and nursing home business records may also be used as evidence.
How Do I Gather Evidence in a Lawsuit for Nursing Home Negligence?
Gathering evidence can be tricky, especially when evidence is in the hands of a nursing home where you might not be able to get it. Your attorney can help you get copies of your loved one’s medical records and interview possible witnesses. Evidence in the hands of the nursing home may be obtained through the discovery phase of your civil case.
Who is Responsible for Nursing Home Negligence?
Responsibility for nursing home negligence often falls to two parties. First, we may sue the nursing home employees directly responsible for the neglect, including medical professionals and caregivers who failed in their duties. Next, we can sue the nursing home for allowing the neglect or failing to prevent it.
What Happens to My Lawsuit if the Nursing Home is Criminally Charged for Negligence?
If people within the nursing home, including employees and administrators, are criminally charged, your civil lawsuit may proceed as normal. The outcome of a criminal trial does not affect your ability to file a civil lawsuit. However, your civil claims will likely be put on hold while criminal proceedings are pending. If the defendants are found guilty, we may use this as evidence to support your civil case.
What if a Victim of Nursing Home Negligence Cannot File a Lawsuit on Their Own?
If your loved one is unable to report the abuse on their own or cannot take legal action independently due to memory or cognitive issues, you may step in and file the case on their behalf. An attorney may help you become appointed as a guardian for your loved one for the purpose of filing the lawsuit.
Call Our Texas Attorneys if Your Loved One is a Nursing Home Negligence Victim
Nursing home negligence can be incredibly damaging for seniors and their families. For a free case evaluation with the Irving personal injury lawyers at The Queenan Law Firm, call us today at (817) 476-1797.