Knoxville Nursing Home Negligence Attorney
Nursing home negligence causes countless injuries each year in Knoxville. Despite heavy regulations from the federal and state governments, nursing homes can’t seem to improve their safety. Unsuspecting residents continue to be injured by facility hazards, improper supervision, and poor care.
At Atkins Brezina, PLLC, we have extensive experience documenting nursing home neglect, and we can assist family members when they report dangerous conditions to authorities. The key to obtaining justice for your loved one, however, is to bring a lawsuit for financial compensation against whoever is responsible for their suffering. Please contact our Knoxville nursing home negligence attorney today.
Types of Nursing Home Neglect
A well-run nursing home should be safe and provide competent medical care and staff oversight. Unfortunately, neglect crops up in many homes in a variety of ways:
- Hazardous premises. The facility itself could be dangerous. Loose tiles or cables crossing the floor could cause residents (and others) to slip or trip and fall. Bed rails could fall off and allow a resident to roll onto the floor. Improperly cooked food could poison a resident.
- Neglectful staff often lose track of residents, who can wander to a different part of the home or off the property. These residents then get injured.
- Malnutrition or dehydration. A neglectful nursing home can fail to properly feed or hydrate a resident, resulting in serious illness or injuries.
- Medication errors. Neglectful staff forget to give residents their medicine or give an incorrect dose, leading to injury.
- Pressure ulcers form when a resident stays in one position for too long. A neglectful home will fail to reposition residents regularly or treat bedsores as soon as they arise.
- Negligent hiring. A home should properly screen applicants for prior complaints or criminal convictions. When a nursing home cuts corners, they end up hiring dangerous staff.
- Negligent supervision of residents. Some residents are aggressive and might start fights or assault other residents.
If your loved one suffered a suspicious injury or feels unwell, investigate further. Ask staff if they can explain how your loved one was hurt and take any complaints to management.
What Causes Neglect?
Neglect is different from abuse. Whereas abuse is intentional harmful conduct, neglect stems from carelessness. However, neglect is just as serious as abuse even if the misconduct is not intentional.
Some common reasons for neglect include:
- Some nursing homes struggle to hire enough staff, and available staff members are stretched too thin. Some residents easily get overlooked.
- Improper training. Nursing homes fail to provide adequate training which results in suboptimal care.
- Financial distress. A facility in debt might refuse to hire staff to keep expenses low.
- Poor paperwork. Processes should be in place to properly track feeding, hydration, and medication dispensation. But incomplete or lost paperwork leads to mistakes.
- Staff substance abuse. Some staff members are struggling with addiction and therefore ignore their job responsibilities.
One reason nursing homes don’t improve their services is that they don’t have to. Tennessee is not as aggressive as it could be penalizing nursing homes or shutting the most dangerous homes down.
Contact a Knoxville Nursing Home Neglect Attorney Today
During a consultation, we can discuss whether a nursing home is liable for your loved one’s injuries and discuss financial compensation available in a lawsuit. Call Atkins Brezina, PLLC today to schedule a time to meet.
