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Entrusting a loved one to a nursing home means expecting more than a room and meals. The facility accepts responsibility for daily attention that is appropriate to the resident’s medical condition, mobility, cognitive abilities, and personal needs. The duty of care owed by nursing home facilities extends beyond responding to an injury. It also includes planning, supervision, communication, and adjustments to care as the resident’s condition changes.
A knowledgeable nursing home abuse attorney can review whether the facility followed the care plan and responded to known risks. Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., examines medical charts, staffing records, treatment orders, family communications, and facility reports to determine whether poor care contributed to the injury.
The Duty Begins with the Resident’s Needs
Daily required care is not identical for every resident. One person may need help transferring from bed to a wheelchair. Another may need frequent repositioning, help eating, memory-care supervision, or monitoring after a medication change. The facility should assess those needs and create a person-centered plan that staff members can follow.
Nursing homes have a duty of care to provide treatment that reflects each resident’s medical condition, treatment needs, and written care plan. Staff members must also follow accepted professional standards and adjust care when the resident’s condition changes.
The duty should change when the resident’s health changes. A new fall, infection, wound, weight loss, confusion, or decline in mobility should prompt further assessment. Repeating the same routine after the resident’s needs have changed can expose the person to preventable harm. A nursing home case can examine whether the staff recognized those changes and adjusted the plan.
When Care Falls Below the Required Standard
A breach occurs when the facility fails to provide the care the resident reasonably needs under the circumstances. The problem can involve one employee, but it may also reflect poor staffing, weak supervision, incomplete training, or a care plan that was never updated.
Examples of conduct that breach a nursing home’s duty of care include:
- Ignoring fall precautions
- Leaving call lights unanswered
- Failing to reposition a resident
- Missing medication doses
- Delaying treatment for an infection
- Using unsafe transfer methods
- Failing to monitor food or fluid intake
- Allowing known hazards to remain
- Not reporting a major change to the physician
A Philadelphia nursing home negligence claim requires more than showing that the resident was hurt. The evidence must connect the injury to a failure in care. For example, a fall can be related to an ignored transfer requirement, while a pressure injury may be related to missed repositioning or poor skin monitoring.
Evidence of a Breach of Nursing Home Care
Nursing home records can reveal what staff members knew and what they did. The care plan may require two-person assistance, yet daily notes show that one employee handled the transfer. Medication records can show missed doses. Wound charts can reveal that skin damage worsened for days before a physician was contacted.
Evaluating a nursing home’s duty of care requires comparing records rather than relying on one document. Useful evidence can include admission assessments, care plans, nurses’ notes, medication logs, staffing schedules, photographs, hospital records, and statements from visitors. Differences between those records can show whether the facility followed its own plan.
Families also provide useful information. Notes about unanswered calls, sudden changes, missing equipment, or repeated explanations from staff can help establish a timeline. Written concerns sent to the facility can also indicate that administrators knew about the problem before the injury worsened.
Did Your Loved One’s Nursing Home Fail to Meet Its Duty of Care? Contact Our Lawyers Today
The duty of care owed by nursing home facilities depends on the resident’s needs, known risks, and care plan. When the facility ignores those requirements, you can ask whether the injury was preventable and whether negligent parties should be held responsible.
Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., can review your records and determine if the care provided was below the required standard. If a loved one was harmed in a nursing home, contact the law firm today for a free consultation to determine whether a breach of the duty of care occurred.
