Free Consultation
Free ConsultationIn addition to ensuring their residents get the medical care, mobility assistance, nutritional support, and social opportunities they need to live a healthy and high-quality life, nursing home staff must also make sure that all of that happens within sanitary and safe facilities. Unfortunately, not every care center is as diligent about disease prevention as it should be, and that kind of misconduct often has dire consequences for the vulnerable residents living under those subpar conditions.
Filing suit over injuries and losses caused by infections in Philadelphia nursing homes can be challenging for numerous reasons. It can be difficult to prove a nursing home is actually at fault for an infection instead of that illness just being an unfortunate accident. If you want a fair shot at getting financial recovery from this type of claim, you will need help from the experienced and dependable nursing home abuse attorneys at Lowenthal & Abrams.
Our legal team can do a thorough investigation to ensure your loved one’s rights are protected.
What Kinds of Infections Can Stem From Nursing Home Neglect?
By design, nursing homes and assisted living facilities place a large number of elderly people, many of whom have compromised immune systems, in close proximity to each other virtually all the time, which means these places are hotbeds for communicable diseases even under the best of circumstances. However, far from absolving nursing home staff members of any responsibility for illnesses among their residents, this unique vulnerability just makes it even more important for these facilities to have established procedures for cleaning and sanitizing their property. And workers must follow those procedures to the letter every single day.
Failure by nursing home staff or administrators to ensure that every reasonable measure is taken to prevent disease from spreading can lead to all kinds of infections that cause life-threatening harm to residents, including:
- Respiratory infections such as influenza, pneumonia, COVID-19, and the common cold
- Gastrointestinal infections, including food poisoning from E. coli or C. difficile bacteria
- Skin infections such as scabies, MRSA, staph, and bedsores
- Sexually transmitted diseases, in certain situations
- Urinary tract infections
- Sepsis
All of these infections can potentially serve as grounds for a civil lawsuit if they stem directly and primarily from negligent upkeep or poor management of a Philadelphia nursing facility.
Fair Compensation for the Effects of a Nursing Home Illness
If an infection is caught and properly treated quickly enough, it may be possible to avoid long-term harm even in someone as susceptible to disease as an elderly nursing home resident. However, it is still important to demand comprehensive compensation for the harm already caused by the infection, including:
- Medical expenses
- Physical pain
- Psychological trauma
- Lost enjoyment of life
In the event that the infection caused by negligent care in a Philadelphia nursing home directly causes a resident’s premature death, the personal representative for that resident’s estate can file suit for damages experienced by the resident’s surviving family members. They may also be able to receive compensation for expenses sustained by the estate, such as the costs of the funeral, burial, and administration services.
Knowledgeable legal counsel can handle this type of claim in the most proactive way possible and help ensure that your family’s unique needs are met.
Speak With a Philadelphia Attorney About Filing Suit Over a Nursing Home Infection
Infections and illnesses can be immensely harmful to anyone of any age, but they are especially hazardous for the elderly. If your loved one’s nursing home failed to take appropriate disease prevention measures, you may be able to demand substantial compensation from them on your loved one’s behalf or on your entire family’s behalf.
A seasoned nursing home neglect lawyer can help you understand and enforce your rights. The team at Lowenthal & Abrams has experience filing lawsuits over infections in Philadelphia nursing homes. Call today to discuss your claim.
