Washington DC Nursing Home Choking Lawyer

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities retain an absolute duty to care for the wellbeing of their residents. While this certainly includes a duty to provide competent and skilled nursing care, this also extends an obligation to protect residents from accidental harm.

One way that nursing home residents are unnecessarily exposed to accidental harm is through choking. Many patients require direct aid for their daily meals and specialized diets intended to limit chocking hazards. Other retain a moderate level of independence in this area but staff should still provide supervision. A failure to meet these obligations that results in an injury could be the basis for a personal injury lawsuit.

A Washington DC nursing home choking lawyer may be able to help. An experienced attorney could work to gather evidence of the incident, to apply that evidence within the relevant laws, and to demand appropriate compensation for their clients’ losses.

The Legal Obligations of Nursing Homes

All nursing homes in Washington DC assume a duty to care for the wellbeing of their residents. This includes a duty to protect these residents from all foreseeable harm. One major foreseeable harm are injuries that may occur through an accident. Since residents of nursing homes are in an already frail condition and may need help with basic activities such as bathing or eating, nursing homes should be well aware of the potential hazards.

One major hazard involves choking on food. Nursing homes should provide appropriate diets to all their residents. In addition, staff should assist residents to cut food into appropriately sized pieces or even to help with actual feeding. Failures to provide this aid that result in an injury could be the basis for a personal injury claim against the nursing home.

These claims typically allege that the nursing home was negligent. A plaintiff cannot argue that the nursing home intended to cause them harm. Still, the law says that a nursing home must protect their residents from even accidental injury. This concept forms the core of a claim alleging negligence. All negligence claims must be in court no more than three years from the date of the injury. According to DC Code §12-301, a failure to meet this deadline could result in a court refusing to hear the case and a plaintiff being unable to collect compensation.

Long-Term Consequences and Liability

A choking incident that causes an individual to pass out can have serious long-term repercussions. The lack of oxygen could cause permanent brain damage that could affect a person’s vision, ability to reason, and even their general awareness of the world around them.

If these injuries were the result of a preventable incident, the nursing home may carry legal liability to compensate the resident. A Washington DC nursing home choking lawyer could help clients to examine the facts that led to the choking and to comprehend the effect that the choke had upon their health.

How a DC Nursing Home Choking Attorney Can Help

Injuries that result from choking are a leading source of incidents in Washington DC’s nursing homes. These facilities have a duty to protect their residents from not just undue deterioration in their health, but also to protect them from accidental harm. Failing to provide a proper diet or even not properly supervising eating time could indicate that the nursing home was negligent.

Negligent nursing homes have a legal obligation to provide compensation for any harm that results. This could include physical harms suffered in the moment, brain damage due to lack of oxygen, or even death. A Washington DC nursing home choking lawyer could help clients to evaluate the events that led to the incident and to pursue at-fault nursing homes for compensation. Contact an attorney today to learn more.