Maryland Nursing Home Dropped Patients Lawyer
Many nursing home residents cannot traverse the facility on their own. In these cases, it is up to the facility’s staff to provide them with safe transportation in the form of a wheelchair.
During the daily wheelchair transfer process—from bed to wheelchair and vice versa—falling is always a risk. However, it is up to staff to avoid them and prevent residents from suffering injury.
If your loved one has been injured in such a fall, contact a Maryland nursing home dropped patients lawyer as soon as possible. All nursing homes should have procedures and rules that guide nurses through patient transfers to minimize falls. Despite this requirement, these procedures are sometimes ignored or forgotten, which leads to poor judgment and accidents that cause injury.
If your loved one’s fall was due to such negligence, they may be able to receive compensation with help from a nursing home abuse attorney.
Maryland Nursing Home Standards
Maryland nursing homes are licensed by the state’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which requires them to meet the standards of the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR). These standards are presented under the authority of the Code of Maryland General Health Article §19-343 and provide each resident with basic human rights, such as:
- Reasonable accommodations of needs and preferences
- Treatment, care, and services that promote a healthy life
- Freedom from interference and abuse
- Consent to refuse treatment
In the case of falls, an experienced attorney might be able to find that the nursing home staff were not providing the treatment, care, and services necessary to prevent injuries like falls. From here, they must determine how to prove this in court.
Determining Nursing Home Negligence
After hiring a Maryland nursing home dropped patients attorney, the plaintiff must determine the specific negligence that caused their loved one to fall.
For example, they must ask questions like:
- Does the facility’s care plan clearly lay out a procedure for patient transfer?
- Did the injured resident have their own comprehensive care plan?
- Did the injured resident receive adequate medical care for their injury?
In some cases, falls lead to injuries that are subsequently not treated properly. In situations like this, the attorney may also consider charges of medical malpractice in addition to those filed for failing to provide an adequate standard of care. As per Maryland Courts & Judicial Proceedings Code §5-109, medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed in the five-year period following the date of the injury or three years from the date the injury was discovered.
Fighting for Compensation
If an attorney can prove to the court that the resident’s fall was the result of nursing home neglect, they may be able to earn the plaintiff compensation. The exact value of this compensation varies by case, but the more severe the injury, the more compensation can be recovered.
Compensation can be awarded for:
- Past, present, or prospective medical treatment
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional pain
- Financial losses
In many cases, Maryland nursing home lawyers can reach a settlement through negotiations with the defendant’s attorney or insurance company. However, sometimes the case must go to trail, and it is in these situations when legal guidance is most crucial.
Talk to a Maryland Nursing Home Dropped Patients Attorney Today
Given the delicate nature of people in their later years, nursing home falls can cause severe injuries that lead to costly medical treatment. All of these costs are in addition to the mental and physical pain that they create. If your loved one was injured in such an accident, contact a Maryland nursing home dropped patients lawyer today. With the right investigation and vehement legal guidance, your loved one may be able to receive compensation.
