When a loved one in New Mexico is hurt or dies while under the care of nursing home staff, this can be grounds for taking legal action. One man in another state recently passed away from choking while being taken care of in a nursing home. The man’s family has decided to file a nursing home neglect suit against the facility.
According to the suit, an 83-year-old man was a resident at a nursing home. After the man was served food, he ended up choking on it. He died in early December.
The man’s children said the facility staff did not appropriately care for the man, because they failed to cut his food up into tiny pieces. They also reportedly did not supervise the man while he was eating. In their suit, the plaintiffs are seeking over $50,000 in damages.
Nursing homes are expected to exercise a reasonable degree of care when working with their residents, who are elderly and, thus, are some of the most vulnerable members of the population in New Mexico and other states. When staff members fail to do this, they may be held accountable in civil court. A nursing home neglect suit may be filed against a nursing home whose carelessness has caused injuries to a patient or the death of a patient. Any monetary damages achieved from this type of suit, based upon a showing of negligence, may help to cover losses tied to the incident, including the loss of companionship. Awarded damages may also help to address emotional distress and pain suffering caused by the documented incident of nursing home neglect.
Source: cookcountyrecord.com, “Man’s choking death prompts neglect charge against Manor Care of Palos Heights“, Robert Hadley, Dec. 4, 2015
