Nursing homes in New Mexico offer the benefit of caring for elderly people who have deteriorating mental and/or physical conditions. However, sometimes these individuals end up getting psychologically or physically harmed due to the negligence of nursing home workers. Nursing homes can be held liable for nursing home neglect leading to a resident’s injuries.
Several factors may contribute to the neglect or abuse of a nursing home resident. These include staff members who have a history of violence or staff who are inadequately trained. Other problems may include not having enough staff or inappropriately isolating residents. Residents are also sometimes reluctant to report abuse due to being fearful or embarrassed.
An injured resident may win a suit against a nursing home if he or she can prove that the nursing home breached its duty of care and that this caused the resident’s injury or death. The plaintiff might have to offer testimony from a medical expert about what is and is not proper practice. Other cases, such as if the nursing home facility was not properly maintained, may not require the testimony of an expert.
Nursing home neglect continues to be a serious problem in modern nursing care facilities in New Mexico and other parts of the United States. If elderly individuals are unfairly harmed at a nursing home, they have the right to file liability claims against the facility. Claims for financial damages will be decided by the court, but only if liability is established to its satisfaction.
Source: FindLaw, “Nursing Home Abuse Claims“, Accessed on July 13, 2015
