Sometimes nursing homes in New Mexico fail to exercise a reasonable degree of care in regard to their residents. Unfortunately, the outcome may be fatal in these situations. One family recently said it was considering filing a nursing home neglect lawsuit against a nursing facility after the woman they had placed in the facility was found dead in a marsh.
The woman who died was 80 years old. According to a report released by the local department of health and environmental control, the nursing facility had an alarm system that was not working on the day that the woman wandered away from the facility. The family’s attorney asserted that the alarm system had not been working for a while when the incident occurred.
The woman’s body was discovered a couple of miles from the nursing home. It was found nearly 30 hours after the woman had been reported missing. The reason the woman was initially placed in the facility was that she tended to wander.
Nursing homes in the state of New Mexico have a duty to maintain proper supervision over all of their residents, who are naturally vulnerable to harm due to their medical conditions and/or ages. The loved ones of a family member who ends up dying while under the care of a negligent nursing home have the right to file a nursing home neglect lawsuit, seeking damages. Claims for damages will be adjudicated only if the court hearing the case determines that liability has been established to its satisfaction.
Source: abcnews4.com, “Family of woman found dead in marsh considers lawsuit against nursing home“, Lara Rolo, Aug. 1, 2016
