When an elderly patient suffers a fall, response time for treatment may be crucial. In some cases involving nursing home residents, it may be difficult to determine the extent of an injury. Patients of facilities in New Mexico who suffer from an illness such as dementia may be unable to express any present discomfort, and often require thorough examination when injured. A facility in another state is accused of nursing home neglect, resulting in the death of an elderly man.
He was admitted to the facility for temporary care and placed in a special care unit. His family notified the establishment that he suffered from dementia, and was prone to roaming at night. The facility advised the family that staff checks on patients on a regular basis. Attempting to get out of bed late one night, the man fell and hit his head on the ground, and reportedly was not noticed until up to an hour later. He appeared disoriented upon examination, but no further medical attention was administered.
The next morning the patient was unresponsive and subsequently taken to the hospital. Doctors discovered bleeding in his brain, and he died the following day from injuries suffered. When an accident of this nature occurs, delaying medical attention can have catastrophic results, often resulting in serious harm to health, or worse.
Patients in healthcare facilities often require special treatment, and if not properly attended to, may suffer as a result. Families who lose a loved one due to nursing home neglect often face many hardships and may seek financial restitution through the civil justice system. When confronting such a loss, families of victims in New Mexico often speak with an experienced attorney for advice on how to file a claim against the facility deemed negligent.
Source: poconorecord.com, “Fatality leads to wrongful death suit against nursing home“, Howard Frank, Feb. 14, 2017
