Nursing Home Negligence - Failure to Monitor Residents
Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by Daniel Harwin
- Content last updated on:
- September 26, 2024
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Freedland Harwin Valori Gander, PL, is a nursing home abuse and neglect law firm here to help Florida’s senior citizens in the face of preventable accidents. We’ve handled several failure-to-monitor cases and know how to present these claims in their best light in the civil court system. We can help your family stand up for elder rights and secure compensation for related damages. Let us help you hold the responsible party accountable for the injuries of someone you love.
One of the main reasons many families make the decision to put elderly loved ones in nursing homes is for 24/7 monitoring. At a certain age, or due to medical conditions such as immobility or dementia, many seniors will benefit from around-the-clock monitoring to help prevent injuries and incidents. It is the nursing home’s responsibility to assign enough staff members to adequately monitor all residents at all times. Sadly, some facilities fail to do so – resulting in preventable resident harms.
What Is Failure to Monitor?
All nursing homes should tailor environments to meet the unique needs of the elderly population. This means taking security measures such as supervising senior citizen activities, installing cameras and other monitoring technologies, and making sure staff members are present to avoid a health or safety risk. Nursing home residents should enjoy the benefits of monitoring in one form or another to prevent harmful incidents such as:
- Wandering and elopement. This describes a situation in which a confused senior or one with dementia wanders away from a nursing facility. Wandering can result in falls, fractures, getting lost, and even death. Nursing homes should prevent wandering by locking doors, using secured or gated entrances and exits, and evaluating behaviors and cognitive function to identify potential wanderers.
- Slips, trips, and falls. Without proper supervision, an elderly person could fall out of bed, trip, and fall over something, or even take a tumble down a dark staircase. Constant monitoring can prevent harmful falls by making sure residents stay in the right places at the right times and have the assistance or medical equipment they need to get up and walk around safely.
- Medical problems and emergencies. Monitoring in a nursing home also refers to medical monitoring and health evaluations. Nursing home residents with injuries, wounds, or illnesses may require 24/7 health monitoring to watch for complications such as heart failure or infection. Lack of medical monitoring can mean injuries going unnoticed, undiagnosed infections, and preventable issues such as bedsores.
Monitoring nursing home residents is a legal obligation that long-term care facilities have in Florida. The law mandates that nursing homes adequately care for the physical, emotional, and psychosocial well-being of residents. This includes engaging in proper monitoring techniques and practices to reduce the risk of preventable accidents and injuries. A breach of this duty, resulting in resident harm or wrongful death, is negligence and could give rise to a lawsuit.
Call (954) 467-6400 for a Free Consultation
The sooner you talk to one of our attorneys about a failure to monitor incident, the sooner you can learn your loved one’s rights and potential legal opportunities. If we believe your case has merit as a personal injury or wrongful death claim, we can take steps toward compensation right away. We can file a claim on your behalf and enter into settlement negotiations with the nursing home’s insurance company, arguing for maximum compensation for related hospital bills, pain and suffering, lost quality of life, and other damages. Contact us today to start with a free nursing home neglect consultation.
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