Families in Kentucky have every legal right to receive quality care for their loved one at a nursing home. However, the care is sometimes not only subpar, but it can be dangerous, resulting in injuries or even death for nursing home residents.
In one particular case, a family entrusted their loved one to a small nursing home that claimed to specialize in memory care. However, when the family came to visit their relative, they found her in a dazed stupor with feces on her arm. It turns out that the nursing home was giving the woman a sedating drug without the knowledge or consent of the family. In addition, nursing home staff was captured on video knocking her to the ground, and she died a month later. Now, staff members have been criminally charged in connection with the case.
States are supposed to regulate nursing homes, and all have laws that govern the care that nursing homes give. Unfortunately, many states are lax in these responsibilities and only end up punishing homes and staff after a resident has been harmed. Nursing homes are supposed to be fined for failure to follow laws, but it may not happen often enough. Here, the family has filed a lawsuit for wrongful death, but it cannot right the wrong that their loved one suffered and died.
Families who suspect that their loved one has been abused or neglected at a nursing home may want to see a nursing home abuse attorney so that they can learn of their legal rights. The attorney may be able to help a family file a lawsuit so they can receive financial compensation for the harm that their loved one suffered. Nursing homes must be held accountable for their actions when they have been trusted to care for someone but fail to do so.
