Contracts and Understaffed Care Facilities

When you select a care facility, it is important to carefully review contracts and legal agreements rather than blindly trusting marketing materials provided by a sales staff. After all, you expect that the nursing home or assisted living center will provide adequate care, but there are situations where understaffed nursing homes result in harm to residents.

If you are hoping to learn more about care facility contracts or have a loved one who was harmed at an understaffed care facility, discuss your rights with a Tampa personal injury attorney. Skilled legal counsel can inform you of what you want to see in a contract. Also, if you are moving to achieve compensation, a lawyer can tell you what types of evidence are needed.

Types of Harm Due to Understaffed Nursing Homes

Understaffed nursing homes can lead to a range of harms for residents.

• When a facility is not staffed property, there may not be enough employees to attend to all the needs of care facility residences, including basic needs such as bathing, feeding, and administering medications.
• Physical harm is possible when someone at a facility suffers from falls, bedsores, or other injuries due to there not being enough workers to guide individuals who need assistance.
• Stressed employees who are working too many hours may be more prone to losing their tempers with vulnerable facility residents.
• Medical errors. Staff shortages may result in healthcare errors, such as a person receiving the wrong medication or being misdiagnosed and being treated effectively.

After harm is sustained in an understaffed nursing home or care facility, you may be able to pursue financial recovery. Compensation can’t make the harm disappear, but it can provide families with financial relief they need as they juggle medical bills, emotional distress, and other losses.

Demonstrating Negligence with Evidence

In order to pursue a claim, you must be able to illustrate that the nursing home was negligent in their care. This could include proof that the building was not staffed properly when the accident took place or evidence of the facility training program not being in line with the contractual agreement that was signed.

Some of the evidence that may need to be gathered include staffing records, incident reports, and testimony from witnesses and experts. Staffing records, for example, can prove how many people were on duty at the time of the accident and then those numbers can be compared against the resident contract. Expert testimony, such as medical professionals and nursing home administrators, also can provide essential information about the standard of care that should have been provided and whether the nursing home’s actions were negligent.

Do you believe the harm your loved one sustained was a direct result of a facility being understaffed? After a care center injury, don’t hesitate to seek legal advice from a lawyer who can help you protect your rights. With combined experience of over 40 years, the lawyers at HD Law Partners will fight for your financial recovery. Call 813-964-7878 to schedule a free consultation.