Nursing home abuse and neglect remain a serious problem throughout New Mexico. When we arrange for our loved ones to live in a nursing home, we place our trust in the nursing home to provide for our loved one’s physical, mental, social, and medical needs. Nursing homes have a legally recognized duty to provide reasonable and adequate care.
Unfortunately, many nursing home staff members neglect their residents, causing serious personal injuries or even death. If your loved one has experienced injuries due to nursing home neglect, he or she could be entitled to compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. At Hunt Law, we represent injured victims of nursing homes and their families throughout New Mexico. Contact our law firm as soon as possible to schedule your initial consultation to learn how our experienced Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys can advocate for you.
Nursing Home Neglect or Abuse in New Mexico
Nursing home neglect is a kind of abuse that happens when staff members do not provide residents with the services and medical care they need. Neglect can be non-malicious and unintentional. Or, it might be intentional and willful. Sometimes caregivers neglect patients because of malice. In other cases, they neglect patients due to laziness or incompetence.
Under federal law, nursing home neglect happens when staff fails to provide the goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental illness, or mental anguish. The definition of nursing home neglect is broad and includes many incidents and issues that happen. If you think that you or a loved one is experiencing this, contact an experienced attorney who specializes in representing clients who have suffered nursing home neglect and abuse.
Nursing Home Negligence in New Mexico
Any failure to provide expected and reasonable care for a patient’s well-being could be neglect. It doesn’t matter whether or not the family member intended to hurt or neglect the patient or not. Nursing home staff is responsible for knowing what their residents need to be safe and well cared for and providing that level of care.
When a nursing home resident suffers physical injuries due to neglect, such as bedsores and infections, the resident can bring a personal injury lawsuit for negligence. When a nursing home resident dies from injuries caused by neglect, the surviving family members might be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit for damages. At Hunt Law, we understand this situation is devastating. Our empathetic legal team will walk our clients through the legal process while assertively advocating for their right to compensation.
Common Examples of Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect
Nursing home neglect can take many forms, and sometimes it’s easy to discover. Sadly, in other cases, it can be hard for even the most caring family members to detect neglect. We recommend that families with loved ones in nursing homes look for signs of abuse when spending time with their loved ones. Common examples of nursing home abuse or neglect include the following:
- Failing to provide adequate mental health care
- Failing to provide adequate medical care
- Failing to provide adequate dental care
- Not providing care involving bathing, toilet use, and changing clothes
- Not monitoring a patient’s medical conditions adequately
- Failing to provide a resident with enough meaningful activities
- Not providing the necessary physical therapy or occupational therapy
- Failing to assist patients when they request assistance
- Providing inadequate supervision of patients
- Not hiring enough nursing home staff to care for patients
- Not providing the patient with mobility assistance
- Failing to clean a patient or change a patient after incontinence
- Not providing safety and security, resulting in accidents or falls
- Deactivating a patient’s call lights or turning them off permanently
- Failing to maintain a safe environment
Injuries Caused By Nursing Home Neglect
Nursing home neglect can cause a variety of serious personal injuries. Many nursing home residents already have pre-existing medical conditions when they come to live at the nursing home. These pre-existing conditions make residents more vulnerable to suffering from severe injuries and complications from neglect.
Neglect Can Cause Bedsores
Bedsores are common but serious injuries caused by nursing home neglect. When nursing home staff fail to rotate immobile residents at least once every two hours, serious bedsore infections can result, causing sepsis. In severe cases, wrongful death can occur.
Malnourishment and Dehydration
Nursing home residents are at higher risk of becoming malnourished and dehydrated, especially those who need assistance with eating and drinking. Nursing homes have a legal duty to ensure that their residents are eating and drinking enough to stay healthy. When tired and overworked staff members fail to help residents drink and eat, residents can become severely dehydrated and malnourished. When residents are at risk of dehydration and malnutrition, nursing home staff should exercise reasonable care to ensure that they take in enough water and nutrients. Taking reasonable care might include weighing patients every morning and keeping up-to-date records of their liquid and food consumption.
A Lack of Supervision Can Lead to Injuries
When nursing home staff neglects to supervise residents, serious accidents can occur. For example, nursing home residents in wheelchairs have escaped their rooms and fallen down the staircase, suffering broken bones and back injuries. Many times, nursing homes will deny that any neglect took place. At Hunt Law Firm, our attorneys have experience in nursing home abuse and neglect claimes, and we will thoroughly investigate your case to help you determine the cause of your loved one’s injuries.
Recovering Compensation for New Mexico Nursing Home Negligence
If you have discovered that your loved one’s nursing home is abusing him or her, Hunt Law is here to help you. Family members should not allow nursing home administrators to get away with neglecting vulnerable nursing home residents. Nursing home residents have rights under New Mexico’s laws. These laws allow residents to bring personal injury lawsuits against their nursing home staff when their negligence caused their injuries.
Contact Us Today
At Hunt Law, we are skilled legal advocates for personal injury victims. We have a winning record of success, and we use our experience to advocate for our clients’ rights effectively. If you suspect or know that your loved one has suffered in a nursing home, contact us today to schedule your free initial case evaluation.
Hunt Law represents nursing home neglect and abuse victims in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Raton, Roswell, Los Alamos, Las Vegas, and throughout the state of New Mexico.