Nursing Home Wrongful Death Cases

What Is Wrongful Death in a Nursing Home?

A wrongful death means your loved one would still be alive had they received proper medical care and not suffered abuse or neglect.

Thankfully, if you lost a loved one due to nursing home negligence or abuse, you can file a wrongful death case with the help of an attorney.

While nursing home wrongful death cases can never undo the pain of losing a loved one, they can help you and your family cover expenses such as medical bills and funeral costs.

They can also give you closure as the nursing home can be held financially responsible for your loved one’s death. Start your nursing home wrongful death case right now with a free case review.

Causes of Wrongful Death in a Nursing Home

A wrongful death in nursing home facilities can stem from many different causes, some of which are harder to spot than others.

Any of these can lead to wrongful deaths in a nursing home:

• Assault
• Broken bones
• Dehydration
• Improper medical care
• Lack of fall prevention
• Malnutrition
• Medication errors
• Pressure ulcers (bedsores)
• Sepsis
• Untreated medical conditions

You should also look for issues like understaffing or poor training, which increase the risks of nursing home abuse, neglect, or wrongful death.

Can You Sue a Nursing Home for Wrongful Death?

Yes. Long-term care facilities have an obligation to keep nursing home patients safe and provide proper care. Nursing home staff members, owners, and others can be held liable when proper care is not provided. However, time is limited to file a nursing home wrongful death claim.

Statutes of limitations are time restrictions on how long you have to file a lawsuit and can vary from state to state. Most states have statutes of limitations of 3 years or less. You will not be able to file a lawsuit if time runs out.

Thankfully, you can work with attorneys who have handled past nursing home wrongful death cases to avoid any problems. They can help you file the wrongful death nursing home lawsuit within set time limits.

Who Can File Nursing Home Wrongful Death Cases?

Immediate Family

Immediate family members like spouses and children often have the right to pursue nursing home wrongful death cases.

For example, a man died after his oxygen machine malfunctioned while staying in a nursing home. His wife filed a lawsuit and she received nearly $300,000 with help from elder abuse attorneys.

Extended Family

Extended family members like siblings and cousins may be permitted to file a wrongful death lawsuit in certain cases.

For example, a group home resident burned to death after lighting a cigarette and falling asleep. The resident’s brother then filed a lawsuit claiming that caretakers could have prevented the death.

The resident’s family received $1.75 million through this wrongful death lawsuit.

Other Loved Ones Who Were Financially Harmed

In some states, non-relatives like civil partners, dependents, or executors of wills, can also file nursing home wrongful death cases if they have been financially impacted by the death of the resident.

Learn if you can file a nursing home wrongful death case by contacting our team.

Filing a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Filing a nursing home lawsuit is relatively easy with professional legal help. Personal injury attorneys that handle wrongful death cases can guide you and your family through the process and will do much of the legal work for you.

Most nursing home abuse lawsuits follow a similar structure:

1. Victims get a free case review and a legal team sees if a lawsuit can be filed.
2. If there is a valid case, victims can sign on to work with an attorney.
3. Attorneys will gather the basic facts of the case for the initial filing.
4. A civil lawsuit is filed against the nursing home in the appropriate court system.
5. Discovery begins and both parties collect evidence to support their claim.
6. Negotiations begin to try and settle the lawsuit.
7. The settlement offer is either accepted or declined by the plaintiff (person who filed the lawsuit). In some cases, a settlement may not be reached.
8. If settlement negotiations fail, the case may go to trial.
9. A judge/jury decides the case in a trial after hearing evidence from both sides.
10. An appeal to overturn the trial’s verdict may occur in some cases.

For best results, work with a nursing home abuse lawyer that has handled wrongful death cases in the past. These lawyers can make the lawsuit process easier for you.

Nursing home wrongful death cases are being filed every day. Get started right now with a free case evaluation.

Nursing Home Wrongful Death Settlements & Verdicts

Most lawsuits resolve through a settlement. Through a settlement, the nursing home agrees to pay a set amount of money and the lawsuit concludes without going to trial.

A nursing home settlement is generally faster and less demanding than going to trial, and most cases end up settling out of court.

There’s no way to guarantee you’ll get as much (or any) compensation in a trial versus a settlement. Trials also add more time to the legal process in most cases. However, you may need to go to trial if your lawyers cannot reach a settlement with the lawyers for the nursing home.

Thankfully, top attorneys can negotiate strong wrongful death nursing home settlements and also prepare your case in the event that a trial is needed. This puts you in the best possible position to receive financial compensation from your nursing home wrongful death case.

Nursing Home Wrongful Death Lawyers

Nursing home wrongful death lawsuits are much easier to navigate with legal help. Lawyers that specialize in handling wrongful death cases do much of the work that comes with filing a lawsuit and pursuing compensation.

Nursing home wrongful death lawyers can help:

• File the lawsuit correctly and within statutes of limitations
• Gather evidence to support your case (autopsy reports, medical records)
• Negotiate settlement amounts
• Take your case to trial

Nursing home wrongful death attorneys at top law firms also relieve much of the stress that comes with filing a lawsuit. It’s important to have a skilled attorney at your side as the assisted living facility will likely have lawyers of its own to protect them from financial losses.

Get Help Filing a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Case

You have a right to seek justice for your loved ones. If you have lost someone to nursing home neglect or abuse and are ready to take legal action, get a free case review today.

Top attorneys are standing by to file nursing home wrongful death cases. These lawsuits can sometimes award millions of dollars, providing compensation for the costs of unpaid medical bills, funeral expenses, and your family’s suffering.

Don’t wait: statutes of limitations can prevent you from filing and getting any money if you delay. Get started right now so you don’t miss out on your potential compensation.