What type of evidence may be required to win a nursing home abuse action in South Carolina?
South Carolina – May 30, 2021
Resident Bill of Rights.
Nursing home residents have rights under federal and state law, and attorneys at McDougall Law Firm can support those rights against subpar treatment and care, or deviations from the resident’s bill of rights that result in injury, or death. The Nursing Home Reform Act under Title IV of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 outlines residential rights to protect the approximately 1.3 million Americans living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities from nursing home abuse.
Building a strong case.
Allegations of neglect, abuse and subpar medical treatment in U.S. nursing homes must be proven with the assistance of skilled legal counsel through:
- Formal investigation, witness testimony, and record collection to reveal a timeline of injuries cited in a complaint as to the date of onset of injury and how it was reported and treated. A nursing home may argue that a resident’s injury was a pre-existing condition, or they were unaware of it.
- Research to analyze a nursing home facility’s hiring, training, supervising, and standard operating procedures for enforcement against deviations that endanger residents should be undertaken. A detailed review of procedures and enforcement against negative care actions will assist in focusing on the liability of the nursing home as the employer of a caretaker who may have been neglectful, or abusive to a resident.
- Nursing home insurance policies may only cover resident injury due to improper treatment and unintentional neglect, and focused abuse claims may have to be initiated against an individual, separate from the care facility. Experienced nursing home attorneys will know how to identify potential parties to a case action and what is the best way to achieve damage compensation.
Responsibility.
The nursing home facility can be held liable for any personal injury, or neglect causing harm to a resident, or patient in their care. This negligence may have occurred by their part through:
- negligent hiring,
- understaffing,
- breach of regulatory obligations to guidelines,
- insufficient employee training, or
- errors in treatment, or medication dispensing.
Liability is the state of being responsible for something, and vicarious liability is a legal doctrine assigning liability for harms to a person, even if they did not cause the injury directly. A nursing home employer can be held responsible for the negligent, or harmful acts of its employees, or contracted workers during the course of their work and scope of their job duties. If an individual, or their family member suspect a resident’s rights are being violated, they should contact a nursing home abuse attorney.
Neglect.
Nursing home neglect is a form of elder abuse involving the substandard care of a resident, or a breach of duty that harms a resident in a nursing home and may include medical neglect, basic needs neglect, lack of assistance with personal hygiene, and inadequate social and emotional support for residents. Neglect is often caused by poor training, reduced staff, lack of supplies and poor management.
Hire a lawyer.
If residents suffer harm directly related to a negative nursing home encounter, whether it is due to negligence, or abuse, exacerbating an existing health condition, or placing them in direct danger, a skilled nursing home lawyer can help. Through a formal complaint from the resident, or loved ones, an experienced attorney at the McDougall Law Firm can identify the appropriate legal cause of action in support of the duty of care outlined in the Resident Bill of Rights set forth by the South Carolina Omnibus Adult Protection Act.
McDougall Law Firm, LLC
115 Lady’s Island Commons
Beaufort, SC 29907
Phone: 843.379.7000
Sources.
https://aging.sc.gov/
https://ncea.acl.gov/
https://www.scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/Library/Regulations/R.61-17.pdfd
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