If you have a parent, grandparent, or other family member living in a nursing home, you may have begun to suspect that they are victims of nursing home abuse. However, you may be less sure about who is legally responsible for the injuries your loved one has suffered.
The truth is, most nursing home abuse tends to fall under the legal responsibility of the nursing home. Ever since the passing of the Nursing Home Reform Act in 1987, the legal responsibilities of nursing home owners have tended to grow. If any of the nursing home staff or any aspect of the nursing home’s services cause harm to a resident, there’s a good chance the nursing home can be held responsible.
This includes cases such as:
- Staff being improperly or insufficiently trained
- Negligence in hiring or monitoring staff
- Negligence in providing security or protection from safety hazards
- Failure to provide food, water, or other regular necessities
- Using unnecessary or overly-forceful restraints on residents
- Deliberate abuse of residents by staff members
Other potential defendants in a nursing home abuse lawsuit include security contractors the nursing home has hired, manufacturers of medical equipment used by the nursing home, and food vendors hired by the nursing home. Pursuing a lawsuit against a third party may be more difficult if it’s clear that the nursing home’s owners did not perform due diligence in screening or monitoring the companies it contracted.
Of course, all questions of liability depend on the specifics of your nursing home abuse case. If you want to hear your legal options directly from our South Carolina nursing home abuse attorneys, contact McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates for a completely free case evaluation. You can reach us by phone at 1-888-353-5513 or contact us through this website. We serve clients in Lexington, Sumter, Columbia, and throughout South Carolina.