Nursing Home Wrongful Death Attorney

Abuse and neglect in Colorado nursing homes can have serious consequences, with the victim’s death being the worst outcome possible. When a nursing home or staff members cause fatal injuries, the victim’s families have a right to pursue justice with the help of a nursing home wrongful death attorney.

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Nursing Home Justice Stands Up for Your Loved One’s Rights

Residents in nursing homes have a right to be adequately cared for. If they are not, the people and companies who treated them poorly should be held accountable. An experienced nursing home wrongful death lawyer who knows Colorado law can help families recover for their losses.

Nursing Home Justice knows that money will not bring your loved one back, but it can hold those at fault accountable and possibly prevent or reduce the occurrence of these horrible situations.

With more than 35 years of legal experience, founding attorney Mac Hester remains passionate about fighting for the rights of nursing home abuse and neglect victims and their families. Our Denver nursing home neglect & abuse lawyers will help you find your path to recovery.

Contact attorney Mac Hester with Nursing Home Justice today – (303) 775-8128

What Is a Wrongful Death?

A wrongful death occurs when a person dies due to another person’s negligence or wrongful actions. In Colorado, there are four elements needed to file a wrongful death lawsuit:

  1. Negligence – This is a legal theory indicating that a person failed to act with ordinary, reasonable care. Intentional, wrongful acts may also meet this requirement and trigger more significant compensation.
  2. Death of Another Person – The negligence of the at-fault party must result in the death of another person.
  3. Causation – The death must result from the negligent act or inaction.
  4. Damages – The victim’s family must suffer losses, or damages, because of their loved one’s death.

Wrongful death in a nursing home is typically due to the employees’ or administration’s negligence. Residents rely on facilities to provide a high level of care. When that doesn’t happen, the staff’s negligence can have fatal consequences.

Wrongful Death Stats

According to an article published by the National Library of Medicine, elderly individuals who have been abused have a 300% higher risk of death. The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) reported that 44% of nursing home residents had been abused while in a facility.

In the same report, 95% of residents claimed they were neglected or witnessed the neglect of other residents. Those nursing home residents who have been abused or neglected have an extremely high risk of fatal injuries or illness.

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*Please note Nursing Home Justice only takes cases based in Colorado.

Our firm reaches success through our attention to detail, genuine care for our clients, and relentless desire to make you whole.

Most Common Injuries Resulting in Wrongful Death in a Nursing Home

Many catastrophic injuries occur in nursing homes due to the negligence of staff and facilities. Some of the most common injuries that result in wrongful death include, but are not limited to:

What Are the Main Causes of Wrongful Death in a Nursing Home?

Wrongful deaths in nursing homes are preventable. They stem from neglect or abuse that cannot be called accidental death. The purposeful actions taken by nursing home facilities and staff members should be corrected to prevent fatal illnesses and injuries.

Some of the common causes of wrongful death in nursing homes include:

Serious Injuries

Many injuries caused by abuse or neglect can lead to death. Those injuries should be prevented and/or diligently treated to ensure they aren’t fatal. Nursing home staff often hide or ignore injuries, which can ultimately lead to serious consequences for the victims.

Failure to Stop Resident-on-Resident Violence

Many nursing home residents are confused and unable to function in a normal social environment. They may be combative with one another. When fights among residents occur, the outcome can be fatal.

Failure to Prevent and Treat Bedsores

Residents who are bedbound or sit in one position most of the day should be repositioned frequently to prevent ulcers, called bedsores. Failure to properly prevent these injuries or treat them after they occur is negligence. Bedsores can become infected and cause fatal sepsis.

Medication Errors

Mistakes with medication occur too often in nursing homes. This may happen because of a lack of training or complete failure to follow proper protocols. This type of medical malpractice may cause immediate illness or a cumulative outcome that is fatal.

Improper Nutrition

Adult patients in a nursing home often have specific dietary needs. They may have medical conditions that require an adjustment to their intake as well. Facility staff can be held accountable if patients become dehydrated or malnourished.

What Damages Can You Recover?

The families of nursing home residents who are fatally injured in a facility have a right to recover compensation for their losses. Nursing Home Justice helps them get the maximum amount possible.

Nursing home wrongful death cases are somewhat different than personal injury cases. Although some of the law and elements of negligence are similar, families of the victims can recover for different damages.

In a wrongful death lawsuit, you can get compensation for the following losses:

  • Funeral expenses
  • Burial expenses
  • Loss of the deceased person’s income and services in some cases
  • Non-economic damages such as grief, loss of companionship and emotional Loss

What Is a Survival Action?

In addition to a wrongful death action, you may be able to file a survival action, which would offer compensation for losses your loved one incurred due to their injuries.

In a survival action, you can get compensation for the medical expenses for the final illness or injury of the deceased

Punitive Damages

Colorado law allows for punitive damages if willful or reckless actions caused a death. Punitive damages are not meant to compensate you for losses. Instead, they punish the wrongdoer for their intentional actions.

Punitive damages can be beneficial by motivating nursing homes to change their procedures that lead to fatal injuries like those your loved one suffered.

Who Can File a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Lawsuit and How is Compensation Distributed?

Only certain people are eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit against a nursing home that caused the death of a resident. Those people include:

  • In the first year after the wrongful death: The spouse has the exclusive right to file the wrongful death lawsuit within the first year after the wrongful death. If there’s no spouse, then the designated beneficiary or the heirs may file the lawsuit.
  • In the second year after the wrongful death: The spouse, designated beneficiary and/or the heirs may file a wrongful death lawsuit.
  • In a “survival” lawsuit to recover medical expenses, the personal representative of the decedent’s estate files the survival lawsuit.

How is Compensation Distributed?

Regardless of who filed the wrongful death lawsuit, the proceeds of the wrongful death settlement or verdict must be paid to all heirs of the decedent.

In a survival lawsuit, the proceeds of a settlement or verdict is deposited into the estate of the decedent and are paid out to the beneficiaries of the estate.

Warning Signs of a Potential Wrongful Death

If your loved one passes away in a nursing home, there are some warning signs that might indicate the situation was a wrongful death. You should lookout for the following:

  • Lack of documentation
  • Inconsistent explanations from staff
  • Staff avoiding communication with family members
  • Sudden change in health that declined to death
  • Refusal or delay in providing records to you
  • Delay in reporting the death or the event causing the death

 

How You Can Get Justice for Your Loved One

If your loved one was abused or neglected in a nursing home, resulting in fatal injuries, there are paths to recovery. Nursing Home Justice, along with founding attorney Mac Hester, can help you get compensation by:

  • Digging Into the Facts of the Case – We’ll leave no stone unturned. Nursing Home Justice will use the legal process to determine what happened to your loved one.
  • Determine the Value of Your Case – It can be hard to establish exactly what a wrongful death claim is worth. We will calculate all of your damages, including pain and suffering, making sure we consider everything.
  • Getting You Maximum Compensation – Some law firms are quick to settle, but Nursing Home Justice will put in the time and work required in order to obtain maximum recovery for you and your family.

Hold the Nursing Home Industry Accountable

There are very few locally owned nursing homes left. Now, almost all nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and assisted living facilities are just cogs in nationwide chains. These nursing home chains create complex corporate structures in order to maximize profits and limit legal liability.

Nursing Home Justice has the experience to hold all of these corporate entities accountable – from the “local” nursing home facility to the management company to the regional supervisor to the parent company. Nursing Home Justice will fight to recover maximum compensation from all responsible parties.

Nursing Home Justice has a reputation for doing what is best for victims and their families. We are not afraid to go up against the big guys.