Summary of Nursing Home negligence

Summary of Nursing Home negligence

Summary of Nursing Home negligence 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Not a weekend goes by, when I am not asking in some social setting “What type of law do you practice?” Typically, I answer directly – “I sue nursing homes.” The last time I said this, the other person, a nurse, asked “I hope you sue the corporations and remind them they don’t hire enough nurses.” She clearly has some insight into for-profit long term care.

Other times, people will ask why someone would sue a nursing home. Examples I give: Because the nursing home let a resident roll down the stairs in his wheelchair; because they gave someone the wrong medicine and she died; because they didn’t give someone the right medicine and he died; because they didn’t feed someone’s grandmother and she died of malnutrition; because a lady was left unattend and left the facility, only to die in the cold; because a man was left unattended and fell and broke his neck; because someone was dropped and broke a hip; because the staff failed to treat a wound and the wound got so big, a lady’s bones were exposed….. The list goes on.. Too many cases and examples to recount.

The moral is – if you are going to put a loved on in a place like this – you need to be the eyes and ears. Oh yeah, and the BIGGER MORAL is – the priority of the companies should be taking care of patients, and not making money. Again, I ask for too much – capitalism with the goal of the greater good, not just immediate financial gain.

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Lauren Ellerman

In 2011, Lauren Ellerman was named "Young Lawyer of the Year" by the Roanoke Bar Association for her work in the community. To speak with Lauren about your personal injury case, contact her at lellerman@frithlawfirm.com.

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