Nursing Home Abuse Liability

In certain cases, nursing homes can in fact, be held liable for harm to their residents by their employees due to the legal doctrine of respondeat superior. This doctrine holds a company responsible for the acts of their agents or employees. In cases involving nursing comes invoking this doctrine can be done fairly easily since nursing home patients tend to require a high level of care.

Duty of Care for Elderly Nursing Home Residents

Nursing home residents or patient have the right to live free from abuse. Each state will have specific laws detailing what this includes, but generally this will include physical abuse, emotional abuse, and punishment. Individual states may have additional standards of care. The doctrine of respondeat superior indicates that it allows a plaintiff in a case of nursing abuse to reach the nursing home for the actions of its employees.

The following are some common situations in such cases:

Negligence and/or Nursing Home Injuries

Some common negligence actions brought against nursing homes include:

• Negligent personal supervision and care
• Negligent hiring and retention of employees
• Negligent maintenance of the premises
• Negligent maintenance of equipment

Since nursing homes must provide a very high duty of care to their residents, any type of misconduct by employees can expose a nursing home to legal liability. Any violation of these regulations placed on nursing homes that leads to the harm of a resident can open the nursing home to civil liability.

Nursing home abuse is a crime and can result in criminal charges. The law divides liability into three categories: abuse, aggravated assault, and criminal neglect.

If you suspect that a loved one has been abused by an employee of a nursing home, you may be able to make a claim against the nursing home itself.

**Disclaimer: The content used in the article is not to be used as legal advice and is for illustration and general informational purposes only. If you have questions about your particular situation, please contact us to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys.