Widow sues for nursing home abuse in death of husband

The stories about the cruelty and neglect found in some nursing homes are shocking reminders of the undeserved plight of some of our elderly citizens. In some cases, personnel in the nursing homes are the most untrained and ill-equipped of any of the millions of healthcare workers nationwide. Ample examples of these rogue institutions can be identified in Michigan and in every other state. Some nursing homes have apparently shunned the pride that they should show in the work that they do. Instead, they've created operations that stand only as showcases of nursing home abuse.

There is a fine line in some cases between nursing home abuse and outright criminal neglect. In any event, the families of hapless victims who are abused in these facilities should go forward and obtain reparations for their loved ones or in their memory. Congressional studies and other public records document thousands of nursing home complaints and violations logged each year.

Bedsores and decubitus ulcers are common products of nursing home abuse, or medical malpractice in a hospital. They are caused by unrelieved pressure to the skin and with uncared-for elderly patients, this can cause sepsis and then death. Sepsis is a deadly all-body infection that comes with a massive infection and inflammation of all systems. It causes death when it escalates to a point of multiple organ dysfunction.

A widow in Texas has filed a wrongful death suit against a Beaumont nursing home where her husband was a patient in 2012. After being transferred to the home he was allegedly neglected to the point that he developed significant decubitus ulcers, which then led to sepsis. The sepsis is alleged to have caused his death.

In Michigan and all other states, nursing home abuse and neglect are actionable claims that require that damages be paid to abused victims or their families. In the above case, damages are claimed for pain, suffering, interest and punitive damages. One of the most effective ways to bring about change in the operation of nursing homes is to make the institutions suffer the economic punishment that inevitably comes from the abuse of trust that they commit.

Source: The Southeast Texas Record, Widow sues nursing home over husband's death, Melody Dareing, March 24, 2014