How Families Can Sue Nursing Homes for Wrongful Death

Nursing homes in Arizona have a legal obligation to provide skilled medical care. They must appropriately administer prescribed medications, meet each resident’s needs for adequate nutrition and hydration, and treat residents with respect for their human dignity. Unfortunately, nursing homes in Arizona and elsewhere are often chronically understaffed with tired, overworked caregivers and high staff turnover rates. These common staffing problems lead to nursing home abuse, including neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and financial abuse. 

When abuse leads to wrongful death in a nursing home, the grieving family members have a right to recover compensation for their economic losses, grief, and anguish through a wrongful death claim. Contact a Phoenix nursing home wrongful death lawyer from Knapp & Roberts today.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death In Arizona Nursing Homes

Although all deaths feel wrongful to those left behind, it’s legally a wrongful death when the death was preventable and only occurred due to someone else’s lack of reasonable care. Common causes of wrongful deaths in nursing homes include the following:

• Medication mistakes
• Untreated infections or delayed infection treatment for infected bed sores, urinary tract infections, bladder infections, and respiratory infections
• Sepsis
• Falls
• Dehydration
• Malnutrition
• Choking deaths
• Physical assaults from caregivers or other staff members
• Inadequate medical care
• Injuries from premises liability issues in nursing homes, such as slip-and-fall hazards, lack of adequate fire extinguishers, broken steps, lack of handrails, and insufficient or broken assisted mobility devices
• Wrongful deaths resulting from a resident with dementia or cognitive impairment leaving the property alone
• Failing to assist an elderly resident with bathing
• Violence or sexual assault from other residents

When a nursing home allows the neglect or mistreatment of a resident to cause their death, the administration or the caregiver may be liable for the damages to surviving family members. In some cases, a physician or nurse contractor working at the nursing home may be liable for damages.

What Is the Process of a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Case?

After neglect or abuse in a nursing home causes wrongful death, a close surviving family member can recover compensation through a wrongful death claim against the at-fault party. Your attorney will represent your best interests throughout the process by doing the following:

• Investigating all aspects of the death, including examining the medical examiner’s report, medical records, and all available evidence
• Interviewing eyewitnesses
• Consulting with medical experts
• Determining the appropriate liable party against which to file a lawsuit
• Carefully calculating the economic and emotional damages suffered by the decedent and their family
• Standing at the claimant’s side and representing the family’s best interests throughout negotiations for a settlement
• Delivering a well-executed strategy in court if the defendant’s insurance company denies or undervalues the claim

A skilled Phoenix nursing home abuse attorney with experience navigating nursing home abuse and wrongful death cases will tirelessly pursue the most favorable outcome possible in your loved one’s case.

Recognizing Signs of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect That Could Cause Wrongful Death

Nursing home neglect and abuse are egregious wrongdoings that are alarmingly common in the state’s facilities. It’s crucial to be alert and aware of signs of abuse and neglect before it ends in wrongful death; however, though it is too late to help the abuse victim after their death, it’s not too late to look back for signs that family members and other visitors might have previously overlooked. Common signs of nursing home abuse and neglect include the following:

• Frequent, unexplained injuries
• Sudden weight loss
• Poor hygiene
• Dry, cracked skin and lips
• Unkempt appearance
• Untreated bedsores
• Broken personal items, like glasses, hearing aids, and dentures
• Withdrawal from family and friends
• Reluctance to speak in front of staff members
• Unclean room and dirty or bloodied bedding
• Uneaten meals remaining in the room
• Signs of restraint use, such as chafed wrists

If you suspect nursing home abuse, it’s critical to act fast by seeking a full medical evaluation by a doctor who is not affiliated with the facility, or by a medical examiner after a nursing home death.

How Do Family Members Proceed After Their Loved One’s Wrongful Death In an Arizona Nursing Home?

When a nursing home resident’s death is mysterious, the administration is vague about the cause, or refuses to give the family precise details on the cause of death, the family may suspect wrongful death. When the family believes their loved one’s death in a nursing home was preventable, and occurred because of the nursing home’s negligence, they can take steps to move forward with legal action by gathering their elderly family member’s nursing home records. Then, file complaints with Arizona’s Department of Health Services and Adult Protective Services. It’s also beneficial to check the facility’s history of prior complaints through Arizona’s Care Check Tool available at the Arizona Department of Health Services website.

After gathering the available evidence and information for an attorney’s evaluation of your case, set up a consultation with an experienced nursing home abuse attorney. Your attorney will assess the merits of the case and begin strategizing the best way to move forward toward achieving financial accountability and justice.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim In Arizona?

Arizona limits those who can file wrongful death claims to immediate family members—those who suffer the financial consequences of the death. This prevents distant family members from exploiting the death for financial gain when they’ve not suffered financial consequences from the loss. In Arizona, only a surviving spouse, adult child, or parent can file a wrongful death claim, or a representative of the decedent’s estate if there is no surviving spouse or child. If the decedent did not name a personal representative, the court will appoint one, typically a family member. If an estate representative files a wrongful death claim against a nursing home, any financial award goes to the estate for distribution according to the decedent’s will or estate plan, or according to the state’s intestacy laws if the decedent did not leave a will.

Caregivers or other nursing home residents may not file a wrongful death claim on behalf of a deceased resident.

What Does the Family Have to Gain by Filing a Nursing Home Wrongful Death Claim?

A successful wrongful death claim against a nursing home cannot bring back a lost loved one or undue the harm they suffered, but it brings the family a sense of justice and gives their elderly family member back their voice. It also relieves any financial hardship caused by the death. A nursing home wrongful death claim can bring the following compensation:

• Reimbursement for medical expenses accrued before the death
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Lost income from a family member who lost time from work
• Compensation for the elderly nursing home resident’s pain and suffering, and fear of death
• Compensation for the family’s emotional grief and anguish
• Compensation for loss of the companionship of a spouse or the support and guidance of a parent

Compensation in an Arizona nursing home wrongful death case typically comes from the nursing home’s liability insurance. A successful claim requires careful navigation with meticulous attention to evidence documentation and filing requirements.