Nursing Home Litigation: 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'
Ethics, Law, and Aging Review, Vol. 7, p. 117, 2001
15 Pages Posted: 21 May 2009
Abstract
Nursing home residents, their spouses, family members, and advocates who are dissatisfied with the quality of care provided by a facility have several options. they may complain to the nursing homes, threatening to or actually moving out of the nursing home, file a complaint with the state nursing home ombudsman or, most dramatically, sue the nursing home. As residents and their families increasingly conclude that the best option is to sue nursing homes, the effect of that litigation will help determine the manner in which nursing homes operate, their financial well-being and , quite possibly, even their very existence.
Every time a resident successfully sues a nursing home, the standard of what is acceptable care is modestly redefined. Because the common law is the recorded expression of what courts have found in prior cases, each new case is akin to adding yet another brick to the wall of the common law of nursing homes (Madden, 1996). The interpretation of statutes and regulations is also fleshed out in the context of the individual facts and circumstances of each reported case. . . .It is the hope of improving the quality of care for other residents that energizes some residents to sue for negligence and to endure the stress and delay of litigation. For these litigants, the lawsuit serves to bring some measure of value to what they have endured. Yes, they have suffered, but by suing they help save other nursing home residents from negligent care. Out of the despair of their pain and suffering comes hope for others. The hope for reform supports litigation.
Keywords: nursing home reform, nursing home litigation, nursing home care, long-term care, elder care, quality of care, substandard care, public relations, costs, nursing homes, litigation, statutes, regulations
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