I visited my father at a nursing home and saw a bruise. One nurse denied any accident, then later she admitted it. Can I sue?

When I last visited my father at his nursing home, I discovered several large bruises under hiss chin and called a nurse to come examine him. She was unaware of his injuries and said no one had made a note of them in the record. After learning what caused his fall and obtaining help for him, I went back up to the nurse’s station.

I was deeply upset to see that the first nurse I had called had made a false entry in my father’s chart, clearly indicating she had personally discovered his injuries two hours earlier and that she had fully noted them, with plans to have an X-ray ordered as soon as possible. I know these places fear losing their licenses but I found this incident of adding insult to injury to be very appalling. What should I do to stop these people from behaving so dishonestly and medically irresponsible?

Answers (1)

First, report this incident to your state’s nursing home licensing agency. Next, hire an experienced attorney to help you put a  stop to this type of elder abuse. Ask your father if he was able to call for help and if anyone responded to his call or even bothered to examine him. Some staff members at nursing homes can be very lazy and verbally abusive to residents who need frequent help.

While working with your attorney, have your father fully evaluated again to be sure his needs aren’t changing.  He might need to be in a different facility that provides better care for those who are greater fall risks or whose dementia limits their ability to  call for help when they need it.

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