Negligence in Care Homes

Negligence could also be described as carelessness. When there is negligence in a nursing home or care home and a resident suffers as a result,  then the resident or the resident’s family can sue for compensation.

There are many reasons why negligence occurs including staff that are not fully trained or not enough staff for the number of residents; but this does not excuse negligent treatment as it can cause both physical and psychological harm.

If you believe you or a loved one has been a victim of care home negligence please contact us today to see if we can help take your claim further.  You can call us on 0844 704 1945, or complete the online enquiry form.

There are various examples of care home negligence, these include:

• Not assisting a resident with personal hygiene
• Malnutrition and dehydration in a resident - Malnutrition and dehydration will slow down the healing of a patient and can make any existing health problems even worse. As a result of this it could lead to the death of the patient. There is a reduction in mobility as people age and this can lead to dehydration. Elderly people suffering from incontinence will sometimes avoid drinking to prevent any embarrassing accidents. There have been cases where nursing home staff have purposely limited the fluid intake of some residents in order to save them the time of changing bed linen or having to take residents to the bathroom
• Failure to prevent a resident getting bed sores - These are wounds that bedridden or wheelchair bound residents can get if they are not repositioned frequently enough. They happen because of a lack of blood flow to some areas of the body
• Medication errors. Sometimes mistakes are made with prescriptions and medication. Too much medication is given which could be fatal. Not enough medication given could leave the resident in pain and their condition could get worse
• Living conditions that are dirty and unsafe
• Falls. Accidents can happen anywhere but care homes have a duty to do everything in their power to lessen the possibility of residents falling. For example, a care home may be negligent if a resident that needs assistance in going to the bathroom falls whilst trying to go by themselves if that resident asked for help and did not receive it.

For anyone that has to place someone they love in a care home it will have been an agonising decision. Although you will have placed them somewhere you thought would give them the best treatment and care, sadly this isn’t always the case.

If you feel that the person you placed in care has been neglected or abused in some way please call us. We can advise you if we think you have a claim or not.  If we think you have then your case will be dealt with by one of our specialist solicitors.

Make a Care Home Negligence Claim Now - Contact Precision Claims

To start a care home negligence compensation claim please contact Precision Claims on 0844 704 1945, or, if you prefer, complete the online enquiry form.