Nursing homes are required to abide by professional quality standards of care in their treatment of residents. Those professional standards of quality are informed by both federal regulations, which came about with the Nursing Home Reform Act in 1987, and Connecticut state regulations.
When our attorneys investigate instances of neglect in Connecticut nursing homes, we look to determine whether the care a resident received met the professional standards of quality and was in compliance with the mandates of both state and federal regulations. If you suspect neglect played a role in a loved one’s serious injury, reach out to our team at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, for help.
Nursing home neglect in Connecticut occurs whenever the care that is provided falls below the professional standards of quality referenced above. The professional standards of quality are informed by a few things:
Nursing homes are required to provide care that complies with the professional standards, the federal statutes and regulations, and the state statutes and regulations. If the care they provide does not meet these requirements, it would be considered negligent or neglectful.
Some of the most frequent cases of neglect our lawyers see in Connecticut nursing homes include:
Those are the most common ones; there are others that are rarer, such as instances of sexual assault.
Some of the biggest factors leading to neglect in Connecticut nursing facilities are:
Inadequate staffing often causes nursing home workers to neglect residents. They’re taking care of too many people and don’t have the time required to properly care for each patient.
Inadequate training of nursing home staff is a significant issue. For example, devices such as Hoyer lifts, designed to assist in lifting residents with mobility difficulties, require proper use to ensure safety. If staff members are not properly trained to use these devices, accidents and injuries can occur.
Nursing home staff who are not properly or fully informed about the type of care that a particular resident needs can neglect them as a result.
When someone is admitted into a nursing home, a comprehensive assessment is supposed to be performed. This assessment is then periodically updated under certain circumstances, at least quarterly, but also if there are significant changes in medical condition. That would prompt another comprehensive assessment, or if somebody is brought to the hospital and then readmitted, that readmission would also trigger another comprehensive assessment.
From these comprehensive assessments, there is supposed to be a care plan that’s developed. It’s an individualized care plan that’s supposed to be specific to that individual and their needs. If those assessments are not done when they’re supposed to be done, if the care plan is not updated as it’s supposed to be, or if the person who’s delivering the care is not told what the needs of that resident are, then they don’t know how to care for that particular resident.
Simple carelessness can lead to residents being neglected. For example, this can occur when the pharmacy or pharmacy service responsible for filling prescriptions makes careless errors, resulting in incorrect medications being dispensed. Nurses might also fail to administer the correct dosage of medication.
Carelessness can also extend to dietary needs. Residents are supposed to have nutritional assessments that lead to specific diet orders. For example, if a resident has difficulty swallowing and needs a mechanically ground diet, but procedures are not followed to ensure they receive the correct food, they might be given something they cannot swallow, which could cause choking.
These are only a couple of examples. There are many others.
Neglect in Connecticut nursing homes is a serious issue that can lead to severe consequences for residents. Understanding the signs and causes of neglect and knowing when to seek legal help is crucial for ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable elderly residents in nursing homes.
If your loved one suffered a serious injury or passed away due to a nursing home’s negligence, we are here for you. Call D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, for a free, no-obligation consultation. We want to help you seek the justice you deserve.
