Nursing homes have a duty to provide care for their patients, but neglect and abandonment can still happen. Both neglect and abandonment occur more often when a home is understaffed. What is the difference between nursing home neglect and abandonment? Will it affect your case? Here’s a brief overview of the differences.
Nursing home neglect
Neglect typically refers to a failure to provide basic necessary care and services as required by employment, contract or assumed responsibility. As a result, the patient may suffer physical or emotional harm. Neglect can be intentional abandonment of responsibility, carelessness or being inadequately trained and staffed.
Nursing home neglect can include physical neglect, like untreated bedsores. It can also encompass neglect of social, emotional and environmental needs. Because nursing home residents are often unable to care for or advocate for themselves, it can pose a serious risk to their emotional, mental and physical health.
Nursing home abandonment
Abandonment means the intentional desertion of a nursing home patient, after the care provider has accepted responsibility for them, which places the patient at serious risk of harm. Abandonment goes beyond neglect. Common examples include leaving the premises without giving adequate notice, agreeing to care for a patient and abandoning duties without notice or leaving without communicating a patient’s health status. This typically involves an intentional act of leaving, rather than the neglect that can happen in understaffed nursing homes. Abandonment implies that the neglectful behavior has continued longer than typical neglect cases, or placed the patient at a greater risk of harm by leaving them completely unsupervised.
What kind of case can I file?
You don’t need to determine whether you or a loved one suffered from abandonment or neglect. When you call the Law Offices of Tim Misny, we’ll review your case and explain your legal options, based on the individual facts of your case.
Generally, nursing home abuse cases are litigated under a theory of negligence. To prevail, a plaintiff must show that the nursing home had a duty to care for the patient, they breached that duty and as a result, the patient suffered actual harm. If successful, you may be able to recover compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering and more. Because you have just two years from the date of the injury to file a case, it’s important to call our firm right away.
Call an Ohio nursing home abuse attorney today
The Law Offices of Tim Misny can help you with your abandonment or neglect claim. If you or a loved one were injured due to someone else’s negligence or recklessness, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call my office at (800) 556-4769 so that I can evaluate your case right away.