Inattentive Staff in Toledo Nursing Homes
You chose the nursing home for your loved one with utmost care. All skilled nursing facilities are subject to state and federal laws, so you feel confident about your loved one’s safety. Ohio even has a Nursing Home Residents’ Bill of Rights so that you will understand a facility’s commitment to excellence. However, despite all of that, sometimes conditions fall below acceptable standards.
Ohio governs about 950 nursing homes, and the state’s mission is to provide quality care for every resident. Unfortunately, your loved one may not get top-notch care if the staff is not paying attention. However, the underlying cause for inattentive staff in Toledo nursing homes is frequently inadequate staffing, where employees are spread too thin. An experienced nursing home negligence attorney at Zoll & Kranz, LLC could help you explore your legal options if your loved one is suffering from neglect in their long-term care facility.
Ohio Requirements for Nursing Home Staffing
When staff is inattentive, it is likely a sign that the facility owners have heaped more responsibility and patients on them than they can handle. This can lead to disaster when patients need a high level of oversight.
Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3701-17-08(C) requires each nursing home to employ enough staff to meet residents’ needs on each shift. Nurse’s aides, licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and registered nurses (RNs) in Ohio must provide a minimum average of 2.5 hours daily for direct patient care. Failure to do so could mean a resident harmed by inattention is entitled to compensation for their losses. A compassionate attorney from our firm can discuss all aspects of a claim that staff in a Toledo nursing home are inattentive.
Federal Requirements to Include Medicaid and Medicare Patients
Family members have many reasons to believe assisted living facilities will be adequately staffed, ensuring the safety of their loved ones. However, under federal law, there are no provisions for the ratio of caregivers to nursing home patients when those patients are Medicaid or Medicare residents.
There are, however, recommendations that safeguard fragile residents. Failure to protect nursing home residents from inattentive workers could amount to negligence and a lawsuit based on personal injury or medical malpractice. For help determining if a loved one suffered injuries from inattentiveness by nursing home staff, consult a well-practiced Toledo attorney who could interpret the situation and provide sound legal advice.
Inattentiveness Often Leads to Significant Falls
Many older residents in nursing facilities suffer serious falls, made worse when they are unattended. Falls are often linked to inadequate staffing, when there are too few workers and not enough staff assisting patients, which is crucial when a resident:
- Uses the restroom
- Walks around the facility
- Maneuvers a wheelchair
- Gets into and out of bed
When a caregiver is inattentive, an impatient nursing home resident often tries to accomplish a task independently. Although a resident can still fall in the best staffing situations, the facility and caregiver may be liable for negligence when inadequate staffing occurs. Contact a diligent Toledo attorney after a loved one falls in a nursing home because the staff was inattentive.
Establishing Negligence
Nursing home administrators in Toledo may not readily document residents’ injuries caused by inattentive staff. However, a proactive legal professional will get to the bottom of the situation, review medical records, and talk to witnesses.
Negligence requires proving the nursing home had a duty to residents to keep them safe but breached that duty, harming a resident. If staffing is inadequate, the duty is breached. Negligence is established when the patient suffers injuries caused by the breach, and the injured party could be eligible for compensation.
Contact an Attorney About Inattentive Staff in Toledo Nursing Homes
When your loved one resides in a memory care center, you hope they are safe and cared for—unfortunately, this is not always the case. Sometimes, a facility is compromised by inattentive workers.
Call us if you sense that the employees at your loved one’s assisted living facility are stressed, overworked, or disinterested. Our dedicated attorneys at Zoll and Kranz, LLC can represent you and your family to ensure any breaches of a nursing home’s duty are rectified. We are your advocate when inattentive staff in Toledo nursing homes let your loved one down.
