Nursing Home Negligence
When we place a loved one or relative in a nursing home, we have the right to expect that they will receive compassionate and excellent care. Nursing home residents have the right to live in dignity, free from abuse and neglect. A nursing home should be a clean, safe and healthy place for our loved ones.
Unfortunately, some nursing homes sometimes fail to properly care for their residents. And in some cases, there is outright abuse and neglect. Some of the more common signs of abuse and negligence are development of bed sores or pressure ulcers, medication errors, misuse of restraints, physical neglect, sexual or physical abuse, malnutrition/dehydration, failure to prevent wandering and burn injuries.
If you suspect that a nursing home patient has been abused or neglected in any manner, you should call the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to report it. You can contact them on the web at http://www.okdhs.org/. Scroll down the page, then click on the Adults link, and on the page that comes up, click on the Adult Protective Services link. Or you can call the toll free Statewide Abuse Hotline at 1-800-522-3511.
Then, if appropriate, contact me and I will let you know what legal steps you may need to take to protect the rights of your loved ones.
The statute of limitations for claims against nursing homes is generally two years from the date of injury or death. If the injury is not discovered until sometime after it occurs, it is possible that the statute of limitations would be two years from the date the injury is discovered. However, that rule depends on the individual facts of the case and it is always better to file the case within two years from the date of the actual injury, if possible.
