Don’t spin your wheels only to find, as the attorney for wrongful death nursing home lawsuits, aren’t there.
Although the majoriy of cases I consult on are meritorious, I also come across cases that on the surface seem like a slam dunk, but looking deeper into the issues, I find that the deviations that seem evident are not really relevant nor do they affect the overall picture.
A nursing home patient died, seemingly due to provider and facility neglect, but unfortunately it wasn’t a clear cut case to pursue and my client had to recommend other remidies the family needed to consider. It was evident that a wrongful death nursing home lawsuit win wouldn’t have been possible. The facility obviously knew how to protect itself, and I performed the deep dive to unconvered.
I’ve culminated a list of areas that can open up your understanding of whether you are potentially going to fight a loosing battle and if you should get out early in the process when pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit
- Regulations that are designed to guide care aren’t running the show
Regulatory State and Federal organization guidelines are constantly changing based on new information and practices being discovered during audits and surveys of nursing homes.
Almost yearly, facilities are inundated with new rules that they are expected to adhere to and supposedly implement in order to meet compliance status. I say “supposedly” because the reality is that teaching new processes to staff and ensuring 100% compliance is just not feasible. The work around, however, is paying attention to how the new “mandate” is written and may have holes that can easily offer ways for the nursing home to get away with less than 100% compliance.
Some regulations leave holes that give facilities ways to avoid negligence from wrongful death claims completely. State regulatory boards and CMS Federal programs are not the end all be all when trying to build a case of negligence. Regardless of experience, each case is different and as the attorney for wrongful death nursing home lawsuits can easily fail to recognize the limitations these agencies have over facilities.
2. Failure to understand how policies and procedures are written to protect nursing home staff are vague, by design, to create a wall to protect them from wrongul death lawsuits
Lets face it, corporations are buying out most privately owned facilities because there is a supposed “win-win” for both sides. These corporations are in it to make money, and you can be sure that their legal TEAMS exist to maintain the profitable goal of the facility. Most policies are written loosely in conjunction with State or Federal regulatory guidelines, but again, leave a lot of room for arguable defenses if ever called into question. I’m not going to lie, this is very hard to spot if you don’t have experience in the policy creation process. No one is going to admit that their win, even when negligent, is by design.
3. A duck isn’t always a duck just because it looks like one
Mentioned in the beginning, I had a case where the patient was sent to the hospital from a nursing home, who looked like he was on deaths door step. The family was shocked and devastated and vowed to get the facility for negligence and ultmately a wrongful death after his passing. As it turned out, even though the patient “looked” horrible, policies and regulations protected the actions of the facility and all care staff from blame. As an attorney for wrongful death nursing home lawsuits, you already know that emotion and assumptions do not support a lawsuit, even when it seems obvious to the layperson’s eyes. It is very hard at times to let a family know that there is nothing, legally, that can be done. Disease processes, testing, proof of assessments and pristine documentation can stop a wrongful death claim in its tracks.
Understanding documentation (what is pristine vs what puts everyone out to dry) from a clinical viewpoint, is one of the most important consults you can have. If you aren’t aware of the true meaning of what is being said, it’s easy to assume neglect. Corporate entities will drive policies, sometimes more or many times less stringent than other agencies, and they will ensure key elements of care according to their well designed policies are of upmost importance, sometimes even more important than the hands-on direct care that providers give. This, unfortunately, is how many nursing homes run.
Plainly said, there are so many factors that come into play in an attorney’s wrongful death nursing home lawsuit trying to crack through these corporations mazes. The good news, however, is that understanding how to “play the game” and recognizing true evidence of deviations to protect from putting in time and building up hope early in the process.
Remember, GUIDELINES ARE NOT MANDATES!