What should be done regarding medical malpractice in a nursing facility?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What should be done regarding medical malpractice in a nursing facility?
About 6 weeks before, and even 4 days before, my mother entered a skilled nursing facility, her eye was scanned with detailed notes taken by a specialist. It was to evaluate her eye in preparation of an advanced stage catarac removal to fix her limited vision. During her stay one morning she called me in a panic that she felt burning sensation in her eyes that she had not felt since glacoma had first developed many years earlier. The case worker insisted that her charts showed her drops were given as per prescription but later conceeded someone had allowed the applications to lapse. How many days is unknown. This facility did not rush a specialist to my mother to treat her and simply thought
following the prescription was enough. New Link Destination
day they insist this lapse never happened. When I got my mother to a new glacoma/catarac specialist he saw the condition of the eye and the incredible eye pressure and rushed her to emergency surgery. I asked him if drops had been been given as per prescription and his answer was a definitive,
Asked on April 15, 2017 under Malpractice Law, California
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
A medical malpractice attorney could handle the case and an ophthalmologist could interpret the data and write a report supporting the malpractice claim.
Medical malpractice is negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care , which is that degree of care that a skilled nursing facility would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm.
Prior to filing a lawsuit, it may be possible to settle the case with the facility's insurance carrier. The claim should include the medical bills and medical reports.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, an amount in addition to the medical bills.
If the case is settled, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with the settlement offers, reject them and file a lawsuit for negligence against the nursing facility.
If the case is NOT settled, the lawsuit must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or your mom will lose her rights forever in the matter.
r
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.