Pennsylvania seniors are protected under elder laws which apply when the senior is a resident of a nursing home. Equally, injury laws apply when the senior becomes a victim of malpractice, neglect, or abuse. Nursing home malpractice in Pittsburgh laws allow the court to order a monetary award when these establishments fail seniors.
Securing Physical Evidence
Family members who suspect that their senior is the victim of malpractice must secure evidence.
Clear signs are mismanaged health requirements, and nursing homes owe seniors a duty of care. This standard of care requires them to provide adequate health care for seniors without producing injuries, and they also protect them from neglect and abuse. These circumstances indicate that care providers failed to diagnose conditions and treat them properly.
Taking Protective Action
If abuse, neglect or malpractice is suspected, the family must take action; they have the legal right to remove the senior from the nursing home at any time. By retaining these rights, they can take the senior to a doctor for evaluation, which helps them take action against the nursing home. This includes an immediate discharge from the facility.
A family member can take custody of the senior if he or she is at risk of physical harm. Equally, they have the right to notify law enforcement of these conditions, and these laws help the family to initiate guardianship rights if necessary.
Filing a Report and a Formal Claim
After securing medical evidence, the family member should file a report against the nursing home and a formal claim against the doctor who provided care at the facility. An attorney helps them start a claim and to navigate through legal channels to report the nursing home in order to prevent other residents from becoming injured.
Pennsylvania families may take legal action if they believe their senior is at risk. In a nursing home setting, abuse and neglect are common probabilities and these conditions could lead to a medical malpractice. This could include circumstances in which these failures where the direct result of an unethical staff. Families who suspect nursing home malpractice in Pittsburgh should call us at 888.644.5545 to hire an attorney today.
