NURSING HOME ACCIDENTS & ABUSE ATTORNEY IN HOUSTON, TEXAS

Though no one wants to ponder the prospect of a parent, grandparent, or other relative enduring abuse at a nursing home or other care facility, such abuse occurs more frequently than most assume. According to the World Health Organization, two in three nursing home staff members have reported committing abuse in the past year.

If you know or suspect a family member has been mistreated in a Houston-area care facility, I empathize with you. At my firm — Jose Orihuela, Attorney at Law — I am here to push for justice after this unfortunate incident. I serve nursing home accident, abuse, and neglect victims in Houston, Webster, Pasadena, Clear Lake, and the surrounding areas of Texas.

PROTECTION FROM ABUSE & NEGLECT

Texas law includes provisions for protection against abuse in nursing homes and other care facilities. This protection is provided, in part, through investigation and resolution. The Texas Health and Safety Code states that all nursing homes and similar facilities are required to report such abuse, exploitation, or neglect. The facility in question is also required to conduct an investigation of the reported act. The ensuing written report is to be transmitted to DADS, an acronym that stands for the Department of Aging and Disability Services.

ELDER ABUSE

Nursing home staffers who suspect resident abuse and fail to report it can be found guilty of a Class-A misdemeanor. Suspected abuse is to be reported to DADS, an organization that helps to protect elderly individuals from abuse in the state of Texas. Every resident of a nursing home or similar facility has the legal right to be free from abuse. Such residents cannot be subjected to involuntary seclusion, corporal punishment, physical restraint, chemical restraint, or other forms of mental, verbal, physical, or sexual abuse.

NEGLECT

Texas nursing homes are required to meet standards for residents’ quality of life. The Texas Administrative Code mandates residents of elder care facilities be provided with high-quality care.  The law details how residents are to be provided with the services necessary to maintain wellbeing in terms of the body and mind.

If your loved one was not provided with a comprehensive care plan that encompasses room, board, social services, medical supplies, and OTC drugs or not provided with quality care, the stage is set for taking legal action. Even neglect stemming from insufficient staffing at a facility can provide grounds for a lawsuit.

STAFFING LEVEL REQUIREMENTS

Nursing home staffers are legally required to maintain safe spaces for residents. As an example, inadequate supervision that contributes to a resident’s fall sets the stage for a negligence lawsuit.  Furthermore, an on-site physician, nurse, or another medical professional who misdiagnoses or improperly treats a resident can be found guilty of medical negligence. Even something as seemingly subtle as prescribing an incorrect dosage level of a medication can pave a path toward financial compensation through personal injury litigation.

Texas nursing home staff and other medical personnel are legally obligated to provide the appropriate level of medical assistance to residents. A failure to provide such assistance constitutes a form of negligence. Nursing home staff members who fail to keep the building safe in terms of logistics in the context of free and clear walking paths, as well as other facility hazards, can also be held liable for negligence. 

Even a minor violation of the Texas Administrative Code that pertains to the quality of care provided at nursing homes provides the solid legal footing necessary for legal action.

PROVING ABUSE OR NEGLIGENCE

A loved one who has bruises, welts, cuts, or significant changes in their eating habits might be a victim of nursing home abuse. However, your parent, grandparent, or other loved one might not be willing to verbalize the abuse because doing so has the potential to lead to additional abuse.  Be on the lookout for indications of abuse and don’t hesitate to broach the subject with your loved one as well as the nursing home staffers and my law office.

In terms of legal liability for nursing home abuse, one or several parties can potentially be deemed liable. What matters most is which parties inflicted the abuse or knew about the abuse. If the nursing home or other care facility owner, manager, and/or staff members are aware of the abuse yet did little to nothing to stop it, all parties involved can be named as defendants in ensuing legal action.