Nursing Home Sued for Wrongful Death

A nursing home in New York has been hit with a wrongful death claim this week.

The claim alleges that the nursing home was negligent in a way that caused the death of a resident from truly horrific causes; claims of bedsores, dehydration and malnutrition are all listed in the lawsuit.
Wrongful death lawsuits against nursing homes are always born of the most painful circumstances imaginable. When a facility is entrusted with the care of someone's family member and they are negligent in delivering that care, death is a very real threat. These lawsuits are filed by lawyers who specialize in these cases and there is a lot that goes into them.

Finding the causes of abuse.

If there are criminal charges against any employees of the nursing home, there will be an investigation conducted by law enforcement. If you go forward and file a civil lawsuit, the attorney will conduct a nursing home death investigation of their own. The attorneys can bring together a great many resources to help their clients, but the investigation will be a bit different than the one law enforcement conducts. The attorney will be looking for negligent actions. Those negligent actions—or inactions—may or may not be criminal.
The attorney will look for the sort of neglect and sloppy care that is typical of these cases. They will also look for evidence of abuse and for evidence that the management of the nursing home was not maintaining proper conditions. They may also find that the administration failed to report what was going on, which may have contributed to the death. Anyone who was negligent can be pursued via a lawsuit, presenting families with options.

The logistics of suing.

In order to file a lawsuit, you have to have a dollar figure attached to what you're suing over. This, obviously, is not an easy number to set when you're talking about someone who died. Your attorney will help you to understand how much compensation you should seek and why. They will look at your case, prior cases and other information to help you make this determination.
If you end up going to court, your lawyer will represent your case for you and argue it before a jury. You may or may not receive a jury award. You may also be offered a settlement by the defendants, particularly if they believe that your case is very strong. Your attorney will work to negotiate a settlement amount that is agreeable to you.