Medical Malpractice in Nursing Homes

Medical malpractice in nursing homes may take many different forms, including ignoring a resident’s symptoms or requests for a doctor, making prescription drug errors, failing to check for harmful drug interactions, providing antipsychotics as a chemical restraint, abusing a medical restraint, and inadequately training staff. Catastrophic injuries or death may be outcomes of cost cutting, understaffing, or improperly administered medical care.

You may recover damages for medical malpractice in a nursing home if you are able to establish liability. When a healthcare provider’s negligence is the cause of your injuries, you will need expert testimony regarding the duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation, and damages. Each state has its own rules, and some have pre-litigation requirements, such as the submission of an expert affidavit with the initial complaint. In Tennessee, if your case counts as a “health care liability action,” which most nursing home cases do, you will need to follow specific requirements. Our nursing home malpractice lawyers can help Memphis residents make sure that these requirements are met in their case.

In Tennessee, if you want to file a lawsuit against a health care provider, you will need to provide pre-suit notice. Among other things, your attorney or you must file a certificate of good faith with the complaint, certifying that the attorney or you consulted with at least one medical expert who considered the facts and concluded that there was a good-faith basis to pursue your claim. If this notice requirement is not met, your complaint may be dismissed with prejudice. This means that the lawsuit is over without considering the substance of it, and you may not bring it again.

Generally, an expert will review your medical records and other documents to determine whether the health care provider’s actions fell below the professional standard of care and whether this failure to meet the standard of care was the actual and legal cause of the injuries or death. Only specific family members may bring a wrongful death lawsuit. There is an order in which they have priority to bring such a lawsuit, and it varies according to state laws.

Accordingly, if you suspect that a loved one has been subject to medical malpractice in a nursing home, you should consult an attorney right away so that they have the time to consult with an expert and provide the necessary certification and other requirements. Among other things, the expert must be willing to state that your loved one’s caregiver did not meet the professional standard of care and that this was the cause of their injuries or death.