Attorney
If you have family members in a D.C. metro area nursing home, you expect they will receive both care and respect. You should also remain assured the facility will provide all of their basic needs.
If your expectations aren’t met, and a loved one experiences harm, can you sue a nursing home for negligence? The attorneys at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, and DePaolis, LLP will have an answer for you.
If the Harm Occurred Anywhere Within the D.C. Metro Area, Can You Sue a Nursing Home for Negligence?
Under their respective law codes, the District of Columbia, along with the Virginia and Maryland portions of the D.C. metro area, allow nursing home neglect cases to proceed through the civil court system. Harmed individuals or their family members may initiate a civil legal action as long as the filing takes place within the proper statute of limitation’s time frame.
You will need to file your suit in the jurisdiction where the harm occurred, which is also the location of your loved one’s nursing home. If you are the individual responsible for your older family member’s care, you may file the negligence lawsuit on their behalf in most cases.
What Should You Do Before You File a Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit?
The issue of a nursing home being sued for negligence rests on your ability to prove that some form of negligence actually occurred and harmed your loved one. This is a primary consideration in your lawsuit, and it requires evidence to proceed with your case.
Before you consult with a nursing home neglect attorney, it can prove helpful if you can gather together as much evidence as possible. Your preliminary evidence could consist of medical reports, photos, or your journaled notes detailing interactions with your family member and the facility’s staff during your visits. Your attorney will then gather additional evidence through a range of fact-finding techniques.
If a loved one experienced harm and you need to sue a nursing home for negligence, it will be easier to prove when you can show the type of harm your family member suffered. Photos can convey graphic details of physical injuries, and recordings or written notes can show how the facility’s neglect affected your loved one’s emotional health.
Some of the types of harm your preliminary evidence could help show are physical ailments, such as bedsores, and emotional health issues that could include depression and anxiety.
Don’t Lose Sleep Over the Issue of Suing a Nursing Home for Negligence
The team of experienced attorneys at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, and DePaolis, LLP can answer your questions and show you how your family could obtain compensatory justice. The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging revealed in 2023 that an alarming number of residents suffer from substandard nursing home care — your loved one does not need to be among them.
If you believe you need to sue a nursing home for negligence, call us now. We’ll schedule a no-obligation and no-fee consultation to answer your questions.