Many families are affected by wrongful death at a nursing home every year. Wrongful death lawsuits can be filed by the surviving family members of people who have been seriously injured or are suffering from illnesses caused by incompetent staff at nursing homes. This type of lawsuit in California may allow survivors or the estate to seek financial compensation for their losses.
What is a wrongful death claim? What is it different from a criminal case?
- Wrongful death can be defined as a death that is caused by negligence, default (omission), or other wrongdoing. A wrongful death lawsuit does not hold someone accountable for your loved one’s death. These two justice systems have different laws and burdens of evidence.
- While a civil case compensates the surviving loved ones for their loss, a criminal case seeks to indict a defendant for his or her crime. A wrongful death case does not require you to prove that the staff or nursing home intended to kill your loved ones. You only need to prove that the defendant committed a violation of the victim’s duty of care and that this caused the victim to die.
- A wrongful death case also has a lower burden of proof than a criminal case. A criminal homicide case must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. However, a wrongful-death claim requires only a preponderance or convincing evidence that the claim is true. However, if the nursing home is facing criminal charges for the death you might be able use this evidence in your wrongful-death lawsuit.
Common Causes of Unexpected Death in Nursing Homes
Residents in nursing homes are responsible to ensure their physical and mental well-being. Residents could be at risk if they are not protected from harm or neglect. There are several possible causes for wrongful death in a nursing home:
- Elder neglect or abuse
- Unsafe and unsanitary places
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Failure to diagnose/misdiagnosis
- Treating the problem is impossible
- Medication mistakes
- Bedores or infections
- Malnutrition and dehydration
- Elopement/failing to monitor residents
- Inadequate security
A wrongful death lawsuit can be filed in California if a probe finds that the nursing facility or its employee should have done more. A successful claim can lead to damages for funeral costs, pain, suffering, loss of consortium and other expenses.
Summarized from an article by Rose, Klein & Marias Injury Lawyers.
