Legal Practice

Under-Staffing:

Abuse and neglect resulting in injury typically comes from the nursing home or assisted living facilities lack of proper staff. Typically, a nursing home has several Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses and Certified Nursing Assistants on each unit to ensure the quality of care of the residents. However, homes owned by larger corporations typically do not provide adequate staff to properly care for the residents of the their facilities, thereby, reducing the facilities operating costs and ensuring its profitability.

Should you notice that the home in which your loved one is a resident does not provide the proper staff to care for the residents in the facility, you should bring this to the attention of the Administrator of the facility, as well as your local state agency. Most states have a department of Human Services or an Agency for Health Care Services which provides for an Ombudsman to be contacted with complaints. These complaints will typically be investigated by the State and, if substantiated, must be correct by the home. Should the deficiency not be corrected in a timely fashion, the home could be subject to severe penalties and fines.