Who to Sue After Nursing Home Wrongful Death?

If your loved one has passed away due to the negligence of a nursing home employee, you have the right to file a wrongful death suit on their behalf. However, you might not be sure who you can sue for wrongful death in a nursing home.

As a matter of fact, there are several different parties you can file a lawsuit against. The nursing home abuse attorneys at Zanes Law are here to advise you and provide information about the parties you can take action against after wrongful death in a nursing home.

Nursing Home Employees and Parties You Can Sue for Wrongful Death

When you bring your parents or elderly relatives to live in a nursing home, you expect that the facility and the entire staff will have your loved one’s best interests in mind. Unfortunately, some nursing home employees are irresponsible, negligent, and even ill-intentioned.

You need to hire an attorney if your loved one has passed away due to an injury or condition caused by nursing home abuse. In collaboration with local authorities, a lawyer can determine who is responsible for your loved one’s passing.

Several entities, employees, and third-party workers could be held liable for your loved one’s death and your subsequent financial and emotional losses. Those parties include but aren’t limited to the following:

Nursing home staff member
Nurse or physician
Contracted medical care worker
Custodial worker
Another resident of the facility
The nursing home

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Nursing Home Employees Can Be Held Liable

Nursing home staff members, nurses, physicians, and custodians are all required to look after the safety and well-being of the residents. If an employee fails to perform an essential service like providing water, food, necessities, or medical care to a resident, they can be held responsible for fatal injuries.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more than 60,000 nursing home residents die yearly due to bed sores, also known as pressure ulcers. If it’s found that a staff member failed to help your loved one reposition themselves to prevent bed sores or report pressure ulcers to a nurse, they can be held responsible for a resulting fatality.

Elderly individuals are often extremely vulnerable and health-compromised, which is why pressure ulcers are only one of many conditions that can lead to death. Nursing home employees can also be held liable for death caused by neglect, malnutrition, failure to provide medication, sexual abuse leading to infection, and assault.

Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the Nursing Home Itself

Poorly staffed nursing homes are a nationwide epidemic. Injuries, illnesses, and deaths can occur when elder care facilities don’t have the employee base and resources necessary to provide adequate care to all residents. If your loved one has passed due to lack of care from understaffing, you have the right to sue the nursing home.

You can also file a lawsuit against the nursing home if your family member’s death was caused by:

Poorly trained employees
Poorly vetted employees
Lack of security personnel
Failure to maintain or replace assistive equipment
Lack of basic necessities

Even if the nursing home wasn’t directly responsible for your loved one’s death, there’s still a good chance they may be implicated in your lawsuit. After all, the facility was charged with protecting your family member and should be held responsible for any harm it could have prevented.

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How Long You Have to Sue the Nursing Home for Wrongful Death

If an attorney has advised you to file a wrongful death lawsuit against your deceased loved one’s nursing home or an employee who works there, you’ll have to follow a strict deadline. That’s because Arizona has a statute of limitations for fatal injury lawsuits.

ARS § 12-542 states that you have two years from the day of your family member’s death to submit a suit. Investigating a wrongful death, analyzing evidence, and preparing a lawsuit isn’t a small undertaking. It can take a considerable amount of time to file a successful lawsuit.

Do yourself and your family a favor and contact an attorney today. The sooner you reach out to a lawyer, the more likely you’ll benefit from the damages available to grieving family members.

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Damages You Could Receive From a Successful Suit

If you sue the nursing home for wrongful death and win, you could receive compensation for many different financial losses and emotional struggles. Depending on the impact that your family member’s death has had on you, you could be awarded compensation for the following:

Certain medical bills the decedent passed on to you
Burial and funeral expenses
Cremation costs
Loss of financial support
Loss of services
Loss of consortium
Mental anguish
Loss of enjoyment of life

Who Can Sue for Wrongful Death in Arizona

The state of Arizona limits who can file a wrongful death lawsuit. The following parties will be permitted to sue a nursing home for wrongful death damages:

The decedent’s spouse
The decedent’s child
The decedent’s parent

If you are the decedent’s close relative, you might be entitled to compensation for your monetary and emotional losses. Contact a wrongful death attorney today to find out if you’re eligible to take legal action.

Contact a Wrongful Death Attorney from Our Firm

The wrongful death attorneys at Zanes Law have helped countless grieving family members get the compensation they need to deal with their loss in a comfortable environment. Contact us today if your loved one has passed away in an elder care facility under suspicious circumstances.

We can advise you further on who you can sue for wrongful death in a nursing home. Once we’ve identified the liable party or parties, we’ll do everything we can to hold them responsible for the irreplaceable loss you’ve suffered. Schedule a consultation with us today to learn more about your rights.

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