Phoenix Infectious Outbreaks and Disease Lawyers

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You would like the reassurance that your loved one is experiencing a happy and healthy stay as a resident of a Phoenix nursing home. Unfortunately, infectious outbreaks and disease commonly occur at these facilities—and they spread quickly, rendering many residents seriously ill, sometimes dead.

If your loved one suffered from an infectious outbreak or disease in a nursing home, you may face serious medical bills. Your loved one might also require hospital care. Add to this the pain and suffering they are experiencing, and it becomes clear that the nursing home’s enabling this to happen has caused you great damages. An infectious outbreak and disease lawyer in Phoenix, AZ at Zanes Law will do everything from A to Z to see that justice is served on behalf of your loved one.

Call us for a free, no-obligation case review at (866)-499-8989.

Types of Infectious Outbreaks and Disease Most Common in Nursing Homes

Between one million and three million serious infections manifest in nursing homes every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The organization reports that as many as 380,000 long-term care facilities residents die of infections annually.

The most common types of infections in these facilities, according to the CDC, prevail because of residents’ inadequate oral hygiene, incontinence, difficulty swallowing, dementia, and functional disabilities. They include:

Pneumonia
Urinary tract infections
Antibiotic-resistant staph infections
Diarrheal diseases
Skin and soft tissue infection

How Infectious Outbreaks and Disease Happen in Nursing Homes

According to Clinical Infectious Diseases, an official publication of Infectious Diseases Society of America, nursing homes promote a “perfect storm” environment for the spread of infection because of the following factors:

Residents are more susceptible to disease, due to weakened immune systems or existing conditions that their bodies are fighting.
Residents have a decreased responsiveness to vaccinations.
Residents draw from the same sources of water, food, air, and health care.
Residents live in close proximity to one another.
Outside visitors bring pathogens with them.

Furthermore, feeding tubes, catheters, and other invasive medical devices serve as hosts for bacteria colonization.

Nursing homes are aware of the risk factors for infectious outbreaks and diseases that are unique to their facilities. They are responsible for taking reasonable measures to protect their residents from these risk factors.

How Phoenix Nursing Homes Can Prevent Infectious Outbreaks and Disease

Nursing homes operate with an awareness of the risk factors for infectious outbreaks and diseases that can thrive within their facilities. For this reason, standard medical practices must be implemented and followed in order to prevent these diseases and outbreaks from occurring.

Some standard practices that for decades have proven to be effective deterrents include:

Regularly screening residents for infections
Using catheters only when absolutely necessary
Isolation of infected residents
Frequent diaper changing
Appropriate management of linens for the minimal spread of infections
Requiring staff to use masks, gowns, gloves
Requiring sanitizing of hands among staff
Visitors adhere to facility hygiene protocols and practices

How Negligence, Fault, and Liability Are Established with Nursing Home Neglect Cases

Personal injury lawsuits require the fulfillment of four criteria to establish negligence, fault, and liability.

1. A Nursing Home’s Duty of Care to Its Residents

The first element is called duty of care. It means that a party had the duty to take reasonable steps of care to ensure the safety of another party. Federal law fulfills the duty of care criterion for nursing homes, as they are required to implement and enforce practices that minimize resident infections.
The law further stipulates that nursing homes implement an Infection Control Program and that staff be trained on the practices involved in the program.

2. How Nursing Homes May Breach Their Duty of Care

The second component necessary to establish negligence is that the nursing home breached its duty of care. This may have happened for a variety or combination of reasons:

● Nursing home staff were not trained on how to prevent infections.
● Nursing home is understaffed, or staff is otherwise overworked.
● Nursing home’s Infection Control Program is not fully enforced.

Using evidence we gather from witnesses, photos, videos, facility safety records, and expert opinion, we will prove that the nursing home in your case breached its duty of care.

3. How the Nursing Home’s Breach of Duty Caused Your Loved One’s Sickness

An infectious outbreaks and disease lawyer in Phoenix, AZ will obtain your loved one’s medical records, as well as opinions offered by medical experts to prove that the nursing home’s negligence caused your loved one’s sickness.

4. How Your Loved One’s Sickness Created Damages

Finally, we will collaborate with other experts, including medical, economic, life planning, and vocational, to establish that your loved one’s injuries resulted in multiple damages—physical, financial, and emotional.

Calculating Damages for Your Loved One’s Infectious Disease

When an elderly individual contracts an infectious disease, the condition can rapidly cause other complications. The costs associated with treating your loved one can add up quickly, and they can be ongoing, affecting finances for years to come.

We will factor in all the variables of damages resulting from your loved one’s infectious disease to arrive at an amount we will demand you be compensated—either via settlement by the liable party’s insurer, or a personal injury lawsuit award.

If your loved one died as the result of an infectious outbreak or disease at their nursing home, you may want to pursue a wrongful death action. The nursing home accident lawyers at Zanes Law will help you with this process.

Zanes Law Infectious Outbreaks and Disease Lawyer in Phoenix, AZ

Family means everything to the members of the legal team at Zanes Law. An infectious outbreak and disease lawyer in Phoenix, AZ will do everything from A to Z to see that you are able to receive the compensation you need to take care of the medical costs brought on by your loved one’s illness.

For a free, no-obligation consultation, call our firm today at (866)-499-8989.

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