The coronavirus pandemic has pushed anyone caring for an older person to their limits; additional precautions must protect the vulnerable older populations, and many have been unable to see their children and grandchildren because of the heightened risk of serious complications should they contract the virus.
Even though there have been additional efforts taken to protect the elderly, over 90,000 have died in nursing homes since the pandemic started. On top of that 90,000, Associated Press reports that tens of thousands more have died due to neglect.
Despite best efforts, many nursing homes became overburdened during the past year or so, which meant workers have been unable to give patients the care they need. Human rights groups have been inundated with reports of “residents kept in soiled diapers so long their skin peeled off, left with bedsores that cut to the bone, and allowed to wither away in starvation or thirst.”
Nursing homes are paid to care for the elderly, so when they fail to give residents the reasonable amount of care that the average person would expect, well, that’s the definition of negligence. Under the California court of law, you can sue a nursing home for negligence with the help of an elder abuse attorney in Sherman Oaks.
If your loved one died under nursing home’s care in Sherman Oaks without a positive COVID diagnosis, then it’s possible their death could have been prevented if it hadn’t been for neglect. Associated Press also reported that many doctors have seen rising numbers of elder deaths due to “failure to thrive,” which can be explained as a depressed mental state caused by prolonged isolation.
A nursing home abuse expert analyzed data from 15,000 facilities across the U.S., and they found that for every two nursing home victims of COVID, there was one that suffered a premature death from other causes. That adds up to more than 40,000 premature deaths in nursing homes that aren’t COVID-related.
If a loved one died prematurely while staying in a nursing home, then their life may have been cut short due to being neglected. If you reach out to one of our Sherman Oaks injury attorneys, we can help you get justice for your loved one’s wrongful death. Okhovat Law has a network of experts that can search the nursing home for signs of abuse and neglect so that you have a strong case. Nothing can bring back your loved one, but we can ensure that the home pays for what they did.