Dundalk Lack of Appropriate Care for Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients Attorney

The Mayo Clinic explains that Alzheimer’s disease, the leading contributor to dementia, causes brain cells to die. Patients with these conditions might be easily confused, have impaired memory, and suffer a variety of other difficult symptoms.

Any facility that knowingly accepts patients with these conditions must take special precautions. Such facilities may be negligent if they:

Fail to Hire Security Staff

Those with Alzheimer’s and dementia can become confused and leave the premises, a supervision failure called elopement. Impaired residents can also get lost or enter unsafe areas within the nursing home itself, a failure called wandering. Having security staff on duty and instructing those security staff about patients prone to wandering or elopement is a requirement.

Understaffing is a common problem among nursing homes, per Health Services Insights. Facilities that attempt to save money by reducing staff may be negligent, especially if patients leave the facility due to a lack of attention, supervision, or security.

Failure to Install Adequate Locks and Alarms

In addition to security staff, assisted living facilities and nursing homes can protect residents by:

• Installing automatic locks on doors throughout the facility
• Installing alarms that sound whenever a resident exits the premises without authorization
• Taking any other measures that could reduce the risk of those with Alzheimer’s and dementia fleeing the building

Properly caring for those with dementia requires multiple protective layers.

Hire Unqualified Staff

Caring for patients with cognitive problems requires patience and skill. When nursing homes and other facilities hire staffers who are underqualified, lacking in compassion, or otherwise unfit to care for patients like your loved one, it is the patient who suffers.

Fail to Monitor and Discipline Staff

Facilities must continually monitor staff to ensure that:

• Staffers are following best caregiving practices
• Patients aren’t suffering from abuse or neglect
• Enough staff are on duty to keep up with patients’ needs

When staff make a mistake or engage in neglect or abuse, facility administrators must dole out discipline appropriately. Failure to monitor or properly discipline staff puts residents like your loved one in danger.

Those with Alzheimer’s diseases and dementia are generally at great risk. They may be defenseless, easily confused and manipulated, and vulnerable to abuse and neglect. They might also be an easy target because they lack the ability to understand or communicate their abuse.

An attorney from Brown & Barron can identify exactly how a facility failed your loved one. If they did not receive appropriate care for their Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, the facility may be liable for significant damages in the form of a monetary recovery for the victim and/or the family.

Recoverable Losses in Cases Involving Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patients

Recoverable losses in your loved one’s case in Dundalk may include:

• Pain and suffering
• Medical expenses
• The cost of their stay at the negligent facility
• The cost of relocating to a new facility
• Rehabilitation for injuries
• Counseling and medication for trauma
• Any other damages resulting from mistreatment of your loved one

At Brown & Barron, we have the experience to identify and get a financial recovery for current and future damages that might not occur to an attorney who doesn’t have nursing home experience.

Contact Brown & Barron online today to schedule a free case review with a with a lack of appropriate care for alzheimer’s and dementia patients lawyer serving Dundalk.