Suspicious Nursing Home Deaths

Nursing home deaths usually aren’t considered out of the ordinary because many people place their loved ones in nursing homes knowing that the loved ones are drawing near the end of their lives.  Nursing homes are often facilities where the care of elderly residents is continued until they simply pass away from old age or from severe medical conditions.  This is why deaths in nursing homes that actually are suspicious in nature are often not investigated.  When a resident passes away, the only way anyone will look to see if the death is suspicious is if the family members make enough of a fuss to attract the attention of administrators.  Then an autopsy may be done that may uncover bruises, scratches, cuts, and other signs of possible abuse.  An in-depth exam may also reveal dehydration or severe malnutrition as the cause of death for the nursing home resident.  This type of death is suspicious since staff members are supposed to be tracking the intake of every single resident each day.  If malnutrition or dehydration were problems, the staff members should have been providing additional nourishment or additional fluids via an IV line in the resident’s arm.  Unfortunately, suspicious deaths are often not uncovered or are uncovered too late to do anything about them.  Having suspicious nursing home deaths is a violation of the trust that the family members of each resident placed in the administrators and staff members when each resident was admitted to the facility.  If you feel the death of your loved one may have been suspicious, contact a San Diego nursing home abuse attorney to find out what your options are for taking action against the nursing home.