A nursing home is legally required to provide a certain standard of care to its residents. When these standards aren’t met, they can result in serious issues. This can lead to injury, emotional withdrawal, illness, and even death. Knowing about nursing home negligence can help you spot the signs and keep your loved ones safe.

Types of Negligence

Negligence can result from many things. These things can include:

• Failing to respond appropriately to a resident’s requests or complaints
• Failing to provide food or medication at the necessary times
• Not providing adequate water to the resident
• Leaving a patient unattended when they require supervision
• Not screening visitors to the nursing home
• Direct abuse to the resident
• Failure to aid in maintaining adequate hygiene practices
• Unsafe premises
• Negligent hiring practices or insufficient training and supervision of employees

Signs of Negligence

Familiarizing yourself with the signs of negligence can help you discover it before your loved one is harmed. These signs are easier to notice when the nursing home is near the resident’s family, because the signs tend to be physical. Common signs of nursing home negligence include:

• Sudden weight loss
• Bedsores
• Injuries caused from falls
• Dehydration
• Malnutrition
• Withdrawn behavior
• Changes in hygiene or appearance
• Lack of friendly interaction with other residents or staff
• Environmental hazards or unsafe premises

Nursing home negligence can be subtle. Keeping an eye out for these signs can help you protect your loved one, especially when they are not able to care for themselves.

There is a significant different between nursing home negligence and abuse. Abuse implies the intent to cause harm to the resident. Though nursing home abuse is a type of negligence, negligence includes other aspects that can result in harm to the resident.

There is a time limit on nursing home negligence cases. This varies from state to state, but is typically within 5 years of the time of injury or 3 years from when the injury was discovered. If you are involved in a nursing home negligence case, you should seek legal counsel. Contact us at LeBaron & Jensen to procure superior legal representation.

I require a single movement, can become effective in about three seconds, and greatly increase your safety while in a vehicle. What am I? You guessed it, a seatbelt. Seatbelts go a long way toward protecting you from harm, but studies show that not everyone uses them.

Why Wear a Seatbelt?

Seatbelts generally reduce the risk of fatality by 45%. They also reduce the risk of sustaining moderate to serious injury by 50%. According to the NHTSA, the use of seatbelts saved nearly 15,000 lives in 2016.

Failing to wear a seatbelt affects everyone. It increases costs for the rest of society. Not wearing a seatbelt causes higher insurance premiums for everyone, affects taxes, and results in idle time because of additional traffic following an accident. Not wearing a seatbelt doesn’t just endanger you, but it also endangers everyone in the vehicle. An unsecured passenger can become a projectile in the event of an accident. Many people claim that seatbelts are uncomfortable, but their benefits far outweigh the negative aspects.

Do I Have to Wear a Seatbelt?

Unless you are 18+ and live in the state of New Hampshire, yes, you must wear a seatbelt. The other 49 states all have seatbelt laws. These laws differ from state to state. Most states are secondary law states. This means that an officer can write a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt, but only if you have been pulled over for another reason. Primary law states allow an officer to pull you over solely for not wearing a seatbelt. These states tend to have a higher percentage of seatbelt users than other states.

Using a seatbelt just makes sense. A seatbelt protects you both physically and legally. To learn more about applicable seatbelt laws and how they affect you, or to obtain quality legal representation, contact us at LeBaron & Jensen.