The United States has thousands of nursing homes and long-term care facilities with millions of residents. These facilities are supposed to provide high care for older Americans. Unfortunately, many nursing home workers neglect or abuse their residents, sometimes seriously injuring them.
Speak to our seasoned Houston nursing home accident lawyer at Suits & Boots Accident Injury Lawyers if you or a loved one suffered an injury in a nursing home. You may recover compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and more.
Why Choose Our Houston Nursing Home Accident Attorneys?
The Houston personal injury Lawyers at Suits & Boots Accident Injury Lawyers have assisted many families whose loved ones suffered an injury in a nursing home because of negligence, neglect, or abuse.
Our experienced Houston nursing home accident lawyer has successfully represented many victims and secured multi-million dollar settlements and jury verdicts. Our previous nursing home accident clients routinely rate our services and experience highly.
Our Houston nursing home accident lawyers at Suits & Boots are ready to help get justice for you and your family. Please contact our Houston nursing home injury lawyers today for a complimentary consultation at (713) 489-0922.
Compensation In Houston Nursing Home Accident Claims
Compensation in a Texas nursing home accident claim depends on the specific case facts, including the nature and severity of the injury, the cause of the accident, and the liable parties involved.
Texas nursing homes are legally required to provide residents a certain standard of care.
If they breach this duty due to neglect, abuse, or unsafe conditions, you recover compensation for various damages, including:
- Medical expenses: This includes costs for emergency treatment, hospital stays, surgeries, medications, physical therapy, or ongoing care related to the accident. For example, if a fall due to poor supervision results in a broken hip, all associated medical bills can be claimed.
- Pain and suffering: This covers physical pain and emotional distress caused by the accident. In nursing home cases, this might include trauma from abuse, fear from neglect, or chronic pain from untreated injuries. Texas does not cap non-economic damages like pain and suffering in standard personal injury cases, so the amount varies based on the case's severity.
- Lost quality of life: If the accident leads to a permanent disability or reduced ability to enjoy daily activities (e.g., mobility loss from a fall), you may seek compensation for this loss.
- Punitive damages: In cases of extreme negligence or intentional harm, punitive damages may be awarded to punish the facility and deter future misconduct. Texas caps punitive damages at the greater of either two times the economic damages plus up to $750,000 in non-economic damages or $200,000, whichever is higher.
- Relocation costs: If the accident forces the resident to move to another facility or back home, you may recover expenses like transfer fees or home modifications.
- Wrongful death damages: If the accident results in the resident's death, family members may pursue compensation for funeral expenses, loss of companionship, and the deceased's pain and suffering before passing.
Factors that will influence the amount of your nursing home accident settlement are:
Evidence
Strong proof, like medical records, witness statements, or photos of unsafe conditions, boosts your claim's value. Your Houston nursing home accident lawyer will look for any strong evidence that bolsters your claim, including surveillance video when available.
Insurance or Assets
Compensation often comes from the nursing home's insurance policy or, in rare cases, their assets if uninsured or underinsured. Your nursing home accident attorney in Houston will look for any insurance policy that can compensate you.
Severity
More severe injuries typically lead to higher payouts, for example, if your loved one suffered a severe brain injury in a nursing home fall.
Where Do Nursing Home Accidents Happen In Houston?
Nursing home accidents in Houston can occur in various settings within the metropolitan area, as the city and its surrounding regions host numerous facilities where such incidents are reported.
Nursing home accidents usually happen in licensed nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living centers across Houston and nearby suburbs like Baytown, Sugar Land, Webster, Pasadena, and Katy.
Accidents often occur in common areas or private resident spaces within these facilities. For instance, falls, a leading type of nursing home accident, often happen in hallways, bathrooms, or bedrooms due to hazards like wet floors, poor lighting, or inadequate supervision.
The Crescent and Paradigm Have Been Cited for Nursing Home Accidents
Neglect-related incidents, such as bedsores or malnutrition, typically develop in residents' rooms where care is insufficient.
Reports from Texas Health and Human Services and Medicare inspections highlight that facilities with histories of violations, such as The Crescent in Sugar Land or Paradigm at Westbury in southwest Houston, have been cited for conditions that cause accidents, such as unsafe walking paths or failure to prevent resident harm.
High-profile examples include Lexington Place Nursing and Rehabilitation near The Heights, where a resident allegedly used a wheelchair armrest to fatally attack others in 2014, pointing to accidents stemming from resident-to-resident aggression in shared living spaces.
Also, Park Manor of Cypress Station saw a deadly incident involving a dumbbell in a resident's room, underscoring risks in personal areas when supervision or mental health management fails.
Facilities like Afton Oaks Nursing Center in southeast Houston, with 117 reported COVID-19 cases in 2020, also suggest that health-related accidents, such as from infection spread, can occur facility-wide, affecting multiple residents in communal and private zones.
Nursing home accidents can happen in any long-term care facility in the Houston area. This region is experiencing strong population growth, and the number of seniors here is rising.
Talk to a skilled nursing home accident lawyer at Suits & Boots in Houston if you think a facility was negligent or abusive to your loved one and caused an accident.
What Causes Houston Nursing Home Accidents?
Accidents in nursing homes in Houston happen for many reasons. Oftentimes, the facility may be liable for the person's injuries and damages if your attorney can prove negligence:
Understaffing
A frequent issue in nursing homes, including Houston ones, is insufficient staff to monitor and care for residents properly. Overworked employees may miss critical needs, leading to falls, medication errors, or neglect.
Reports like those from the Houston Chronicle have highlighted how staffing shortages in Texas facilities increase risks.
Neglect and Abuse
Failure to provide basic care, such as timely hygiene, nutrition, or medical attention, can result in accidents like bedsores, dehydration, or infections. Abuse, whether physical or emotional, can also cause injuries, with cases often tied to poorly vetted or trained staff.
Falls
Elderly residents are prone to falling due to mobility issues, and accidents increase when facilities lack proper supervision, assistive devices, or safe environments.
Uneven floors, poor lighting, or cluttered walkways in Houston nursing homes can contribute to accidents.
Medication Errors
Mistakes in administering drugs, wrong doses, skipped medications, or mix-ups can lead to overdoses, adverse reactions, or untreated conditions. This often links back to inadequate training or staffing levels.
Facility Hazards
Poor maintenance, such as broken equipment, slippery floors, or faulty wheelchairs, can cause accidents. If not addressed, Houston's humid climate might worsen conditions like mold or slippery surfaces.
Inadequate Training
Staff unprepared to handle dementia patients, lift residents safely, or respond to emergencies can unintentionally cause harm. Texas regulations require specific training standards, but enforcement varies.
A Houston nursing home accident lawyer can review your case promptly to determine if the facility or employee was negligent in your accident.
Common Houston Nursing Home Accident Injuries
Nursing home residents in Houston, like elsewhere, are often vulnerable to accidents due to age, frailty, or inadequate care. Common injuries include:
Fractures and Broken Bones
Falls are a leading cause of injury in nursing homes, and elderly residents are particularly susceptible to fractures, especially in the hips, wrists, and arms. Weakened bones from conditions like osteoporosis make these injuries more likely and severe.
Head Injuries and Concussions
Head trauma often results from falls or collisions with objects in the nursing home environment. For residents on blood thinners, even a minor bump can lead to serious complications like brain bleeds.
Bedsores (Pressure Ulcers)
While not always considered an accident in the traditional sense, bedsores often stem from neglect, such as failing to reposition immobile residents regularly.
These painful sores can develop on the back, hips, or heels and, if untreated, may lead to infections or deeper tissue damage.
Cuts, Bruises, and Lacerations
These injuries can occur from falls, improper transfer handling, or contact with unsafe furniture or equipment.
Sprains and Strains
Residents may suffer sprains or strains from awkward movements during assisted transfers or if they attempt to move without help due to delayed staff response. These injuries can worsen mobility and lead to further complications.
Infections from Injuries
Minor cuts or sores can become serious infections if not properly cleaned and treated, especially in residents with weakened immune systems. Poor hygiene practices or delayed medical attention often contribute.
Fighting The Insurance Company After A Nursing Home Injury
Most nursing home accident claims involve insurance companies and adjusters. Insurers make money by minimizing claim payouts, so you can expect challenges to present themselves.
That is why you need a Houston nursing home accident attorney to represent you:
Determining Liability
One of the primary challenges is establishing who is responsible for the accident. Nursing home accidents, such as falls, medication errors, or neglect, may stem from staff negligence, facility policies, or external factors.
If the nursing home is at fault, their liability insurance should cover damages, but they may dispute responsibility, claiming the resident's health condition or actions contributed.
Limited Coverage Under Medicare/Medicaid
Many nursing home residents rely on Medicare or Medicaid. Medicare Part A may cover short-term skilled nursing facility care, but only for up to 100 days, and it doesn't cover long-term custodial care, which is often needed after an accident.
Medicaid might cover long-term care, but eligibility depends on income and assets, and not all facilities accept it.
Private Health Insurance Limitations
Private health insurance often excludes long-term care or has strict conditions for covering accident-related treatments. For example, if a resident breaks a hip in a fall, initial medical costs (surgery, hospital stays) might be covered, but ongoing rehabilitation or in-home care might not.
Pre-existing condition clauses or high deductibles can further limit coverage, forcing families to pay out of pocket while negotiating with insurers.
Long-Term Care Insurance Gaps
Those with long-term care insurance may assume it covers all post-accident needs, but policies vary widely.
Some LTC plans have waiting periods, such as 60 days, before benefits kick in, daily benefit caps, or exclusions for certain types of care. If the accident requires care beyond the policy's scope, like specialized therapy not deemed medically necessary, families face unexpected costs.
Subrogation and Reimbursement Issues
If health insurance or Medicare pays for accident-related treatment, they may seek reimbursement (subrogation) from any settlement or liability payout from the nursing home. This can reduce the net compensation available to the resident or family, especially if legal fees are involved.
Hire a nursing home accident attorney to negotiate these liens and maximize recovery.
Disputes with Nursing Home Insurance
Nursing homes typically carry liability insurance to cover accidents, but insurers may deny claims, arguing the incident wasn't their fault or that damages are overstated.
Low policy limits can also be an issue, if the nursing home's coverage maxes out, it might not fully compensate for severe injuries or wrongful death. Families may need to sue the facility directly.
No one wants to get into a stressful insurance coverage battle after a loved one suffers a serious nursing home injury. Let our Houston nursing home accident lawyer take over your case now.
Contact Our Houston Nursing Home Accident Attorney
Were you or a loved one injured in a nursing home because of abuse or negligence?
Suits & Boots Accident Injury Lawyers are experienced nursing home accident attorneys in Houston who will investigate the incident and seek compensation for your damages. We charge no legal fees unless we win your case.
Call us today at (713) 489-0922. for a free legal consultation.