When Nursing Home Staff Fails to Properly Monitor Resident Abuse

While many people think of staff members at nursing homes as the individuals responsible for elder abuse, the reality is that resident-on-resident abuse is rapidly becoming a serious problem in American nursing homes. An inability to properly supervise and control potentially violent residents in a nursing home setting can lead to severe injuries and even death to other residents. Administrators and owners of nursing homes have a duty to ensure the safety of their residents, no matter whether the threat to the residents’ safety comes from a staff member or another resident. By properly staffing nursing homes and ensuring that staff members appropriately monitor residents, nursing home administrators can help protect residents from harming one another.

A resident of a nursing home who harms another resident is almost never to blame. In many cases, the resident suffers from dementia or another mental defect that does not permit him or her to act appropriately or refrain from hurting other residents. However, most resident-on-resident abuse occurs as a direct result of a lack of supervision by nursing home staff. It is the duty and responsibility of nursing home staff to protect all residents, including any threats that other residents pose. If staff members fail to meet this responsibility, then those employees and the nursing home itself could be liable for any injuries that the nursing home resident suffers.

If you or a loved one is seriously injured as a result of the violent behavior of another nursing home resident, or your family has suffered the loss of a loved one due to injuries sustained while in a nursing home, you and your family may be entitled to compensation on behalf of your relative. Determining fault, measuring negligence, and assessing duties of care are all very fact-specific inquiries that necessitate the involvement of an experienced Madison elder abuse attorney at Boller & Vaughan. We can not only help you with these determinations, but we will be there to support you throughout any claims for compensation that you or your loved one may have against staff members individually and/or the nursing care facility for neglect, lack of supervision, and staffing shortages.