How Do You Prove Liability in an Assisted Living Wrongful Death?

When you entrust the care and well-being of your loved one to professionals, the last thing you expect is having to prove liability in an assisted living wrongful death. Unfortunately, negligence is not uncommon in assisted living facilities, and occasionally, families lose their most vulnerable loved ones due to carelessness, recklessness, and egregious negligence.

If you have serious questions about the cause of a loved one’s death in an assisted living facility, you have every right to find out what happened and why. While the assisted living facility may try to keep this information from you, you can—and should—hire a lawyer to gather the information you need by all available legal means. When you choose our firm to represent you and your family, this costs nothing out of pocket.

In assisted living wrongful death cases, our lawyers can use various forms of evidence to prove liability. Once you engage our firm, we will begin working diligently to gather all available evidence as quickly as possible. Once we have sufficient evidence in our possession, we can then provide a comprehensive assessment of your family’s legal rights so that you can make informed decisions about your next steps. 

Types of Evidence Used to Prove Liability in Assisted Living Wrongful Death Cases

Some examples of the types of evidence we typically use to prove liability in assisted living wrongful death cases include: 

1. Medical Records

Your loved one’s medical records will be important evidence in support of your family’s wrongful death claim. If you have access to these records, you can bring them with you to your free initial consultation—our lawyers will be able to use them to begin evaluating your family’s claim. If you don’t have access to your loved one’s medical records, we can obtain them from your loved one’s providers. 

2. Medical Expert Reports and Testimony 

We work with a variety of medical experts who assist with our clients’ wrongful death cases by providing expert reports and testimony detailing their loved ones’ causes of death. We engage these medical experts at no out-of-pocket cost to our clients—only recouping our costs if we help our clients obtain settlements or verdicts. 

3. Coroner or Medical Examiner Reports and Testimony

When warranted, we also rely on coroner or medical examiner reports to prove the cause of death in assisted living wrongful death cases. When our clients’ cases go to trial, we also call these professionals to the witness stand to provide testimony in support of our clients’ claims for economic and non-economic damages. 

4. Internal Records from the Assisted Living Facility 

Internal records from the assisted living facility will often provide a clear picture of the events that transpired in the months, weeks, and days leading up to a resident’s wrongful death. This includes records ranging from employment files to emails and other internal communications. If your loved one’s assisted living facility refuses to disclose these records voluntarily, our lawyers will be able to obtain them through the formal legal process known as “discovery.” 

5. Statements from the Assisted Living Facility’s Personnel 

Through the discovery process, our lawyers can also seek to obtain written statements and testimony from the assisted living facility’s personnel. The facility’s personnel will be required to answer our questions truthfully under penalty of perjury. 

6. Statements from Friends and Family Members 

Our lawyers may also be able to use statements from friends and family members to help paint a clear picture of the assisted living facility’s liability. This includes friends inside and outside of the facility as well as family members who visited your loved one in person or spoke with him or her over the phone. If you know of anyone we should contact, we will contact them to document what they know. But, we will also work to identify potential witnesses during our investigation.  

7. Security Camera Footage and Any Other Available Evidence 

If the security cameras at the assisted living facility hold evidence of neglect or abuse, we can obtain the footage through the discovery process as well. We can also use our experience to gather any other forensic or documentary evidence that may be available. The key is that we are able to begin our investigation as soon as possible—and, with this in mind, we strongly encourage you to speak with one of our lawyers right away. 

Talk to a Madison Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer for Free

Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult experiences a family can face. You don’t have to handle the burden alone. Our attorneys understand the hardships you may be facing and we are committed to pursuing the maximum compensation you deserve for your losses.

If you need to know more about filing an assisted living wrongful death claim, please contact us at 608-268-0268 or [email protected] to arrange a FREE, no-obligation case evaluation. Our experienced nursing home abuse lawyers represent families throughout Wisconsin from our office in Madison.