Maryland Personal Injury Lawyers
Our Baltimore nursing home lawyers discuss wrongful death lawsuits on this page. What kind of case earns a settlement compensation payout, why nursing home jury verdicts are rare, and the average settlement amount you can expect in a nursing home wrongful death (and how and why our law firm demands more than that average settlement).
Maryland nursing home negligence claims are almost invariably medical malpractice cases. These lawsuits seek monetary compensation for harm caused by the health care providers at a nursing home or assisted care facility. Our Baltimore nursing home law firm helps victims win compensation against these nursing homes in serious injury and wrongful death cases.
Can you sue a nursing home for neglect or negligence? You can. Few nursing home cases make it to the courthouse without a settlement. Nursing home cases in Baltimore that have merit are relatively easy to win for victims who have quality nursing home negligence attorneys. They almost invariably settle before trial. (Before you disagree, try to find a recent nursing home defense verdict in Maryland.)
Why? It is hard to shock a jury with how awful a nursing home treated an elderly patient. Maryland nursing home lawyers believe the deck is stacked in our favor because when we sue for negligence claims, the jury hears what it expects from a nursing home. There is outrage but little shock.
It is a sad commentary on how we treat seniors. We are getting an up-close look at this in the last year. The coronavirus decimated many nursing homes in 2020-21. Bad care is bad care across the board. Our Maryland nursing home lawyers have been seeing this for years. Your golden years should be just that.
But the reality is just tough to find a nursing home facility that you can feel confident in at this critical juncture of life. Bad care is ubiquitous for far too many of the 25,000 residents of a certified nursing home in Maryland.
The vast majority of nursing homes in both Maryland and Washington, D.C. are cited for the same deficiencies year after year.
– Report: State of Nursing Homes in Maryland & Washington, D.C.
Nursing home lawyer attorneys like us are not the only ones sounding this alarm. The federal government’s Government Accountability Office underscores this sentiment, finding a widespread “understatement of deficiencies” when it comes to this nation’s nursing home situations. Incredibly, there is clear evidence that nursing homes as actually getting worse.
Yes, nursing homes are frequently inspected. But there is only so much that inspectors can do. Our Maryland nursing home attorneys hear reports of malnutrition and dehydration, bedsores, prescription abuse, and physical abuse of nursing home residents that go overlooked.
Where is our nursing home care the worst in Maryland? Facilities in Baltimore and Prince George’s County seem to be the poorest run and facilities that most find themselves the target of lawsuits. But bad nursing home care is ubiquitous throughout Maryland. We rank 33rd nationally in nursing home care. Throwing money at the “best” nursing home is no guarantee of quality care.
With the rising number of “baby boomers” heading into their senior years, more residents are showing up at local nursing homes around the country. Within the state of Maryland alone, the number of reports regarding neglect, abuse, and all-around poor care continues to flow in massive numbers.
Maryland Nursing Homes Lawsuits
Nursing homes are not strictly liable for injuries that occur at these facilities. They must guard against the risk that a reasonable person can anticipate. The four most common mistakes that come to our nursing home negligence lawyers: are abuse, neglect, medical malpractice, and premises liability. Our Baltimore nursing home lawyers handle all four of these claims. But the most common we see is medical malpractice which often contains elements of neglect.
Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuits
Nursing home abuse is the worst of these four. It is characterized by evil intent or a reckless disregard for the safety of the patient. This is not a crime of incompetence. Nursing home abuse is a crime of “I don’t care.”
The legal definition of “I don’t care” is defined by federal law. It is the intentional infliction of injury, assault, and battery that can include both physical and sexual acts, imprisonment or unnecessary restraints, deprivation of essentials such as food and water, or the use of medication that was not specifically prescribed to the patient for use.
Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuits
The issue of neglect in a nursing home or assisted living facility can involve ignoring a patient’s physical needs, the lack of prevention or treatment for bed sores, failure to alert a physician of medical problems, and failure to prevent things such as dehydration or malnutrition. Neglect is a form of abuse done with intent.
It is a crime punishable by federal law. These acts of neglect can be performed by both the nursing staff and orderlies who are supposed to prevent physical and health-related harm to those for whom they provide care.
Nursing Home Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Although the issue of medical malpractice goes more unnoticed than the above deficiencies, it causes a lot of pain to a lot of nursing home patients. Many doctors who are employed by these deficient nursing homes are doctors whose greatest asset is that they do not charge the long-term care facilities much for their services.
We are not speaking of all physicians who treat nursing home patients. But there are doctors out there who treat nursing home patients like stops on an assembly line and ignore the needs of their patients and the essential care the patient requires.
The two most common lawsuits that arise from nursing home neglect are falls and bedsores. It is pretty easy to anticipate that new litigation might arise out of the nursing home-acquired coronavirus cases.
Nursing Homes Premises Liability Lawsuits
Premises liability lawsuits account for 8% of nursing home liability cases. Why so many? They are all part and parcel of the underlying problem in nursing homes in Maryland: not enough people are paying attention to what should be done.
Many nursing home facilities are not well laid out. The equipment is old and poorly maintained. Inadequate maintenance leads to deteriorating nursing homes and inoperable and unavailable equipment.
These deficiencies lead to premise liability cases. It is amazing how many open and obvious trip hazards there are in nursing homes, the one place where people are most vulnerable to slip and fall.
Nursing Home Bedsore Lawsuits
Bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers, are injuries to the skin and underlying tissue caused by prolonged pressure on the skin. They typically develop on areas of the body where the bones are close to the skin, such as the heels, ankles, hips, and tailbone. Bedsores are common in individuals who are bedridden, use a wheelchair, or are unable to change positions regularly.
When elderly patients develop bedsores at a nursing home, it is almost always the result of neglect or inadequate care by the nursing home staff. The staff at the nursing home are supposed to regularly move or reposition patients and take other preventative measures to prevent the patient from developing bedsores. Bedsores occur when the staff neglects these duties. Since bedsores are so closely linked to negligent care, they account for a large percentage of negligence lawsuits against nursing homes. Learn more about nursing home bedsore lawsuits.
Maryland Nursing Home Law
Nursing homes in Baltimore are licensed under state law. The overworked and understaffed Maryland Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ) is the agency within the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene that is responsible for making sure Maryland nursing homes are safe.
Maryland nursing home law also maintains provisions that are referred to as the “Nursing Home Bill of Rights” for residents. Nursing home lawsuits that involve breaches of this Bill of Rights or any other claims against Baltimore nursing homes are typically fought in state court.
A Baltimore Nursing Home Lawsuit Is About Money
In a civil nursing home lawsuit, our nursing home lawyers are always asked, “How much is my nursing home case worth? How much settlement compensation will I receive?”
This is not greedy. The “How much?” question is the right question. Money is the only remedy we have in the judicial system. When our lawyers bring a legal action, it is with the singular focus on getting our clients the highest settlement amount or verdict we possibly can to bring the justice they deserve.
Settlement Payouts in Nursing Home Lawsuits
The average settlement value of a nursing home negligence lawsuit is somewhat lower than a normal medical malpractice case. This is partly because the victims in these cases are usually elderly people so there are typically no economic damages for things like lost income. The median settlement payout in a nursing home case is around $250,000 to $340,000.
Although the settlement value of nursing home cases in somewhat lower compared to regular malpractice cases, nursing home negligence cases have a much higher success rate. The chances of getting a good settlement or winning at trial are much higher in a nursing home case than they are in a medical malpractice cases. Juries awarded damages in 63 percent of nursing home and assisted living personal injury trials. That is 5 times higher than the rate for medical malpractice trials.
Our Baltimore nursing home lawyers take advantage of this. We know the defense attorneys will not let the lawsuit go to trial. So we push for more money than they will pay. But the nursing homes are trapped. They do not want to overpay but they do want to take a verdict. So they will “overpay” based on the current market rate for a nursing home wrongful death lawsuit in Baltimore. But you have to push these nursing homes and their lawyers. Hard.
- Expected settlement compensation payouts in nursing home lawsuits
- Sample verdicts and settlements in Maryland nursing home wrongful death cases
- Frequently asked nursing home claim questions
- Take a look at specific Maryland nursing and assisted living facilities
What kinds of cases are most attractive to Maryland juries when suing a nursing home for negligence that causes bedsores? Clearly, this is a high level of disgust in allowing Stage IV pressure sores to develop. Juries understand that so little effort is required to avoid severe injury or death. And bed sore pictures are worth 10,000 words.
Juries are also particularly receptive to claims against caregivers that involve severe dehydration and malnutrition, gram-negative septicemia due to infected pressure sores, and neglectful catheter care.
Injuries associated with problems in medication administration have also been the source of many claims, along with those related to incidents involving restraints, side rails, elopements, or burns.
Get a Nursing Home Lawyer in Baltimore
When you are suing a nursing home for negligence or abuse, you need the best Baltimore nursing home negligence lawyer you can find. If a family member has injuries of unknown origin, bedsores, a broken hip, or frequent falls and you are suspected of elder abuse or nursing home negligence, a nursing home negligence lawsuit may be the path to justice.
If you believe that you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury as the result of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect, call our Baltimore nursing home attorneys for free legal advice at 800-553-8082 for a free Internet consultation to discuss a potential lawsuit. There are no fees or expenses unless a recovery is obtained. Our Maryland nursing home lawyers can guide you to the best possible settlement or verdict.
Nursing Home Lawsuits in Maryland: Samples and Explanation of Maryland Law
- Sample Nursing Home Complaint (sample wrongful death negligence lawsuit against Manor Care)
- Expert Report (sample certificate of merit and expert report defending Manor Care)
- Sample Mediation Statement in a Nursing Home Case
- Plaintiff’s Expert Report
- Sample Interrogatories to Nursing Home
- Sample Release of Claims in Nursing Home Case
- Summary of Malpractice/Nursing Home Laws in Maryland
- Get a List of Nursing Home Expert Witnesses
- Common Maryland Defendants