How To Determine Liability In Assisted Living Facility Injuries

Typically, assisted living facilities are intended for adults who cannot live independently or for people with disabilities. They’re there to provide shelter, food, hygiene, and medical treatment to all their admitted residents. Meaning, these assisted living facilities have the responsibility to take good care of all individuals under their custody. 

However, there may be instances in which the facility may become negligent in exercising its duty of care towards its residents. As a result, abuse or injuries may happen to any one of them. In most cases, if the facility’s negligence has caused harm or injuries to a resident, then a personal injury claim may be filed against the at-fault party. Unfortunately, knowing who should be liable for the injuries sustained by a resident can be a complicated process. 

Thus, to help you determine liability in assisted living facility injuries sustained by your loved one, below are some ways to consider from the get-go:

Identify Who Is Responsible for The Injuries 

To successfully determine liability in assisted living facility injuries, the first thing you should do is to identify who may be the responsible party/parties. In an assisted living facility, the residents may have to interact with a variety of people on a day-to-day basis. Hence, when someone is injured while in the care of the said facility, it’s essential to know who may be responsible for what happened. These people can include:

• Caregivers and nurses: Given the dangers of seniors living alone, many people have decided to put their older loved ones into an assisted living facility. As such, these facilities are required to employ caregivers and nurses who are tasked to provide the residents the general care they need, including dietary assistance, help with proper hygiene, and medical attention. Since they provide critical services to the residents, they’re expected to perform their jobs responsibly at all times. 

• Maintenance Personnel: Most assisted living facilities require proper maintenance to ensure smooth operations. Meaning, the maintenance staff is responsible for keeping the premises safe from potential hazards that can cause them injuries. They should ensure the walkways, hallways, and stairways are clear and free of clutter to avoid slip and fall accidents. 
   
• Other Residents: The residents will always have an interaction with one another in the facility. Unfortunately, there are residents who may do harmful actions to another resident, which may cause injuries. Because of this, the facility staff will need to keep an eye on the residents at all times to make sure the vulnerable ones won’t harm others. 

Work With an Attorney 

Just like other personal injury cases, determining who’s liable for assisted living facility injuries may have something to do with how negligence may occur in such a setting. This is where working with a reliable attorney becomes beneficial. Unless you’re a legal professional yourself, you need an attorney who can help you find out the at-fault party/parties. Hence, if you’re in the process of searching for the right legal representative, you can learn more here and get the information you need. 

On the other hand, it’s important to note that having an attorney plays an integral role in handling negligence-related cases. For instance, negligence within the purview of assisted living facility injuries may arise when someone fails to meet the standard of care expected of them and, as a result, causes an injury to a resident. However, to better understand negligence which is essential in establishing liability, you may need an attorney to help you demonstrate the following elements:

• Breach of a duty of care: As mentioned, the facility has a reasonable duty of care to ensure the health, safety, and overall well-being of the residents. Nonetheless, negligence may happen when they breach that duty of care and cause harm to the residents. 
• Causal link between the breach and injury: The residents should prove that their injuries were caused by the facility’s breach of duty. For example, they should demonstrate that the development of bedsores was due to the caretaker’s neglect to ensure the hygiene and well-being of the residents. 
• Damages resulting from the injury: To prove negligence and help determine who’s liable, there should be a showing that the injuries resulted in several damages. These can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and many more. 

As you can see, proving negligence with the help of an attorney can be a crucial step in establishing liability in assisted living facility injuries. The more you understand how negligence occurs in this kind of situation, the easier it’ll be to figure out the at-fault party/parties for the injuries. 

The Bottom Line

Indeed, the residents of an assisted living facility may also become injured victims by someone else’s negligence. But, in order to recover compensation for all the losses, it’s crucial to determine liability in these cases. 

Luckily, by keeping the information mentioned above in mind, your lawyer may quickly figure out who’s liable for the assisted living facility injuries. Just make sure to hire a good personal injury attorney to guide you through the legal process. With them at your side, you can seek compensation for a loved one who has been injured due to another person’s negligence in the facility.