Perrysburg Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer 

Placing a family member in a nursing home is a difficult decision. You may have spent weeks researching a nursing home that you felt was the best fit for your elderly family member and perhaps pay a large amount of money for them to receive care. Then you find out that your family member is being abused in the nursing home they live in. This can be devastating to not only the person being abused but also to the family members that placed their trust in the nursing home only for it to be violated.  

You may also be extremely angry at the situation and want the nursing home to make amends to you and your family member. There may be criminal charges for the actions committed at the nursing home, but you also have the option of going to civil court to seek monetary compensation for the injuries that were caused. A Perrysburg nursing home abuse lawyer can explain the law to you and how it applies to your specific situation. Together, you and a qualified Perrysburg attorney can decide how to approach this problem.  

Ohio Negligence Laws 

When a family member is not properly cared for in a nursing home, a person can sue based on the principle of negligence. This negligence can be in reference to an individual employee or directed towards the nursing home. The first element of negligence is that the facility or individual owed a duty of care to the person in the nursing home. Usually, the standard would be how other facilities treat their patients.   

Next, a Perrysburg nursing home abuse lawyer can show that the nursing home breached this duty of care by failing to live up to this standard. Then, the lawyer will try to tie the negligent conduct to the injuries using causation. The lawyer must show that the injuries only occurred because of the negligent acts, and that it was foreseeable that acting in this way would cause these injuries. There must also be no unforeseeable intervening acts that stand in between the injuries and the negligent act. Finally, the last element requires showing damages. In this type of case, that would generally be physical injuries.  

Suing the Nursing Home  

As stated above, a person can sue either the specific individual who caused harm or the nursing home itself. In suing the nursing home, one will either have to prove that the nursing home was negligent (either through its procedures or its hiring practices) or that they are responsible for the actions of their employees. Often it makes sense to sue a nursing home rather than an individual employee because the business more likely has greater assets than the individual that can be used to help the abused family member.  

Respondeat Superior Liability 

When suing an employer for the conduct of their employee, the Perrysburg nursing home abuse lawyer has to use the theory of respondeat superior or vicarious liability. The general idea is that employers are responsible for the actions of their employees when they are working. The main distinction used is a frolic versus a detour. If an employee is on a detour, which is a minor deviation from working, then the employer is still liable. If an employee is on a frolic, which is a major deviation from the job, then the employee is not liable.  

Contact a Perrysburg Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today 

If you discover that a loved one has been the victim of abuse in their nursing home, you can pursue justice for their injuries. Contact a Perrysburg nursing home abuse lawyer today who can begin reviewing your case and present your options going forward.