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Baltimore Nursing Home 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.

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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

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 Neglect

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.

Medical Malpractice in Nursing Homes

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.

Premises Liability Claims in Nursing Homes

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.

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.

How Much Are Settlement Payouts in Nursing Home Lawsuits?

One study found the median nursing lawsuit receives a median settlement compensation payout of $329,000.

Incredibly, compared to the low rate of success in medical malpractice cases, juries awarded damages in 63 percent of nursing home and assisted living personal injury trials. That is why you do not see Baltimore nursing home lawsuits go to trial. They settle first.

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.

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

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They quite literally worked as hard as if not harder than the doctors to save our lives. Terry Waldron
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Ron helped me find a clear path that ended with my foot healing and a settlement that was much more than I hope for. Aaron Johnson
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Hopefully I won't need it again but if I do, I have definitely found my lawyer for life and I would definitely recommend this office to anyone! Bridget Stevens
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The last case I referred to them settled for $1.2 million. John Selinger
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I am so grateful that I was lucky to pick Miller & Zois. Maggie Lauer
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The entire team from the intake Samantha to the lawyer himself (Ron Miller) has been really approachable. Suzette Allen
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The case settled and I got a lot more money than I expected. Ron even fought to reduce how much I owed in medical bills so I could get an even larger settlement. Nchedo Idahosa
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