Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities provide daily service for vulnerable adults. They assist with personal hygiene, provide a safe living space and oversee the nutrition of people who cannot live independently.
Nursing homes are often liable for situations that involve negligent or abusive employee conduct. However, some nursing home residents sustain serious injuries due to the conduct of other residents, rather than the employees staffing the long-term care facility where they live. Residents can assault each other over disagreements or even without direct provocation.
Who covers the expenses generated by resident-on-resident assault in nursing homes and similar facilities?
Facilities are often liable for on-site violence
There are many reasons for resident-on-resident violence in nursing homes. In some cases, interpersonal conflict spirals out of control and leads to one resident venting their aggression on another.
Other times, a resident starting a new medication or undergoing a dosage adjustment could have a negative reaction to medication that makes them more volatile. Dementia can also lead to violent outbursts, as people feel frightened when they cannot understand their circumstances. They may perceive other residents as a threat.
Nursing homes might also fail to adequately screen residents. They may have people living at the facility with a history of violent and abusive conduct. They may also fail to respond to warning signs of future violence. Workers should act to protect vulnerable patients and to limit interactions between residents who have a history of conflict.
In cases where better resident management could have prevented a resident-on-resident attack, a facility could be liable for the injuries sustained by a victim. Reporting the incident to authorities and discussing the attack with a nursing home abuse attorney can help worried family protect their loved ones and hold facilities accountable for allowing assaults to occur on site.
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