Nursing homes are responsible for ensuring residents are properly cared for in a safe and healthy environment; however, when a facility and its administrators fail to hire qualified staff, provide inadequate training, or poorly supervise employees, these shortcuts could result in harm, or even death, to a resident.
What is Negligent Hiring?
Negligent hiring is “a claim made by an injured party against an employer based on theory that the employer knew or should have known about the employee’s background which, if known, indicates dangerous or untrustworthy character,” according to US Legal. Performing a proper background check could include the following:
- Checking employment and personal references
- Validating college degrees, certifications, and licenses
- Performing a drug screening
- Performing a criminal screening
- Performing a credit check
- Checking driving records
Examples of Negligent Hiring
There are several ways that negligent hiring could lead to resident abuse. For example, a nurse with a fraudulent degree from a non-accredited college who performs CPR on a resident could result in death. Another example is a newly hired staff member who has had a history of anger issues attacking a resident and causes injury to them.
What is Negligent Supervision?
There are several ways negligent supervision could lead to resident abuse. An example of negligent supervision would be if a registered nurse who was known to sign off on medications but never properly administered it to residents, and a resident later dies as a result of not receiving that medication. Many times, nurses will sign off saying they gave the resident their medication but didn’t. The employer was made aware that the registered nurse was doing this and didn’t address it, which leads to negligent supervision.
Examples of Negligent Supervision
There are several ways negligent supervision could lead to resident abuse, for example, an administrator of the facility is aware that a nurse and a resident don’t get along, but still assigns the nurse to work that resident, an argument could turn into a physical altercation, resulting in the resident being hurt. Another example is if a staff member knows several items have been missing from a residents’ room under the supervision of the same caregiver but doesn’t investigate, discharge, or reassign employees, the caregiver could end up stealing the resident’s identity and racking up thousands of dollars.
What To Do If You Suspect Abuse
If a nursing home facility fails to provide the proper hiring and supervision, it can have a serious impact on residents who depend on nurses, caregivers, and other staff members for care.
If you or a loved one has experienced abuse or neglect at the hands of a caregiver, we recommend you contact an experienced nursing home neglect and abuse attorney right away. Our team has proven success in nursing home cases and we will use our extensive legal experience to help you navigate the process to get you full and fair compensation for our loved ones injuries. To receive a free consultation, please call (312) 384-1920 or visit our website for more information.
