Leaving a loved one in a nursing home is a major decision. Family members may fear that the loved one will not receive all of the care he or she deserves in New York. This fear appears to be founded, according to a new study from Medicare that highlights nursing negligence issues in the modern health care system. The study shows that tens of thousands of patients suffer injuries in these facilities in a month's time.
The study shows that almost 22,000 nursing home patients incurred injuries, and more than 1,500 passed away in a month. The number of errors reported in nursing care facilities is actually higher than those reported in hospitals. In fact, a third of patients specifically suffered from injuries associated with treatments, infections or errors in medication.
A majority of these medical errors could have been prevented. In fact, more than 50 percent of the individuals who were injured had to go back to the hospital, with the total cost of doing so being about $208 million. Some of the injuries that patients sustained ended up being permanent, while others led to death.
Nursing negligence remains a real problem, particularly in today's nursing care facilities. This is especially alarming since mostly elderly people -- who already are particularly vulnerable to harm -- are the ones who are placed in these facilities. If a person's loved one ends up being injured due to a health care worker's carelessness on the job, he or she may choose to file a claim against the facility. Claims for monetary damages will be determined by the court if and only when liability is satisfactorily established in New York.
Source: theepochtimes.com, One Third of Skilled Nursing Patients Harmed in Treatment, Marshall Allen, March 15, 2014
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