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Suffocation may not be a risk that you considered when your loved one moved into a nursing home, but it is what happened to your loved one. Now, you are left wondering how this happened and what you can do about it.
Ten Questions That Can Help You Find Out Why Your Loved One Suffocated
Some of the questions that you may have—and that should be answered—after a suffocation injury or death in a nursing home include:
- Did staff have training in recognizing dangers that could cause suffocation?
- When was your loved one last checked on prior to the suffocation?
- If your loved one choked on food, was she ever assessed for eating difficulties?
- If your loved one was known to have eating difficulties that could result in choking, was an individual plan developed and implemented to prevent the injury?
- How many staff members were on duty at the time of the injury?
- Did the bedrails on your loved one’s bed meet safety requirements?
- Was your loved one’s oxygen tank checked and filled regularly?
- Was your loved one using any breathing apparatus or tube that may have been clogged?
- Did your loved one have a cold or upper respiratory infection that required treatment?
- Did your loved one have any medication changes that impacted her ability to breathe or swallow?
You and your family deserve answers to these questions, and to any others that you might have about your loved one’s care. You deserve to know why your loved one suffocated and you deserve to know whether you have a potential legal claim against the nursing home.
The answers to these questions can help you make those determinations. However, the nursing home may not be eager—or even truthful—in answering your questions, unless you are represented by counsel. Accordingly, we encourage you to contact an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer today, via this website, to discuss how to protect your loved one’s rights after this type of nursing home injury.
