Nursing home deaths surge — and not just from COVID, report says

COVID-19 is a serious threat to nursing home residents, but the increase in deaths in these facilities may be linked to more than the virus itself. Indeed, nursing home deaths may be exacerbated by neglect during the pandemic.

Many nursing home residents are at a high risk for COVID-19 complications due to their age or pre-existing conditions such as heart disease, obesity, autoimmune disease, and more. During the pandemic, residents and their families may have been plagued with anxiety over their risk for developing COVID-19.

Though newly available vaccines can help assuage these worries, nursing home residents may still be at risk for another deadly issue: nursing home neglect.

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 142,000 nursing home residents during the global pandemic, per data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as of late January 2022. Fortunately, the rate of vaccinations in nursing home residents is high — approximately 86%. However, the coronavirus itself is not the only additional risk facing nursing home residents during this pandemic.

Although it has received less attention, nursing home neglect may have claimed the lives of thousands more, per the Associated Press.

Nursing home abuse occurs whenever a staff member takes advantage of residents, making them victims of physical, emotional, sexual, or financial abuse.

A less obvious but equally insidious problem is nursing home neglect.

This type of neglect occurs whenever staff members fail to meet the needs of residents. This can occur as a result of intentional neglect, understaffing, insufficient training, or any combination of these factors.

Residents who are neglected may suffer from a number of preventable but life-threatening consequences such as infections from poor hygiene, broken bones after being denied mobility assistance, bed sores due to a lack of attention, and more, according to NursingHomeAlert.com.

Nursing home neglect may have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. With thousands of nursing home residents and staff members falling ill with the virus, the needs of otherwise healthy residents may have slipped through the cracks.

“The healthcare system operates kind of on the edge, just on the margin, so that if there’s a crisis, we can’t cope,” University of California San Francisco professor Stephen Kaye at the Institute on Health and Aging told The Associated Press. “There are not enough people to look after the nursing home residents.”

Kaye analyzed data from around 15,000 nursing home facilities in the country and concluded that in the earlier part of the pandemic, for every two nursing home residents who died from COVID-19, another resident died from non-COVID-related causes, the analysis showed. According to Kaye, non-COVID deaths were more common in homes where at least 3 in 10 residents had the virus.

Filing a nursing home neglect lawsuit

If someone you love has been subjected to nursing home neglect, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation. Bereaved family members may be left confused and heartbroken after the death of their loved one. Although legal action cannot bring back family members who have passed away, taking action against neglectful nursing homes can help families recover compensation for wrongful death.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.