Nursing Home Choking

Detroit Nursing Home Choking Lawyers

Choking is a significant cause of injury and death in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.  When an injury or death occurs as the result of choking, it will be important to determine if the nursing home or long-term care facility is legally liable.

At our firm, a significant part of our representation is devoted to helping clients who have suffered from injury in a nursing home or long-term care facility as a result of negligence. We help those injured, and the families who have lost a loved one, seek justice.  When an injury or death occurs, our role is to carefully examine the circumstances of the injury or death, determine if the nursing home took proper precautions based upon the health and limitations of the resident, and (if we believe that the nursing home is legally negligent), represent our clients against the nursing home in seeking justice and fair compensation.

Are Nursing Homes Responsible for Choking Deaths and Injuries?

In some cases, yes.

Nursing homes have a duty to carefully assess residents to determine their condition and physical limitations in a number of areas, including their ability to eat solid food.  There are numerous medical conditions that can affect the ability of a senior to eat solid food – including Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.  In some cases, such medical conditions dictate that a resident not be given solid food because the resident does not, or may not, have the ability to swallow solid food.

Understanding How the Nursing Home May Be Legally Negligent

A nursing home may be liable for choking injuries or death if they fail to conduct a thorough assessment of the resident’s ability to eat solid food, and the resident is given solid food when solid food is not medically advisable.  Additionally, the nursing home may also be liable if the resident does have an assessment dictating that solid food should not be given to the resident, and the nursing home nonetheless provides solid food and the resident chokes as a result.

Representing Residents and Families in a Nursing Home Choking Case

When choking occurs, it’s important to understand the condition of the resident with respect to their ability to chew solid food, to investigate to determine what restrictions were in place, and whether the nursing home failed to conduct a proper assessment of the resident’s physical condition, or if it provided solid food to the resident despite an assessment indicating otherwise.

We work with medical professionals (including the nurses on our staff) to make such assessments and determinations.  Based upon the opinion of medical professionals and the facts and circumstances of a case, we can then advise a potential client as to the strength of their case and their legal options.

Learn About Your Options – Call Us for a Free Case Evaluation

As nursing home choking lawyers, we accept nursing home and long-term care facility cases on a contingency fee basis, so there is no fee unless we are successful in recovering a settlement or award.  We also advance the costs of litigation, so that you do not need to be concerned about paying these costs while your case is in litigation (these costs are then deducted from a settlement or monetary award).


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