A party filing a complaint against a nursing facility will need to provide evidence of the suffering and loss arising from the home’s conduct, and they should try to offer as much information as possible on damages such as medical expenses, lab fees, prosthetics, future expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and diminished quality of life. These areas of loss, and other factors, are described below.
Mental Anguish
Monetary damages might be given for a resident’s or survivor’s pain, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life. The damages are provided for mental and physical pain. Mental anguish for which damages are recoverable includes the following types:
* Fear of an injury’s consequences while the patient awaits help
* Fear in the period between realization of an incident’s imminence and the incident itself
* Anxiety related to future health and well-being
* Fear of the need for subsequent procedures
* PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)
Disfigurement
Nursing home residents are eligible for damages related to disfigurement caused by other parties. Disfigurement may include amputation, hair loss, scarring and other injuries affecting one’s appearance. A person’s dignity should be preserved where possible, and if it’s damaged by an injury, a complaint for monetary damages can be made by Kreizer Law.
Loss of Quality of Life
Most states allow recovery when a person’s injuries interfere with their ability to have a normal life. In nursing home residents, this could mean the loss of the ability to walk, communicate, or engage in previously enjoyed activities.
Lower Life Expectancy
Courts don’t generally regard shortened lifespan as an injury, but it can be a factor in determining the severity of injuries, diminished earnings capacity and mental anguish. Jurors are usually instructed to determine future damages based on life expectancy charts. However, technological improvements have led a nursing home neglect lawyer near Newark to argue that today’s life expectancies are greater than those set forth in tables.
Punitive Damages
In cases where a nursing home has been patently neglectful, reckless or malicious, punitive damages may be given. In these instances, a nursing home neglect lawyer near Newark may argue that the nursing home’s resident was stripped of their statutory rights.
