Texas Laws Regarding Nursing Home Negligence

If you or a loved one are currently living in a nursing home facility in McAllen, Texas, you should know about the Texas laws regarding nursing home negligence. Nursing home negligence—a form of elder abuse—is a very serious problem facing America today. In fact, 14% of elder abuse cases involve neglect. Nursing home neglect is defined as a failure of an assisted living facility to provide for an elderly person’s essential needs, according to the standards required by state law. But what constitutes McAllen nursing home negligence? And how should you choose a lawyer if neglect has occurred?

Fortunately, our McAllen elder neglect lawyers at Carabin Shaw are here to answer these questions. Read on to learn more.

Under Title 40, Part 1, Chapter 19 of the Texas Administrative Code, nursing homes are required by law to meet certain standards of care. The TAC states:

“Each resident must receive and the facility must provide the necessary care and services to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being, as defined by and in accordance with the comprehensive assessment and plan of care.”

This means that, under Texas nursing home laws, residents must receive care that allows them to maintain the best possible quality of life—mentally, physically, and psychosocially. They must receive necessary services to maintain good nutrition, grooming, and hygiene, as well as access to any needed medical care. Each resident should have a comprehensive care plan that outlines their needs—for housing, medications, social services, and medical equipment, among other things.

The TAC outlines other standards that facilities must meet. For instance, it is the responsibility of the facility to ensure that bedsores do not develop unless they are an unavoidable symptom of the patient’s medical condition. It is also the facility’s responsibility to make sure the resident environment remains as free of accident hazards as possible while also ensuring that each resident is adequately supervised. There are also regulations stating that residents must not be given unnecessary drugs and that the facility must not have medication error rates of 5.0% or greater.

According to our McAllen elder neglect lawyers, if healthy residents are suddenly developing bedsores, bruises, or lacerations, this is a cause for concern. Similarly, dehydration and malnutrition are major red flags—in fact, dehydration is the most common form of nursing home negligence.

If you notice that your elderly loved one is suffering from repeated or unexplained injuries while in a nursing home, or if you notice behavioral or emotional disturbances, it is possible that they are not receiving adequate care from their facility.

If you suspect or know that nursing home negligence is occurring, you need to enlist the help of a nursing home negligence lawyer in McAllen. Nursing home negligence is a crime, and if you or someone you love has been the victim of neglect, you have the right to pursue justice and compensation for your injuries.

At Carabin Shaw, our attorneys have the knowledge and experience to properly handle even the most difficult negligence claims. Our team has a combined 200 years of legal experience, and our attorneys have been helping victims of nursing home negligence for more than two decades. So far, we’ve recovered more than $500 million in compensation for thousands of satisfied clients, and we can help you maximize the value of your personal injury claim. Recovering after nursing home negligence is always painful, so let us make your claim process as painless as possible.

To schedule your free initial consultation with a compassionate McAllen nursing home negligence lawyer, call our office serving McAllen at 956-664-7255 to speak with an attorney. Let us help you get your life back on track.