Ottawa Nursing Home Accident Lawyer
When age, illness, or disability renders a loved one unable to live independently, a long-term care facility can provide them with a comfortable, safe residence. Often, families spend a great deal of time researching the quality and safety records of nursing homes before deciding where to house their loved one. Families may go to great expense to keep their relatives in secure facilities. However, even long-term care facilities with impressive safety records can have residents of nursing homes sustain personal injuries. Various circumstances—including the resident’s medical conditions, combined with hazards—can lead to significant injuries.
If you or a loved one was injured in an Ottawa area long-term care facility, a nursing home accident lawyer may be able to provide assistance. Call Preszler Injury Lawyers at 1-800-JUSTICE to discuss the circumstances of the accident.
Falls Are a Significant Problem for Our Elders
Current statistics from Health Quality Ontario illustrate that falls among long-term care residents are currently higher than the provincial benchmark. In fact, falls account for more than 80%of all injury-related hospitalizations among the country’s senior citizens. These troubling numbers reveal how susceptible our elderly population is to potentially serious accidents. A recent report from the Public Health Agency of Canada indicates that the most common fall-related injury sustained by people aged 65 and older is broken or fractured bones For an elderly individual, broken bones may result in lengthy courses of rehabilitation, and may never fully heal.
Nursing home residents may suffer from falls for a number of reasons including:
- Limited mobility
- Previous history of injury
- The use of prescription medications
- And possibly more
Other Forms of Accidents That May Enable Your Loved One to Pursue Damages
Falls are not the only form of accident that can occur in a nursing home. Residents can sustain injuries following management negligence amounting to premises liability oversight. For instance, if management fails to secure the premises, a resident might walk through an unlocked door and injure themselves. This form of negligence can even result in residents with cognitive disabilities leaving the premises and wandering into unsafe public conditions, such as traffic. Similarly, a failure to secure the facility can lead to unauthorized visitors entering the building and harming a resident. In other instances, a fire, gas leak, medical malpractice incident, or other facilities-related hazard may have led to a nursing home resident’s injuries.
In these cases, the facility’s management or administrative staff might be liable for any harm that came to your loved one.
Nursing Home Accident Case Recoverable Damages in Ottawa
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident at an Ottawa nursing home, an Ottawa personal injury lawyer may be able to help recover damages.
Recoverable damages for injuries sustained in nursing home accidents include the following considerations:
- The victim’s age
- Long-term consequences as a result of the accident
- Surgeries, assistive medical equipment, and other medical costs incurred
- And possibly more
Hiring a Nursing Home Accident Lawyer
The province of Ontario’s Limitations Act (2002, c. 24, Sched. B, s. 4) generally allows accident victims two years to file a lawsuit seeking compensation from the day they were injured. This means your injured loved one might have a limited window of time in which to seek restitution for their losses following an injury at their nursing home.
If you are eligible, a nursing home accident lawyer may be able to help you within the government-mandated time period. In order to present the strongest case possible, a lawyer may be able to help you collect and analyze the following types of evidence:
- Medical treatment records
- Video surveillance from the nursing home
- Proof of loss of enjoyment of activities
- Eyewitness statements
- And possibly more
A lawyer working on your case could also provide assistance by:
- Compiling and analyzing evidence
- Advising you of your options
- Answering your questions
- Negotiating on your behalf with insurance companies
- Working with accident reconstructionists and expert witnesses
- Forming a case plan to pursue compensation
- And possibly other methods
Through these actions, an Ottawa nursing home accident lawyer may be able to help you collect damages for the following:
- Emergency medical costs
- Recovery costs
- Mobility aids like crutches or a wheelchair
- Physical therapy
- Psychological therapy to treat resulting trauma
- Pain and suffering
- Damaged personal property
- And more, depending on your loved one’s circumstances
Speak with Preszler Injury Lawyers for More Information
If you or a loved one has been injured as the result of an accident in a nursing home, contact Preszler Injury Lawyers at 1-800-JUSTICE for a free, initial consultation on your case.
