The Dickson Firm represents nursing home residents and their families in cases against the owners and the operators of nursing homes throughout the State of Ohio.
One of the most heartbreaking parts of our practice is that many, many of the people who call us are calling for a wrongful death case. Someone they love has been neglected or abused in a nursing home, and they have died as a result. These cases are incredibly significant.
Tragically, many of these deaths are completely preventable. We see deaths that occur from falls in a nursing home. We see deaths that occur from bedsores that occur at a nursing home.
We see deaths that occur when a resident is allowed to elope out of the nursing home and leave unattended. We see deaths that occur from someone who chokes to death. We see deaths from medication errors. We see deaths from assault.
If you believe a loved one died in a nursing home because of abuse or neglect, please contact The Dickson Law Firm at 1-800-OHIO-LAW to speak with an experienced lawyer today.
Once a person has passed away, in order to pursue a case on their behalf, their family needs to open up an estate. We open estates for families throughout the State of Ohio. The Probate Court appoints a personal representative, who is an individual who will represent the Estate in the case. And then thereafter, the case needs to be pursued in that person's name.
What types of damages are available in wrongful death cases?
The claims that the individual resident had survive his or her death. If a nursing home resident has been neglected or abused and they have claims for their pain and suffering, their loss of enjoyment of life, and the medical bills they incurred for the injuries that they suffered as a result of the neglect and abuse of the nursing home, their estate is able to pursue a claim for all of those damages.
Those damages survive their death. The estate can pursue these damages and recover these damages from the Defendants in the case. These damages are then distributed to the next of kin of the decedent pursuant to the will, or if the person has died without a will, pursuant to the laws of descent and distribution. These damages are called Survivorship damages.
In addition to the damages that the estate can recover for the pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life that the resident endured, and the related medical bills that they incurred, each of a decedent's next of kin has a claim for mental anguish and loss of society.
Mental anguish is the emotional suffering that they endured as the result of a person's death. Loss of society refers to the fact that they had a valuable relationship with that person and that relationship was taken away as a result of the person's death. These damages are available in a wrongful death case. The entire case is brought in the name of the Personal Representative. But each of the next of kin have their own claim for damages.
Oftentimes nursing homes are not forthcoming with families about what happened to their loved one. Sadly, even the doctors and nurses at the local hospital, sometimes do not tell the family exactly what happened, as they do not want to make the nursing home look bad.
At The Dickson Firm, we have spent decades getting answers for families all over the State of Ohio. We find out what happened to your loved one. We find out why they were injured and why they died.
If you believe a loved one died in a nursing home because of abuse or neglect, please contact The Dickson Law Firm at 1-800-OHIO-LAW to speak with an experienced lawyer today.
