Discussions of nursing home abuse often focus on the misconduct of staff members. The people who work at nursing homes can neglect individual residents. They can also engage in abusive behavior that causes physical, emotional or financial harm to nursing home residents. Obviously, those who pay thousands of dollars per month for a room in a nursing home should receive reasonable care and support from the professionals who work there. They also should have protection from other forms of abusive conduct.
Employees aren’t the only ones who might mistreat nursing home residents. Sometimes, other residents are the source of risk for those living in nursing homes. Individuals dealing with dementia or who have always been volatile could become a danger to other residents in a nursing home.
Who is responsible for resident-on-resident assaults in nursing home facilities?
Nursing homes have a duty to protect residents
State law specifically protects the rights of nursing home residents to be free from abuse and mistreatment. That right does not just protect them from the mistreatment of nursing home employees but also from abuse by other residents.
Professionals working at the nursing home should monitor patients and take note of signs of aggression or significant interpersonal conflicts. They have a duty to intervene when violence occurs between residents and to make reasonable attempts to prevent scenarios from leading to an altercation or assault.
They may need to intentionally separate certain people. Arranging for those who regularly fight to have meals at different times or live in separate wings of the facility can limit the risk of an altercation. In some cases, residents who have proven volatile or dangerous may need to reside in locked wards and be subject to regular monitoring to prevent them from lashing out violently at others in the facility.
If a nursing home’s employees fail to intervene and to protect residents from others who are dangerous, then the facility may ultimately be liable for neglecting its duty of care. Family members of those harmed by resident-on-resident violence in a nursing home may have grounds to pursue a nursing home negligence lawsuit. Seeking legal guidance is a good way to explore this right.