In a situation where a person aside from a nursing home staff member is responsible for the death of a resident at that nursing home, it is likely to result in a wrongful death claim against the person who directly caused the death. In addition to the at-fault party, it may also be possible to sue the nursing home for the actions of an “in-house” doctor or person acting as an agent of the nursing home, whose actions caused or contributed to a resident’s death or injury. For example, if a visiting physician was called in by the nursing home to examine a resident, if his or her actions lead to the death (like the wrong medication was prescribed) then the visiting doctor and the nursing home might be subject to a lawsuit. If the doctor who treated the resident in the nursing home had no relationship with the facility – for instance, if he or she was called in by the resident’s family and treated in the facility – the doctor would be the main target of a lawsuit, not the nursing home. This would then be covered under medical malpractice law.
The same goes for cases where the nursing home should have done something to prevent a foreseeable death or injury. A claim could be brought against the nursing home for a death caused by a third party (like another resident) if the nursing home failed to properly supervise, monitor or restrain a resident with a known abusive or violent history. For example, if a resident known to have frequent violent episodes is allowed to interact with other residents unsupervised, or if restraints are not put in place to keep the violent resident from harming others, the nursing home might be found at fault for the resident’s actions that resulted in injury or death of another resident. However, a claim may still be brought against the resident who caused the death, but that resident’s fitness to stand trial and ability to actually pay out on a claim will usually be in question.
You will need to check in with an experienced nursing home abuse attorney to discuss all of the possible persons who may be responsible for the death of the nursing home resident.