Negligence, Other Injury My elderly mother who is in a nursing was burnt by coffee

[Slhedrick1964]

My mother is in rehab at a nursing home facility. She has severe rheumatoid arthritis with contractures of her hands, which makes it difficult to hold on to things at times. On Wednesday her lunch was brought to her with coffee being on her tray. She reached for something on her tray and knocked over her coffee onto her leg. She screamed for someone to help her(she was in her room) stood on her good leg to try and pull her pants down. She now has 2nd degree burns on her left leg. They called me after it happened and told me the doctor was coming in and they will have him look at her. She went over a day before a doctor looked at it, and never called me once the doctor looked at it. I am wondering if I have a case here? I am currently trying to find another facility to put my mom in as this is not the first 'injury' she has had in their facility. Thank you for taking time to read and respond.

 

[army judge]

My mother is in rehab at a nursing home facility. She has severe rheumatoid arthritis with contractures of her hands, which makes it difficult to hold on to things at times. On Wednesday her lunch was brought to her with coffee being on her tray. She reached for something on her tray and knocked over her coffee onto her leg. She screamed for someone to help her(she was in her room) stood on her good leg to try and pull her pants down. She now has 2nd degree burns on her left leg. They called me after it happened and told me the doctor was coming in and they will have him look at her. She went over a day before a doctor looked at it, and never called me once the doctor looked at it. I am wondering if I have a case here? I am currently trying to find another facility to put my mom in as this is not the first 'injury' she has had in their facility. Thank you for taking time to read and respond.

I hope your mother recovers from her burns without further difficulty.
Good nursing home and extended care facilities are extremely rare.
I know, our son was hit by an uninsured drunk driver and ended up in a coma for 11 years.
My wife and I spent six months finding a suitable facility, once he had been taken off of life support.
We placed cameras in his room so we could monitor his care, and hired an aid to attend to him 24/7.
He died after 100 years in that coma.
I say that not for your sympathy, but to let you know I am very familiar with care facilities for invalids and seniors.

Find a better facility, if you can.
In the meantime, visit with the administrator and discuss the situation.
You don't want money, and you really have no case.
It was an accident, and your mom caused it.

Getting physicians to treat people in care facilities is also difficult.
Don't burn bridges, because you'll need these people, or ones like them.
So, visit regularly, document everything, but always be polite.

You'd be surprised what a gift card or small gift will do to make sure mom's life is easier when you can't be there.
We'd drop off donuts, send sandwiches, fruit baskets, boxes of chocolates, and give certain aids gasoline and store gift cards.

Those little favors to people who work in thos places mean a lot, because they screw patients and employees.

Try it, and you'll soon see how much better they treat you, but more importantly your beloved mother.

 

[Slhedrick1964]

Point taken I see my mother everyday, they always cooled off her coffee. It should have NEVER been brought to her that hot, so that if it did get spilled it wouldn't burn like that.

 

[army judge]

Point taken I see my mother everyday, they always cooled off her coffee. It should have NEVER been brought to her that hot, so that if it did get spilled it wouldn't burn like that.

All I can say is most facilities just don't care, and the employees (aids and attendants) get minimum wages, and they aren't the caliber of similarly qualified hospital or clinic workers.

Those care facilities are very bad places.

Look around, see if you can find mom a better one, but you have to visit at times they don't expect.