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Choking and suffocation continue to be leading causes of death in nursing homes. Many patients with dementia, Alzheimers disease and other cognitive impairments cannot eat safely on their own. For these patients, nursing home personnel must assist them while they eat to ensure that they do not put too much food in their mouth at one time and that they swallow properly. Despite federal requirements that nursing homes maintain adequate staff, many impaired residents do not get the assistance they need.
While such an injury may appear to be accidental, nursing homes can be held accountable for choking incidents. If the choking occurred because the resident was not properly monitored, it is the fault of the nursing home, and your loved one may have a nursing home abuse case.
The same goes for suffocation. Immobile or cognitively impaired patients and patients requiring supplemental oxygen need special assistance to ensure these patients do not get their heads stuck between bed rails or entangled in other restraining devices. Oxygen tubes must be kept free from obstructions. Patients who have tracheostomies need care that their trachea is not accidentally pulled out by the patient, other patients or incompetent employees.
Clogged breathing tubes, like choking, may also cause brain damage or death. Nursing homes and healthcare providers are supposed to keep breathing tubes clean and in working order.
Residents with breathing tubes should receive increased monitoring. Failure to monitor the tube may result in a clog that might disrupt the residents breathing. If the choking occurred because the resident was not properly monitored and this led to a clogged breathing tube, it is the fault of the nursing home, and there may be a nursing home abuse case.
Mr. Pitman is a member of the Nursing Home Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the Iowa Association for Justice and the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Pitman was President of the Wisconsin Association for Justice in 2013 and is a current member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). He lectures extensively on nursing home abuse and neglect and has authored numerous articles in the area of personal injury litigation.
Many nursing home patients often have poor judgment, difficulty chewing and trouble with swallowing food. Regardless of the reason, if the problem is known to the nursing home, the resident should be assessed for what foods are safest for him or her to eat.
As such, it is imperative that the nursing home staff not only provide soft food and cut up other food in small pieces, but also monitor those residents during meals to prevent choking injuries.
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If you or your loved one is the victim of any type of nursing home abuse or neglect, you must contact an experienced Wisconsin nursing home attorney to protect your the residents rights, and make sure you receive compensation for harm suffered at the nursing home.
Taking legal action against an abusive or negligent nursing home is one of the best ways one of the best ways to raise awareness, improve quality of care and effectively improve the life of your loved one and other victims of nursing home abuse/negligence.
At PKSD, our Milwaukee nursing home abuse lawyers are dedicated to preventing negligence and abuse from occurring in nursing homes. Our Wisconsin nursing home negligence attorneys are experts in this complicated area of the law, and work relentlessly to hold nursing homes accountable.
We work with a team of medical experts, investigators and other attorneys. Our team of attorneys, nurses and paralegals handles the largest volume of nursing home cases in Wisconsin. Our team helps clients and their families obtain financial restitution for their pain, suffering, financial loss and medical expenses. We provide each client with extensive resources, aggressive representation, personalized attention and compassionate legal care.
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PKSD was great to work with after I had been in a car accident. They were incredibly thorough, patient, and understanding through the whole process! Sam Killian handled my case and kept me up to date every step of the way. He worked to negotiate my final settlement and was transparent about timelines and total amounts. Great, clear communication! Definitely would recommend! They make it a breeze.
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This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Jeffery A. Pitman, who has more than 28 years of legal experience and handled thousands of personal injury cases while obtaining millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and New Mexico.
