COVID-19 NURSING HOME WRONGFUL DEATH IN ATHENS GEORGIA

COVID-19 NURSING HOME WRONGFUL DEATH IN ATHENS GEORGIA

It has recently been reported that ten residents of PruittHealth Grandview an Athens Georgia nursing home recently died due to complications from contracting COVID-19 virus. The nursing home did not immediately report the deaths to the local government. A whistleblower brought the deaths to the attention of the Atlanta TV station WSB channel 2.

The Center for Medicare Services (CMS) has issued its own memo with guidelines specific to the coronavirus and COVID-19. It is mainly focused on who is allowed to come in and out of the nursing home facility and restrictions on allowing staff and others to come in. If the nursing home did not follow these guidelines and allowed visitors to continue to come in despite the memo issued by CMS there may be strong evidence for a negligence and wrongful death law suit.

According to a statement released by PruittHealth the Grandview facility in Athens is currently operation on a an “alert code red status” and strictly following infectious disease guidelines.

How prepared was the nursing home staff and administration to deal with an outbreak of the corona virus and COVID-19?

Were there proper procedures in place to deal with an outbreak? If so, did the staff and administration follow the procedures in place? Often times issues can arise when nursing facilities are understaffed or have a lack of nurses that can provide physical and cognitive assessments of the patients. If not, enough care is being provided by registered nurses or doctors then it is very possible that signs and symptoms can be missed leading to a delay in treatment of the COVID-19 symptoms that can prove to be fatal, especially in older persons. If residents of the nursing home are getting sick and nothing is getting done because of a lack of trained medical staff then the severity of this person’s illness will most likely increase.

What kind of case can a lawyer bring against a nursing home that has had resident die from COVID-19?

These types of case would fall under negligence and wrongful death. It is important to understand that just because a resident of a nursing facility died from contracting the corona virus it doesn’t necessarily mean that the nursing home and staff did anything wrong. Sometimes all proper procedures and protocols can be followed and still have the virus spread and deaths to occur. To determine whether or not the nursing home was negligent it would be very important to be able to review the nursing notes to see when the symptoms were first noted and what the staff did to treat the symptoms. Should the resident have been sent to the hospital for evaluation? These are questions for a physician to review on behalf of the lawyer and family of the deceased resident as an expert witness.

Early testing and watching for symptoms can help prevent rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus in Georgia Nursing Homes

Georgia has been one of the hardest hit states by the COVID-19 outbreak. The latest statistics reveal that over 10,000 Georgians have tested positive for the virus and 370 deaths have occurred as of the time of this article. This shows how quickly the virus can spread and how important early testing, diagnosis, and self-isolation can be. This is especially important in the nursing home setting where many of the residents are incapable of communicating their symptoms to the staff. Therefore it is of the utmost importance that the staff check patients around the clock during this pandemic time to spot symptoms as early as possible and help to cutoff the spread of the virus.

Athens / Hartwell Nursing Home Negligence Attorneys Serving Northeast Georgia

Give our attorneys a call for a free evaluation of your case. When you call you will speak with one of our three attorneys, not a case manager or intake person. We believe this hands-on personal attention from trained and skilled lawyers makes all the difference in the handling of cases. This one of the many reasons why you should choose us to handle and evaluate your nursing home case.

Don’t let a nursing home or assisted care facility’s mistake cut your family’s time with a loved one short. You can fight back — and The Van Dora Law Firm, LLC, will fight with you. Reach us locally in Athens or Hartwell, Georgia by calling 706-377-4044 or email or contact us online.