Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)

Underinsured Nursing Homes

A recurring problem in nursing home abuse cases is the lack of insurance coverage. In some instances, insurance coverage exists, but is a "wasting" insurance policy that reduces by defense costs/attorney fees in the event of a lawsuit. The problem, of course, is that this situation can leave the victims of nursing home abuse and neglect without any redress for their injuries (or the victim's loved ones, in the case of a nursing home wrongful death case). Justice is not all about money, but the reality is that, in the cases worth pursuing, the defendant nursing home often has no regret and no incentive the change. Indeed, problems in nursing homes are generally the result of understaffing, driven by unrealistic budget constraints. This seems to happen most often with large nursing home chains, which have actually become the rule, rather than the exception -- the bottom line is that the nursing home business is big, profitable business. Physicians, such as nursing home "medical directors" often don't realize that they are not even covered by insurance for their actions on behalf of the nursing home; and when there's abuse or neglect (and a lawsuit), their responsibilities under the applicable state/federal regulations for nursing homes makes them a likely defendant. Perhaps medical directors' liability will force them and the industry to re-think insurance coverage for personal injury, abuse, neglect and/or wrongful death related to nursing home abuse.