If the victim of the neglect died as a result, then the primary person who would file a nursing home neglect lawsuit is their spouse, if alive. If the spouse is not living, then commonly, the children of the neglected adult would bring the claim. If the victim of the neglect is still alive, then the patient may bring their own claim. If the patient is not able to do so, the claim can be brought on their behalf by their power of attorney. The victim’s legal representative would file the lawsuit in the victim’s name and the representative acts in the victim’s to represent the wishes of the victim in
the litigation.
It is common that the children of the nursing home neglect victim bring the claim on
behalf of their parent. It’s noteworthy that if a wrongful death claim is brought on behalf of the parent
by the children, all the children have a claim, even if they were not particularly involved
in the parent’s life.
The value of the claims of the different children can be part of a lawsuit. In other words, how
much of any eventual settlement or verdict should be apportioned to a child who was
not involved in their parent life, as opposed to the child who was the parent’s primary
custodian. All of the offspring of the victim have a legal claim, it’s just a question of the
value of that claim.
Is it important for each child to have their own lawyer in a case of nursing
home neglect that results in the death of a parent?
No. Ideally, the children would come together and hire a single lawyer to pursue the
claim. That lawyer’s job is to prove the liability of the facility, establish damages and
recover the money. Beyond that, in terms of the distribution of the money, that’s when
each of the children may need their own lawyer if they are not able to reach an
agreement amongst themselves. Experienced lawyers seek out a waiver of the conflicts
of interest for purposes of litigating the underlying claim, then require those persons to
hire their own attorneys to argue about how to apportion it.
