Q: Is there ever an instance that a victim of nursing home neglect is the
plaintiff themselves, because perhaps they are physically infirm, but they
think with clarity and are healthy mentally?
It’s not as common, but it certainly happens that people are residents of nursing homes
because they have significant physical or medical conditions, but are otherwise entirely
competent and capacitated. For example, many people go to a nursing home for rehabilitation after a surgery or significant medical event, not because they need long-term living facilities.
The language that is used generally is that “they are their own person,” meaning they are
making their own health care decisions. They are making their own day-to-day
decisions, they sign their own papers, they sign their own releases and sometimes those
are our clients with whom we are happy to work and help directly.
