Practice Alert
What hope is there for meaningful tort reform to stop another malpractice crisis?
The hope is real, but the window of opportunity is small.
Nursing home neglect/abuse is growing fast, and so is related litigation. Cases typically involve wrongful death, decubitus ulcers, dehydration, malnutrition, sepsis, and falls.1 The financial burden nursing homes face in defending numerous lawsuits diverts funds that could be used to improve the quality of care.2
The families of victims of nursing home abuse/neglect often pursue lawsuits to get nursing homes to provide better quality of care to their residents. This can be difficult for nursing homes to achieve when they have to pour their financial resources into defending lawsuits. Historically, nursing home abuse/ neglect has been addressed by governmental regulation.3 Although victims and their families should not be deprived of their Seventh Amendment right, perhaps stricter government regulation is a more efficient means of addressing this problem.4
Mohammed Muqeet Adnan, MD
Huma Adnan, JD
Syed Amer, MD
Usman Bhutta, MD
Oklahoma City, Okla