Choosing a nursing home for an elderly loved one can be a delicate, challenging, sometimes stressful experience. It would most likely comfort adult children if they are able to help their parent find a place where nursing home negligence is nonexistent. Some may wonder if such a place exists. In a state outside Ohio, a bill has been proposed that seeks to prevent nursing home negligence.
If voted into law, new legislation would allow residents to install audio and/or recording apparatuses in their rooms so as to monitor the actions of nursing home staff members. Should an incidence of negligent action occur, or any number of other wrongful doings, the recorded evidence could be used to validate one’s case. In order to protect personal privacy, residents would need to approve the installation of the equipment in their rooms.
Included in the newly proposed legislation, is language that would prevent facilities from acting against anyone who chooses to install the equipment in his or her residence. It was noted that three other states already permit the use of audio and/or video devices in nursing home residents’ rooms. In the state of Illinois, where the new bill has been introduced, there are reportedly 76,000 people residing in 860 different nursing homes.
Data suggests that there are at least 5,000 allegations of abuse per year in those facilities. In 2013, 106 allegations were determined to be valid. With or without recording devices, if a resident of an Ohio assisted living facility suffers from nursing home negligence that results in injury or illness, he or she is typically entitled to file a personal injury claim in a civil court.
Source: nwherald.com, “Our View: Combating abuse, neglect in nursing homes“, July 9, 2015
