Hospice Care Malpractice in Portland
It can be devastating to require hospice services for a loved one. When we select hospice care, we expect it to be warm, understanding, and kind. These expectations include a competent staff that will provide appropriate and consistent care in our loved one’s final weeks and days. When that doesn’t happen, the pain we experience can be compounded significantly. If a hospice facility has demonstrated negligence or malpractice with your loved one, a Paulson Coletti Portland medical malpractice lawyer can help you seek justice on behalf of your loved one and their family.
Portland Hospice Care Expectation of Services
Hospice care in Portland includes medical and nursing care for individuals with fatal diagnoses. These services are provided when the treating physician estimates the individual has six months or less of life. Hospice services may be provided in a medical facility or the home.
A hospice program provides services to maintain quality of life, pain management, and some case management of social services for the patient and family. They will not receive any curative treatments but should continue to be provided with medications for symptoms like abnormal blood pressure, diabetes, or anxiety.
Additionally, any patient in hospice services has rights provided to them by OAR-333-027-0080, including the right to be free from abuse and to be treated with respect. If you find that your loved one has not received services in accordance with the service provision guidelines provided to you by the facility, or medical, physical, or emotional needs are going unmet and unaddressed, you may have legal recourse.
Medical Malpractice at a Hospice Facility
Medical malpractice can sometimes be difficult to define, but it compares a physician’s actions against what a similarly trained physician might have reasonably done. This is based on the specialty’s standard of care, which determines if the provider met the treatment obligations to the patient. Some of the more common types of medical malpractice or other forms of negligence seen in hospice settings are:
- Prescription or medication dosing errors
- Bed sores or other injuries caused by nursing negligence
- Infection from unsanitary conditions
- Infection from neglected wounds or dressings
- Illnesses that go untreated, such as respiratory infections
- Overmedicating or inappropriately sedating a patient
These are not the only times that civil action may be taken, and some of these situations may fall more appropriately under other types of civil suits. For example, if a medical error resulted in the death of a patient before it was otherwise expected, this may be something to speak with a wrongful death attorney about.
Portland Hospice Elder Abuse
In some situations, mistreatment of the patient may or may not center around medical malpractice, but it may still cause harm and injury. Cases of elder abuse go chronically under-reported because many of the victims are unable to reliably report. However, if your loved one has been a victim of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in a Portland nursing facility, you may be eligible to pursue civil and criminal legal action against the individual perpetrator or overseeing agency. You can report concerns of elder abuse or neglect through the Oregon Department of Human Services.