Lawsuit Threats from Family Members

nightingale, RN · Sep 9, 2006

When I have been a Charge Nurse in LTC, I have tried to not give the statements more power then necessary. I address the remarks briefly. It may be a statement to intimidate or it may be a warning; who knows?

When it has happened to my Staff, and they have alerted me before the family member has left, I apologize that they "feel that way", I offer to help, and tell them I will have a manager contact them.

I am usually too busy to spend a whole lot of time on any one issue. Courtesy, being pleasant, listening to concerns and issues (of residents, family, and staff) is a skill that goes a long way in putting out fires before they get out of hand.

Simplepleasures · Nov 21, 2006

It is certainly the right of the family to sue if they feel they need to, its about time patients AND STAFF in LTC facilities became "empowered". Nurses should refer the family to the social worker and not address this at all, not our jobs.

brendamyheart · Nov 25, 2006

And if all the above doesn't work, ask them if they want to borrow the yellow pages.

LOL:chuckle

CseMgr1, ASN, RN · Nov 25, 2006

If they are that unhappy with the care that their loved ones are receiving, then they need to do what my sister and I did with our father: sign them out, pack up their belongings, take them home and SHUT UP. :angryfire

Simplepleasures · Nov 25, 2006

If they are that unhappy with the care that their loved ones are receiving, then they need to do what my sister and I did with our father: sign them out, pack up their belongings, take them home and SHUT UP. :angryfire

I do agree that patients will recieve far better care at home, but what about those patients that have no family to take care of them, dont they also have the right to legal recourse and good care? If families are unhappy with the cares thier loved ones are recieving shouldnt they report this to the "state" ?If their concerns ae unfounded and they are just sue happy, they wont get far in the lawsuit.

banditrn · Nov 26, 2006

I do agree that patients will recieve far better care at home, but what about those patients that have no family to take care of them, dont they also have the right to legal recourse and good care? If families are unhappy with the cares thier loved ones are recieving shouldnt they report this to the "state" ?If their concerns ae unfounded and they are just sue happy, they wont get far in the lawsuit.

I don't agree with that, as a blanket statement. Sometimes the home caregiver has no idea how to give 'proper' care. Or even if they do, Mom or Dad is used to being 'in charge', and will bully them into doing it 'their' way.

I've seen residents come in for PT, because they refused to follow what was required, and were making NO progress. They've bullied and exhausted their family to the point where THEY become ill.

I've seen bad decubiti because the family either couldn't get them to move, or didn't understand the concept.

Simplepleasures · Nov 26, 2006

I don't agree with that, as a blanket statement. Sometimes the home caregiver has no idea how to give 'proper' care. Or even if they do, Mom or Dad is used to being 'in charge', and will bully them into doing it 'their' way.

I do agree with you that there needs to be some oversight of home care,visiting nurses,etc, especially if it appears that the family does not know how to care for their loved ones properly or there is some other kind of issue.I saw a government website that had a plan of sorts to allocate way more money to homecare , it was in response to the aging of the baby boomer generation and how they may overwhelm the healthcare system in the near future, I will try to find the link and post it.

BSNtobe2009 · Nov 26, 2006

I am employed at an upscale nursing home and the care provided is very good. How do I constructively deal with family members who are threatening to sue the nursing home and its employees? It seems as if family members are becoming more 'empowered' as time passes. What immediate actions should be taken?
My questions might be construed as goofy; however, I don't have much experience in this arena. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Just remember that suing someone is a completly different animal than collection.

I can file a lawsuit against someone because I didn't like the way they looked at me. I can file the papers, they will be summoned to court, a date will be set, and we can stand before a judge....but it doesn't mean I'll collect on it.

Some of these silly lawsuits I hear about, I wonder how they get the award in the first place....some of them are just not bona fide lawsuits, and if I were on the jury, I would hold it out until the bitter end if I wasn't completely convinced that someone was negligent.

ns lpn · Nov 27, 2006

I think all facilities should have mtgs with pts, families and some staff routinely to air out concerns. Obviously there are some people who fail to see that their parent/relative is one among many and this is often a source of problems but regular discussions help. As far as a lawsuits I would just document anything and everything re:the resident and family interactions, and of course be polite and caring. If I felt there might be something to it then I'd be addressing those issues ASAP.