Memory Care Liability Claims: Litigating Proper Staffing and Supervision for Alzheimers and Dementia Residents
Misdiagnosis, Failure to Screen for a Higher Level of Care, Understaffing, Inadequate Care Management, and More
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Personal Injury and Med Mal
- event Date
Thursday, November 9, 2023
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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This CLE webinar will help prepare medical malpractice and personal injury lawyers to litigate and resolve burgeoning memory care liability claims asserted against senior living facilities. The panel will discuss the memory care market, why a specialized approach is needed, standards of care, laws and regulations, common injuries, discovery and evidentiary issues, and damages and insurance.
Ms. Fillmore is a skilled litigator who represents healthcare providers and institutions in long-term care, medical malpractice, and dental malpractice matters. She also has experience successfully representing her clients throughout professional board proceedings and in personal injury cases.
Ms. Valentino is a member of the firm’s Long-Term Care and Elder Law, Healthcare, and Medical Malpractice Practices. She has engaged in numerous arbitrations and mediations and successfully tried to verdict multiple medical malpractice cases on behalf of physicians, nurses and hospitals, long-term care facilities and its employees. Ms. Valentino is the past President of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois.
It is inevitable that medical malpractice and personal injury lawyers, whether plaintiff or defense, will be handling more memory care claims. From 2023 to 2030, one research report estimates, the U.S. memory care market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 5.1 percent.
Claims may sound in medical malpractice, professional negligence, contract, or even consumer protection laws that prohibit false advertising. Malpractice risks include misdiagnosing dementia, failure to diagnose, and failure to recognize that the dementia has progressed. These may present as claims for failure to screen residents for a higher level of care, understaffing, or inadequate care management.
The biggest concern is "elopement," or wandering away from the memory care unit, which can end in severe injury, if not tragedy, and claims for failure to maintain a safe, secure environment. Supervision of memory care patients is labor intensive, and evidence of staffing practices will almost always be a critical issue. Facilities have incurred liability for staffing levels set on budgets rather than residents' needs, and for using resident needs assessments to determine billing, but not staffing.
Listen as this experienced panel helps medical malpractice and personal injury lawyers prepare to resolve or litigate these emerging and unique claims.
- Overview of memory care market
- How memory care treatment differs from treatment in a nursing home
- Types of injuries alleged
- Claims and theories of liability
- Defenses
- The role of arbitration in memory care litigation
- Damages and the role of insurance in memory care litigation
The panel will review these and other critical issues:
- Are there local or national industry standards for memory care programs or professionals?
- Can a person with dementia still have legal capacity?
