As Boulder nursing home abuse lawyers, we at Cook, Bradford & Levy understand that as our elderly family members, friends and neighbors get older, many find themselves living in a nursing home or long term care (LTC) facility. Because they lack independence due to physical or mental disabilities such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, it is extremely important that Colorado nursing homes take care to provide their patients with safety, food and medical care, among all other essentials. The elderly, and especially elderly with special needs, are some of our society’s most vulnerable populations. As we would expect, these facilities are held to the highest standards in terms of what care they must provide for their elderly residents. To ensure a basic standard is met, Colorado has developed and implemented set of administrative regulations that apply directly to these facilities. Experienced nursing home abuse attorneys know that all Boulder nursing homes and LTC facilities are bound by these laws strict licensing requirements. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is the agency tasked with regulating the nursing home and LTC facility industries in Colorado, and the CDPHE website offers a wealth of information for the consumer. A Boulder nursing home abuse attorney can help you decipher and identify the rules and regulations set forth by CDPHE.
The regulations and licensure requirements place a high level of responsibility on Colorado nursing homes and LTC facilities because so much is at stake when our elderly loved ones are in their care and under their watch. As Boulder nursing home abuse lawyers we can and do interpret these rules. These rules are designed to make sure that we can trust that the care being provided to our elderly loved ones and that these facilities meet the highest standards of safety.
Unfortunately, despite the safeguards put in place in Boulder by the State of Colorado and other watchdogs, Boulder and Denver nursing homes and LTC facilities frequently violate the rules and put at risk the lives and safety of our elderly loved ones. Because they are so vulnerable, elderly nursing home residents can get hurt where otherwise normal and healthy people would not be hurt. The good news is that at Cook, Bradford & Levy, as nursing home abuse attorneys, we know that even the most vulnerable members of our community must be treated equally under the law (for example, Colorado Pattern Civil Jury Instruction 6:7 explaining the “Thin Skull” Doctrine.) When an elderly person gets injured by the actions or neglect of a nursing home or LTC facility, the elderly person (or a trusted associate of the elderly, commonly a family member) may file a claim against the facility. Sometimes the negligence or lack of attention results in the death of the resident of the nursing home or LTC facility. When this happens, the family of the deceased may bring a wrongful death claim against the nursing home or LTC facility. Additionally, the representative of the deceased can also bring a survivor’s claim for economic losses on behalf of the deceased before he or she died. We often see this scenario when an elderly resident has required significant and costly medical care prior to their death. In these situations knowledgeable and experienced Boulder nursing home abuse lawyers such as Cook, Bradford & Levy can help you and your family. Call us for a free initial consultation at 303-543-1000 to determine whether you have a claim against a Boulder nursing home or LTC facility.