Coronavirus in Texas Nursing Homes | Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers

By now, most people are aware that the coronavirus pandemic has cost 100,000 American lives. But many people still do not realize how great the toll has been among nursing homes. The latest statistics show that between 47 and 52% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have occurred among nursing home residents—a staggering percentage. And shockingly, Texas government officials are still refusing to tell the public which nursing home facilities in the state are experiencing outbreaks.

If you or a loved one contracted COVID-19 in a nursing home facility, you should know that you may have legal grounds to file a personal injury claim with the help of nursing home neglect lawyers in Texas. To learn more about coronavirus in Texas nursing homes and how Texas injury lawyers can help you, read on.

There are many reasons why nursing homes have been so devastated by the pandemic. The first and most obvious is that nursing homes populations are generally elderly people with preexisting conditions—the same group of people who is most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. However, there are many other factors that have led to this disaster, including:

• Cramped living spaces within many nursing homes, which often house two or more elderly residents in the same room (making social distancing impossible).
• Low wages paid to nursing home staff mean that many caretakers work at multiple assisted living facilities—enabling the spread of the disease between various locations.
• Many nursing homes across America were understaffed and poorly managed even before the pandemic began, significantly limiting their ability to respond effectively to the crisis.
• Many nursing homes did not have infection control protocols in place prior to the pandemic.
• Many nursing homes were slow to act at the beginning of the pandemic, making outbreaks impossible to contain.

We are currently in uncharted legal territory, and nursing home facilities across the country are shamefully scrambling to obtain immunity from lawsuits due to how poorly they have managed the pandemic. However, under current Texas laws, nursing homes have a legal duty of care to protect their residents from contagious diseases. So if you or a loved one was wrongfully exposed to coronavirus while living in a nursing home and consequently became ill, you may likely have grounds for a personal injury claim against the facility where the infection occurred. In order to win your claim, a qualified attorney will have to prove that the nursing home did not take reasonable precautions to prevent or contain outbreaks, which would constitute negligence. Examples of negligence during this pandemic may include:

• Failing to provide all nurses, staff members, and aides with personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks
• Failing to quarantine patients who showed signs of illness
• Requiring staff members to return to work before the end of a two-week quarantine period after they fell ill or were exposed to the virus
• Failing to implement up-to-date CDC infection control protocols in a timely manner
• Failing to restrict visitation
• Failing to regularly disinfect high-touch surfaces within the facility
• And more

If you have suffered illness or loss because of a negligent nursing home’s actions during the pandemic, the talented Texas injury lawyers at Carabin Shaw are here to help. Our nursing home neglect lawyers in Texas have 200 years of combined legal experience, and we offer all new clients a no cost, no obligation consultation with an attorney.

Our expert lawyers can review the circumstances of your case and inform you of all your legal options. We can also help you determine whether negligence occurred at your facility. To schedule your free consultation, call the law offices of Carabin Shaw today at 210-222-2288. We’re passionate about defending the rights of victims, and we want to help you in any way we can.