My parent received really lousy care from the nursing home she lived in.
They constantly kept her sedated.
I went in one night because she kept calling thinking she was going to fall.
They liked to play games with the height of the bed.
I almost called the police but my parent did not want me to do that because she was afraid she would get thrown out of the nursing home.
They hired a house doctor so we the family were not allowed to call the doctor at all. they offered no telephone number.
One minute my mother seemed a normal size but a month later she got so skinny then became unconscious and died.
I do not believe my mother thought she would die. I feel they had a lot to with her death.
She did not like some of the aides and there was a handful of aides she did like. Some she really liked.
I do not know if I could sue them. She has had bouts of losing weight before but was always able to get it back up. I also feel that the house doctor did nothing to help. I would like to warn other people if you have a loved one in a nursing home insist on using your relatives family doctor as long as he or she can sit in a car to visit the doctor or maybe ask your relatives family doctor to be able to visit her in the nursing home.
They always threatened me that they would send her elsewhere since I complained of some aspects of her care. Ever since she switched to the house doctor her medications increased she was ever awake to know what was going on, My brother and sister and myself had POA but I was outvoted when it came to switching to the house doctor. She was able to sit in a car and wheelchair she could have visted previous doctor she could have visited her prior doctor. This post involves being to sedated and have your family member see her own physician not the facility house doctor.
https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare-covers/what-part-a-covers/compare-nursing-home-quality
Report problems you saw to the ombudsman though the Area Agency on Aging of the Council of Governments in th nursing home location.
It would be very hard to find an attorney to represent you in a law suit. It may ease your mind to get a free consult with a few elder law attorneys. Was it mom that was complaining? Or did you witness bad treatment? Mom, especially if she had dementia, may not have been accurate in her descriptions. But, would have been her reality.
And how long ago was it? What you are feeling may be part of your grief process.
Nolo Press briefing here is interesting, and if you use your search engine to research you will easily find lawyer in your area who specialize in this sort of suit or settlement. I would caution you not to pay any fees and to use no lawyer that works on other than taking the case on contingency, because the truth is that you can sue anyone in the world you wish to; but the real question is "can you win" and the answer is very likely that you cannot.
It is quite common for Nursing Homes to have their own supervising physicians, and many elders in nursing homes are sedated and often over-sedated because there is not the staff to manage disruption otherwise. In the case of a suit there must be very specific breaking of laws and rules and they must be able to be proven.
You don't mention how long ago this is. I think that going to a Lawyer may settle in your mind the matter of any punishment for the loss of your elder, and may allow you to move on with grieving and move on with your life thereafter. I would suggest you see a Lawyer with this question. There will likely not be any cost for consult. I am very sorry for your loss.
States can enact their own statute of limitations (the length of time allowed for suit before the "statute runs"). For Ohio, medical mal practice statute is one year, generally:
"As with other causes of action, Ohio law limits how long a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. It does this in two ways, both of which can be found in O.R.C. § 2305.113: a statute of limitations and a statute of repose. If the time limit under either the statute of limitations or the statute of repose has expired, then the plaintiff will be unable to sue."
https://www.plevinandgallucci.com/medical-malpractice-oh-filing-deadline/?nowprocket=1
There are other factors to consider as well:
2. Malpractice claims, and proofs.
The malpractice needs to be reasonably specifically defined, and areas in which it occurred identified. Something like playing "games with the height of the bed" wouldn't qualify as a specific incident of malpractice.
Neither would "constantly kept her sedated". The latter would require specification: How often is "constantly"? What were the underlying conditions? Was she cognizant before sedation? Who ordered the sedation?
And importantly, what are the standards of care in that state for people with her condition? Standard of care is a critical factor in determining malpractice.
3. General information.
The article cited above provides more information required to file a medmal suit:
A medmal suit needs to address the "standard of care" and how it was breached. Eexpert testimony is also required. When I worked for firms with medmal practices, they generally researched, selected and relied on specific medical specialists. Those specialists also reviewed medical files to determine if malpractice had occurred; if it hadn't the recommendation was that grounds for filing a med mal suit weren't existent, based on legal requirements.
It's sad to consider that your mother didn't receive the best care, but from what you've written, it doesn't seem as though you really have grounds for a suit.
I live in OH as well. I don't know about the rest of the state, but where I am in the NE, NH had their own doctors, and PCPs did not "step on their toes" unless they were also on staff at the hospital as well. (Got into an argument with the administrator when mom was hospitalized). Now, if she was discharged from NH, then she could have seen her PCP, but then why bother.
End result, mom got sick, went to hospital, her PCP had dropped her so hospital used the doctor who was NH doctor at another facility she was at. The current NH she was at, discharged her while she was hospitalized. End result, she passed,
Upon her death, communication from all ceased.
I've been in the hospital a couple times the last 2 years. The responding EMTs suggested this hospital because it is relatively close by, I declined both times. I want nothing to do with this hospital ever again.
I digress, if you believe they did something wrong let Karma take care of it. In my mom's case, both NHs closed within a couple months of each other. The NH near the hospital had a total staff change since it was (and still is) pretty low rated. These events brought about a sense of peace
Blessings to you.