Nursing Homes Have a Legal Duty to Prevent Dehydration
Dehydration occurs when an elderly nursing home resident loses more water than they take in. The human body requires an adequate amount of fluid to function properly; for example, to regulate body temperature through perspiration, maintain blood pressure, and eliminate bodily waste. A nursing home has a duty to ensure proper hydration and to notice signs of dehydration. If severe enough, dehydration can lead to confusion, weakness, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bedsores in bed-ridden patients, or even death. In general, a human can survive for only about four days without any fluids.
Nursing homes have an absolute duty to ensure that residents are properly hydrated. Federal Law establishes that nursing homes that take Medicare residents provide each resident with sufficient fluid and water intake to maintain proper hydration and health. (42 CFR § 483.60). The facility must provide each resident with sufficient fluid intake to maintain proper hydration and health.
How to Identify Dehydration Signs
In addition to monitoring resident’s intake of fluid, staff should be on the conducting regular assessments of the resident looking for the following signs of dehydration:
• Dark yellow urine
• Failure to drink fluids provided with meals
• Failure to drink water provided in pictures for resident in room
• Bleeding gums
• Sunken eyes
• Ashen skin
• Dry skin
• Urinary tract infection
• Bedsores/Pressure Ulcers
Contact an Experienced Attorney
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury from neglect or abuse from dehydration in a nursing home or other care facility that serves the elderly in Minnesota, Kenneth LaBore provides a free consultation and information regarding the obligations of the facility and your rights as a resident or concerned family member.
To contact Attorney Kenneth L. LaBore, directly please send an email to: KLaBore@mnnursinghomeneglect.com, or call Ken at 612-743-9048 or toll free at 1-888-452-6589.
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