Our nursing home injury attorneys represent families and residents who suffer severe cigarette burns in Michigan nursing homes due to neglect or abuse. Many times, these injuries are the result of the carelessness of the nursing home staff or another resident. These injuries are preventable and the negligent party should be held accountable. Smoking-related injuries, such as cigarette burns in a nursing home or assisted living facilities remain a consistent threat to the safety of both smokers and non-smokers at these facilities. Learn more about the cases we handle by calling today.
Every year, hundreds of Michigan nursing home residents and staff endure serious cigarette burn injuries due to mishaps with smoking materials, and fires started by smoker’s carelessness. Often, fires are started by residents who are smoking, but are not being supervised by staff. Reports show many cases of fires started by resident smoking in their room when an oxygen tank is present. This is not only endangering the resident, but all who reside and work at that facility.
Assisted living facilities and nursing homes must balance a fine line between giving patients freedom to smoke and protecting the individual from harming themselves and others. Frequently, it is the nursing home that is providing inadequate supervision for their smoking residents. Even at facilities where smoking policies seem relatively strict, policies tend to be poorly enforced.
Michigan nursing home care facilities should be conscious of their residents who smoke and have clearly written policies to protect residents and staff from burns. These policies should include, but not be limited to the following:
Michigan nursing homes need to create and implement smoking policies to decrease burn related fires and injuries. Most smoking policies forbid patients from smoking in their rooms primarily due to the difficulty of supervising them and the inherent risk of falling asleep while smoking.
Smoking in nursing homes can be considered counter- productive to the patient’s health. Unsupervised smoking in nursing homes is putting all residents and staff in danger, and the cause for burn injury to a resident from a cigarette lighter becomes greater. Even when monitored, there is an increased risk of burn injury in nursing home facilities that permit smoking compared to those that do not allow it.
In addition to safety concerns related to cigarette lighter burn injuries and fires, allowing residents to smoke in a nursing home diverts staff resources to the supervision of residents who smoke and away from the task of providing care needed to the other residents. According to The National Fire Protection Association, elderly people are three times more likely to suffer a smoking related injury than people younger than the age of 65. While guidelines and policies may reduce the chance of fires in nursing homes facilities, eliminating smoking remains one of the easiest ways to improve the overall living conditions for all residents and nursing home staff.
Residents who suffer burn injuries due to the unsupervised use of cigarette lighters in a Michigan nursing home do have legal rights. The nursing home facilities in which your loved one resides in is responsible to protect the residents at their home from burn injuries and to supervise them at all times when a resident is smoking or there is use of a cigarette lighter. When a nursing home fails to supervise the use of a cigarette lighter, and injury is a result of residents being unsupervised, the Michigan may be negligent, and it may give rise to a Michigan nursing home neglect lawsuit.
We will represent you in your case under our NO FEE PROMISE. This means that you will not be charged any legal fees whatsoever unless we obtain a settlement or recovery for you. You have absolutely no obligation for legal fees unless we win your case. If we do not obtain a settlement for you, you owe us nothing!
If you suspect that nursing home negligence caused your loved one to suffer cigarette burns in a Michigan nursing home, you should contact the team at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. immediately! Call us now to speak with one of our experienced attorneys about your case. We will start your cigarette burn injury case immediately gathering all the evidence and witness statements to prove and win your case.
Please contact us today for answers to more complex questions or questions specific to your case. The initial consultation is FREE.
