Can You Still File a Nursing Home Lawsuit in Alabama After a Loved One Dies?

Alabama Families May Still Have A Nursing Home Wrongful Death Claim

Losing a loved one after they suffered nursing home abuse or neglect can leave a family with painful questions about how to move forward and hold the facility accountable. If a resident's death resulted from neglect or abuse at a nursing home in Alabama, the nursing home can be held liable.

If negligence, abuse, or inadequate medical care contributed to the death, Alabama law allows an appointed personal representative to pursue a nursing home wrongful death claim. The law in Alabama provides that if the plaintiff proves that the resident's death was the result of neglect or abuse, the nursing facility can be held liable. A wrongful death action in Alabama must be brought within two years after the death.

At Shuttlesworth Law Firm, P.C., we represent Alabama families seeking answers after a loved one dies under suspicious or preventable circumstances in a nursing home. Determining whether a case still exists often starts with understanding what caused the death, whether a claim had already been filed, and which legal deadlines apply.

A Resident's Death Can Create A Wrongful Death Claim

Under Alabama Code § 6-5-410, a personal representative may bring a wrongful death action when a wrongful act, omission, or negligence caused the person's death.

In a nursing home, potentially fatal neglect can involve:

• Untreated infections that progress to sepsis.
• Falls that cause head injuries, fractures, or other fatal complications.
• Malnutrition or dehydration that contributes to severe medical decline.
• Medication errors involving the wrong drug, wrong dose, missed medication, or known allergies.
• Infected bedsores that worsen because residents aren't repositioned, monitored, or treated properly.
• Choking, aspiration, or other emergencies that staff fail to recognize or respond to quickly.
• Physical abuse or other intentional misconduct.

The resident's age or poor health doesn't automatically excuse negligent care. Nursing homes care for medically vulnerable people precisely because those residents need supervision, assistance, and timely medical attention.

The Personal Representative Usually Has To File The Lawsuit

Alabama doesn't allow any relative to simply file a wrongful death lawsuit because they were close to the person who died.

The action must be brought by the deceased person's legally appointed personal representative, meaning the executor or administrator authorized to act in that role.

That requirement can become important when no estate has been opened yet. Families who suspect neglect contributed to a death may need to address the appointment of a personal representative before a wrongful death case can properly move forward.

Waiting until the filing deadline is approaching can create unnecessary risk because opening an estate, obtaining records, investigating the facility, and preparing a case all take time.

Alabama Wrongful Death Damages Focus On Punishing The Wrongdoing

Alabama handles wrongful death damages differently from virtually every other state. The damages available in an Alabama wrongful death action are punitive rather than compensatory.

That means the case isn't valued by adding up the deceased person's medical expenses, lost income, funeral costs, or the family's grief. Instead, the focus is on the seriousness of the wrongdoing and the need to punish and deter conduct that endangers human life.

In a nursing home case, that can place significant attention on the facility's conduct before the death. Evidence of repeated neglect, ignored warning signs, dangerous staffing decisions, inadequate supervision, or failures to follow a resident's care plan may become important in showing the gravity of what occurred.

An Unfiled Injury Claim May Not Survive An Unrelated Death

There is an important distinction between a wrongful death claim and a personal injury claim the resident could have pursued while alive.

Under Alabama's survival statute, an unfiled tort claim generally doesn't survive in favor of the deceased person's personal representative. That can matter when a resident suffered neglect or abuse but later died from an unrelated cause before filing a lawsuit.

By contrast, if the nursing home's wrongful conduct caused the resident's death, the personal representative may have a separate wrongful death action under Alabama law.

If the resident had already filed a personal injury lawsuit before dying, different survival rules may apply. The timing, cause of death, claims already filed, and relationship between the neglect and the death all need to be reviewed carefully.

Proving Neglect Caused The Death Requires More Than Suspicion

Many nursing home residents already have significant medical conditions, and facilities frequently point to age, disease, or declining health when a resident dies.

A wrongful death case needs evidence showing that negligent or abusive care caused or contributed to the death. That may require examining whether the facility:

• Failed to monitor changes in the resident's condition.
• Ignored signs of infection, dehydration, malnutrition, or medical distress.
• Failed to prevent foreseeable falls or pressure injuries.
• Didn't provide medications or treatment as ordered.
• Operated with inadequate staffing or supervision.
• Failed to train employees properly.
• Ignored complaints from residents or family members.
• Failed to follow care plans or physician orders.

Even after changes to federal staffing policy, understaffing can remain important evidence in an Alabama nursing home neglect case when too few nurses or aides contributed to missed care, delayed responses, or preventable injuries.

Records Can Reveal Problems Families Never Saw

Families usually see only a small portion of what happens inside a nursing home. The facility controls many of the records needed to reconstruct the resident's final days, weeks, or months.

Important evidence may include:

• Medical and nursing records.
• Medication administration records.
• Care plans and physician orders.
• Staffing schedules and payroll records.
• Incident and accident reports.
• Surveillance footage.
• Internal communications.
• State and federal inspection findings.
• Witness statements from employees, residents, or family members.

Nursing home survey and inspection reports can reveal prior deficiencies, safety problems, or patterns of inadequate care that may provide important context when investigating a resident's death.

Evidence can also disappear. Video may be overwritten, staff members may leave, memories may fade, and records can become harder to obtain as time passes.

Be Careful With Requests From The Nursing Home After A Death

After a resident dies, administrators, insurers, or attorneys representing the nursing home may contact the family about records, statements, paperwork, or settlement discussions.

Families should understand what they're being asked to sign before agreeing to anything that could affect their legal rights.

Nursing homes and their insurers may also try to blame a resident's underlying health problems, argue that the death was unavoidable, or minimize evidence of neglect. Those are among the ways nursing homes may try to avoid responsibility after a serious injury or death.

An independent investigation can compare the facility's explanation with medical records, staffing information, inspection findings, witness accounts, and other evidence.

Families Can Still Seek Answers After A Nursing Home Death

A loved one's death doesn't close the door on accountability. When nursing home neglect, abuse, or inadequate medical care caused the death, Alabama law allows the personal representative to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home if supported by medical causation.

At Shuttlesworth Law Firm, P.C., we investigate nursing home deaths throughout Alabama by examining the care residents received, the decisions facilities made, the staffing and medical records behind those decisions, and the evidence connecting neglect to the death. For more than 30 years, attorney Perry Shuttlesworth has helped families take on nursing homes and other powerful defendants when preventable failures caused devastating harm.

If you believe your loved one's death may have been caused by nursing home neglect, don't assume that the opportunity to take legal action ended when they passed away. Contact us for a free consultation so we can review what happened and explain the legal options available to your family.

"From the beginning of the case to the very end, Perry, Misty, and the staff kept us fully informed of the process. They were very helpful, thoughtful, compassionate, and knowledgeable. If you're in need of a great attorney, I recommend Shuttlesworth Law Firm." - Sandra C., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐