What Causes Wrongful Death in a Charleston Nursing Home?

There’s a particular kind of grief that comes with losing a loved one in a nursing home under circumstances that should never have happened. Not only is the loss itself, but also the slow, painful realization that those responsible for keeping your loved one safe may have failed them in ways that were completely preventable. Wrongful death in Charleston nursing homes is not a rare occurrence, and it doesn’t always result from a dramatic or obvious event. It can stem from a medication error made by an overworked staff member, a fall that occurred because proper protocols were ignored, or an infection that spread because basic hygiene standards were not properly followed. Understanding the cause of these deaths  is important because it’s the difference between accepting a loss as inevitable and recognizing it for what it truly is.

If you are asking these questions about someone you lost, we are truly sorry. You should not have to navigate this alone. Call (843) 881-8644 to schedule a free consultation, fill our contact form or connect through live chat to speak with our team.

Key Takeaways

• Wrongful death in Charleston nursing homes is most commonly caused by medication errors, falls, infections, dehydration, malnutrition, and physical abuse.
• Many nursing home deaths that appear natural are the result of preventable failures in care.
• South Carolina law may allow surviving family members to pursue a wrongful death claim when negligence contributed to a resident’s death.
• A nursing home abuse lawyer can investigate the facility’s records, staffing levels, and care history to determine what actually happened.
• Families have a limited window of time to pursue a claim, making early legal consultation critically important.

How Does Negligence Lead to Wrongful Death in a Nursing Home?

A nursing home is responsible for a resident’s wrongful death if its failure to meet its legal duty of care directly contributes to the resident’s death. South Carolina nursing homes are legally required to provide residents with a standard of care that protects their health, safety, and dignity. If a facility falls below this standard due to inadequate staffing, poor training, or outright neglect and a resident dies as a result, the facility may be held legally responsible. 

The challenge for families is that these deaths are often documented as natural causes. Causes of death listed on certificates often reflect the final medical event, a cardiac episode, respiratory failure, sepsis, without capturing what led to that event in the first place. Peeling back that layer requires an investigation, which is precisely where a nursing home abuse lawyer becomes essential. At Hughey Law Firm, we got the best team to help you and your family.

The following are the most common causes of wrongful death in nursing homes in Charleston, South Carolina:

Medication Errors

A medication error occurs when a resident receives the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or the wrong timing of medication. It also occurs when a resident is denied medication they need. For elderly nursing home residents whose bodies process medications differently and who may be managing multiple complex conditions, medication errors can be fatal:

• Taking too much of a blood thinner can cause internal bleeding. 
• Missing a dose of seizure medication can trigger a fatal episode. 
• Taking the wrong combination of drugs—something pharmacists call a contraindication—can cause cardiac arrest or organ failure.

These errors happen for predictable reasons:

• In understaffed facilities, nurses and aides are pushed to work quickly. 
• Communication during shift changes breaks down. 
• Electronic records are updated incorrectly or not at all. 
• In some Charleston nursing homes, one licensed nurse may be responsible for administering medication to an entire floor of residents. The margin for error in that environment is dangerously thin.

When a resident dies following a medication error, their family deserves to know whether the incident was an isolated event or part of a broader pattern. DHEC inspection records often document prior medication errors at facilities with a history of such failures.

Falls and Physical Trauma

Falls resulting in serious injury or death are one of the most common and preventable causes of wrongful death in nursing homes. However, not every nursing home fall is the result of negligence. Elderly residents face genuine balance challenges, and falls can happen even in the most attentive care environments. A nursing home abuse lawyer will ask whether the facility took reasonable steps to prevent the fall, given what they knew about the resident:

• Was a fall risk assessment performed? 
• Was the resident placed in an appropriate room? 
• Were the bed rails, floor mats, and call systems in working order?
• Was the resident being checked on at appropriate intervals?

A resident with a documented fall history who sustains a fatal head injury after being left unassisted in a bathroom, or a resident who is found on the floor after hours because there were not enough staff members to conduct routine checks are not simply unfortunate events. Rather, they are the consequence of decisions made by facility administrators who were aware of the risks but chose other priorities.

Hip fractures sustained in nursing home falls are also a particular concern. Research consistently shows that hip fractures in elderly individuals carry a significant risk of death within the following year, often due to complications from surgery, postoperative infections, or prolonged immobility. A fatal hip fracture resulting from a preventable fall is a wrongful death.

Infections and Sepsis

Sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection, is one of the leading causes of death in nursing homes. Infections spread in nursing home environments when basic hygiene protocols are not followed, wound care is inadequate, catheter and feeding tube management is improper, or sick staff members are not kept away from vulnerable residents. A pressure ulcer that progresses from a stage two wound to a life-threatening infection is not an inevitable medical outcome; it’s the result of improper care.

Sepsis can develop rapidly in elderly patients. By the time symptoms become apparent, the window for effective intervention may have narrowed significantly. Therefore, facilities that fail to monitor residents for early signs of infection or delay in seeking emergency medical care when a resident’s condition deteriorates bear responsibility for the outcome.

In these situations, families often hear that their loved one declined quickly, that infections at this age are difficult to treat, or that everything possible was done. Sometimes that’s true, but sometimes a review of the care records tells a different story.

Dehydration and Malnutrition

Dehydration and malnutrition in nursing home residents are almost always the result of neglect rather than the natural progression of aging. Elderly residents often need help eating and drinking. When there are not enough staff members to consistently provide this assistance, residents go without adequate nutrition and hydration for extended periods. The effects of dehydration and malnutrition quickly compound:

• Cognitive decline accelerates.
• The immune system weakens.
• The kidneys are strained.
• Fatal cardiac events can be triggered.
• It can also lead to dramatic weight loss, muscle deterioration, pressure ulcers, and an inability to fight infection.

A resident who arrived at a Charleston nursing home at a stable weight died months later severely underweight with documented pressure wounds and signs of systemic decline. They did not simply fade away because of their age. Clearly, something failed. A nursing home abuse lawyer can review meal records, nursing notes, weight logs, and staffing schedules to determine what that failure entailed and who was responsible for it.

Physical Abuse and Elopement

Physical abuse by staff members and elopement, meaning a resident leaving the facility unsupervised, are two additional, deeply troubling causes of wrongful death in nursing homes. Physical abuse resulting in death may involve direct violence, the improper use of physical restraints, or withholding necessary medical care as a form of punishment or control. These cases are among the most painful for a family to face because they involve intentional harm, not just negligence.

Elopement deaths occur when a resident with dementia or significant cognitive impairment wanders away from the facility undetected and is later found dead from exposure, a traffic collision, or drowning. Along the Lowcountry’s waterways and on the busy roadways near the Mark Clark Expressway and US-17, inadequate supervision can have fatal consequences in a very short amount of time. Every nursing home is required to have protocols in place to prevent elopement. When those protocols fail and a resident dies, the facility is seriously liable.

You and your family deserve the truth: Contact Hughey Law Firm for help

Some losses are difficult to make sense of. If a nursing home becomes the place where your loved one spent their final days in pain, fear, or loneliness because the people responsible for their care were not doing their jobs, that is not something your family should silently endure. Charleston families have trusted Hughey Law Firm to ask the hard questions, find the real answers, and hold the responsible parties accountable. Our team has recovered over $300 million in verdicts and settlements, and we bring the same level of commitment to every case.

Call (843) 881-8644 for a free consultation, fill out our contact form, or connect with our team through live chat. Let us help your family by finding out what really happened.

Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of this content without consulting a licensed attorney. The statute of limitations referenced reflects general South Carolina law and may vary based on individual circumstances. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Hughey Law Firm is located at 171 Church Street, Suite 330, Charleston, SC 29401.

Nathan Hughey

Nathan Hughey, an attorney and fourth-generation South Carolinian, founded Hughey Law Firm in 2007. Before that, he spent five years defending nursing homes and insurance companies. Leveraging his experience, he now advocates for those injured or wronged by such entities, securing over $300 million in verdicts and settlements.