When families place their loved ones in a nursing home, they trust that caregivers will provide safety, dignity, and compassion. Yet for too many families across Ohio and the United States, that trust is shattered when neglect or abuse leads to a wrongful death.

The loss of an elderly loved one under suspicious or preventable circumstances is one of the most devastating experiences imaginable. Beyond grief, families are left with painful questions: Was this truly natural? Could it have been prevented? Who is responsible?

When families entrust a loved one to a nursing home, they expect professional care that protects their comfort and dignity. Yet one of the clearest and most painful signs of neglect remains far too common: bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers.

Bedsores are not just skin irritations. They are medical injuries that develop when residents are left immobile for too long without proper repositioning, hygiene, or nutrition. In many cases, they are entirely preventable—and when they occur, it’s often because a facility has failed in its most basic duty of care.

Nutrition and hydration are basic human needs—and in nursing homes, meeting those needs is a legal and moral obligation. Yet across the United States, and increasingly in Ohio, elderly residents are suffering from dehydration and malnutrition caused by neglect.

These conditions are not mere oversights. When a resident becomes dangerously dehydrated or malnourished, it almost always reflects systemic failures: understaffing, poor supervision, or deliberate disregard for residents’ well-being.

Families who place their loved ones in a nursing home expect compassion, safety, and accountability. When those expectations are betrayed, families often turn to the facility’s complaint process for answers. But what happens when those complaints are ignored, dismissed, or covered up?

In Ohio and across the U.S., nursing homes are legally required to respond to and investigate complaints made by residents and their families. Ignoring concerns about neglect, abuse, or unsafe conditions isn’t just poor practice—it’s a violation of federal and state law.