Study: When it Comes to Senior Deaths, Doctors Often Get the Cause Wrong

In 2008, a University of Colorado study asked an important question: to what extent do doctors struggle to correctly identify the cause of death in elderly patients? The results were shocking.

Dr. Marian Betz, a professor at the university, asked 225 different doctors to examine the body of an elderly man who had fallen, struck his head, suffered bleeding on the brain, and died. While half of the doctors recognized that the man had suffered a brain injury, two out of three did not list the fall accident and head injury as a cause of death.

Elderly death investigations come with bias and assumptions

Why did so few physicians correctly pinpoint the cause of death in the above study? Many experts believe that doctors simply have a tendency to assume that seniors die naturally and that it is just “their time to go.” Some, who lack proper training, will not take the care and time that they would spend on a younger person, while others may not recognize the signs of nursing home abuse and neglect such as dirty clothing, infected bedsores, or dehydration. Still others lack the time or energy to investigate a death that is not outwardly suspicious.

Dallas nursing home abuse attorneys

At the Rasansky Law Firm, we understand the prevalence of nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect death in Texas – even if many doctors, hospitals, and coroners miss the red flags. It is vital that if your elder loved one dies while residing in a nursing home, his or her true cause of death is investigated. Are you seeking compensation for the death of your elder loved at a Texas nursing home? Talk to one of our Dallas nursing home neglect attorneys today.