Injuries from resident-on-resident assault 

When one resident injures another, the facility is responsible if it knew the aggressor’s history and failed to supervise, separate, or address it, and a resident-on-resident assault lawyer who is a nurse reads the behavior records to prove what the facility knew.

Residents with dementia can become aggressive. Facilities know this, assess for it, and are required to plan for it: behavior monitoring, room assignments, supervision in common areas, medication review, and a care plan that addresses the behavior. When a resident with documented aggression is placed in a shared room, left unsupervised in a dayroom, or allowed to wander into other residents’ rooms, and another resident is pushed, struck, or sexually assaulted, the facility failed to protect the victim.

What We Investigate

• The aggressor’s behavior monitoring records and prior incidents

• Room assignments and the facility’s reasons for them

• Supervision in the area where the assault occurred

• Whether the facility reported the incident to licensing and law enforcement within the required time

• The victim’s injuries, medical treatment, and psychological harm

Both Residents Were Failed
The aggressor was also a resident with needs the facility did not meet. That does not reduce the facility’s responsibility to the victim; it adds to it.