Every Resident Deserves More Than Care.
They Deserve Dignity. Safety. Accountability.
Choosing a nursing home, rehabilitation center, or assisted living facility is one of the most difficult decisions a family will ever make. Families entrust these facilities with those they love most. They expect residents will receive proper medical care, adequate supervision, appropriate nutrition, timely treatment, and compassionate attention. Most caregivers honor that trust every day. When they do not, the consequences can be devastating. Preventable falls. Medication errors. Pressure injuries. Infections. Dehydration. Delayed treatment. Wrongful death.
At Petersen & Petersen, we represent families whose loved ones have suffered serious injury or death because that trust was broken.
Neglect Rarely Begins With One Event
Nursing home negligence is rarely the result of a single mistake. More often, it develops through a series of missed opportunities. A resident identified as a fall risk is not properly monitored. A change in condition goes unrecognized. Staffing shortages become routine. Care plans are ignored. Warning signs are missed. The tragedy families see is often only the final chapter. Our responsibility is to understand everything that came before it.
Looking Beyond the Chart
Families often assume the medical record tells the complete story. Increasingly, it does not. Today’s nursing homes document care through sophisticated electronic health record systems that create audit trails, timestamps, revision histories, electronic task lists, and digital records documenting not only what was entered—but when it was entered and how it changed over time.
Sometimes those electronic records reveal facts that never appear on the printed chart. That is why our investigations often extend beyond the medical record itself. We examine the digital evidence behind it.
Following the Evidence
In one nursing home case, our investigation raised questions about whether critical fall prevention documentation had actually existed when a resident was receiving care. Rather than accepting the printed records, we pursued a court-ordered inspection of the facility’s live electronic health record system. The inspection revealed electronic information that had never been disclosed. Time-stamped system data showed that a critical fall-risk care plan had been created after the resident’s discharge and death, even though previously produced records appeared to suggest it had existed during the resident’s stay. That discovery fundamentally changed the case. It also reinforced a lesson that guides every investigation we conduct:
The printed chart does not always tell the whole story.
Our Investigation May Include
Every nursing home case is different. Our investigation may involve:
- Electronic health records and audit trails
- Care plans and revision histories
- Staffing schedules
- Medication administration records
- State inspection reports
- Internal policies and procedures
- Witness interviews
- Expert medical review
- Electronic documentation showing how and when records were created or modified
Because accountability requires understanding not only what happened—but why.
Protecting the Most Vulnerable
Residents of nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities often cannot advocate for themselves. Families deserve answers. Facilities entrusted with caring for vulnerable adults should be held to the highest standards of safety, compassion, and professional care. When those standards are violated, accountability matters—not only for one family, but for every resident who depends upon that facility.
Experience Matters
Nursing home litigation demands more than compassion. It requires attorneys who understand medicine, long-term care regulations, and increasingly, the electronic systems that document patient care. Petersen & Petersen has represented families in cases involving:
- Nursing home negligence
- Rehabilitation facility negligence
- Preventable falls
- Pressure injuries
- Medication errors
- Malnutrition and dehydration
- Delayed medical treatment
- Infection control failures
- Wrongful death
Every case is prepared with one goal:
To uncover the complete story.
Every Family Deserves Answers.
When something doesn’t make sense… When records don’t tell the whole story… When your instincts tell you something was missed… Those questions deserve investigation.
At Petersen & Petersen, we believe accountability begins with asking one more question, examining one more record, and looking beneath the surface until the truth is found.
The first story is rarely the full story.
We Dig Deeper.