Negligence involves a failure to provide adequate care, often due to understaffing, poor training, or lack of oversight. Abuse involves intentional harm, such as physical, emotional, or sexual mistreatment. Both are serious, and both can form the basis of a legal claim.

No—but many falls are preventable. Facilities are required to assess fall risk, implement safety measures, and monitor residents appropriately. Repeated falls, lack of supervision, or failure to follow a care plan often indicate negligence.

Often, yes. Advanced pressure ulcers are widely considered largely preventable with proper repositioning, skin care, nutrition, and monitoring. When bedsores develop or worsen, it frequently signals inadequate staffing or failure to follow basic nursing standards.

Liable parties may include:

• The nursing home or assisted living facility

• Corporate owners or management companies

• Nurses, aides, or administrators

• Contracted medical providers or physicians

Responsibility often extends beyond the individual caregiver to the facility and corporate entities that control staffing, policies, and budgets.

Advanced age or medical fragility does not excuse negligence. Nursing homes are expected to adjust care to residents’ conditions—not ignore them. The law recognizes that vulnerable residents require more protection, not less.

Yes. If negligence contributed to or caused a resident’s death, surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim. These cases can address suffering before death, loss of companionship, and financial harms.

To learn more about bringing a wrongful death lawsuit, read our wrongful death 101 page, here.

Generally, in Michigan, the medical malpractice statute of limitations is 2 years from the date of the negligence or 6 months from the time the patient discovers (or should have discovered) the alleged negligence, whichever is later.

If your loved one died as a result of nursing home negligence, an exception to the 2 year statute of limitations exists. If filing a wrongful death claim, it must be commenced within 2 years of the date the personal representative is appointed and within 3 years after the limitations period has run on the underlying cause of action. In theory, then, this means there is a maximum period under certain circumstances of 5 years.

Note that serving the Notice of Intent tolls the limitations period as explained in our article, Medical Malpractice 101. However, the NOI does not toll the limitations period in a wrongful death case.