Nursing Home Abuse & Elder Abuse Attorney in Baltimore, Maryland

Nursing Home Abuse in Baltimore — Contributory Negligence Challenges

Baltimore City elder abuse litigation requires overcoming Maryland's contributory negligence doctrine — the most pro-defendant fault rule in the country. Defense counsel in nursing home cases will aggressively argue that the resident's own behavior (attempted ambulation without calling for assistance, refusal of repositioning, dietary non-compliance) contributed to their injuries, thereby barring all recovery. Experienced Baltimore elder abuse attorneys counter these arguments with expert testimony demonstrating that cognitively impaired residents cannot be held to the same standard of self-care as fully competent individuals, and that the facility's duty of care encompasses protection from the foreseeable consequences of the resident's cognitive deficits.