Wrongful Death

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In a wrongful death lawsuit, any individual or entity that may have played a role in the patient's care and treatment can potentially be named as a defendant (Attaluri et al., 2023). In this case, the long-term care facility could have been named as a defendant because it had a duty to provide appropriate care to the patient, including ensuring that the prescribed medical treatment was provided. The facility could have been found negligent for not having a whirlpool, which was the prescribed treatment, and for not providing a safe bathing environment (Strine v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2006).

The physician who prescribed the whirlpool bath could have also been named as a defendant because they had a duty to provide appropriate medical treatment for the patient's decubitus ulcers. If the physician failed to provide adequate instructions or supervision to ensure that the prescribed treatment was provided,...

If the CNA was not properly trained or supervised, or if...…physician's orders for a whirlpool bath and ensuring that the bathwater temperature was safe (Hossain, 2021).

Breach of duty: The healthcare providers breached their duty by not providing the prescribed medical treatment of a whirlpool bath and by allowing the patient to be placed in hot water that was dangerously hot.

Causation: The breach of duty caused the patient's severe burns and subsequent bacterial infection, which ultimately led to her death from sepsis.

Damages: The patient suffered physical harm, emotional distress, and ultimately lost her life as a result of the negligence of the healthcare providers, leading to the wrongful death…