Damage to hearing aid

Questioner

On March 10, 2021, the care in the nursing home where my 96-year-old grandmother lived put her hearing aids in the water in their entirety. The intention was only the plastic part, which meant that one hearing aid was broken and the other no longer functioned properly. The nursing home took action to reimburse new hearing aids through the liability insurance. I sent the quote and filled in the claim form. Permission was then given to order the hearing aids. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away on April 16 and the hearing aids never reached her. Because my grandmother was dependent on these hearing aids and was isolated for a long time because she could not hear anything, her zest for life was unfortunately gone, which was a reason why she no longer wanted to continue living. The appointment to set up the hearing aids was to take place on April 23. The hearing aid agency cannot draw up an invoice if no appointment is made. The nursing home/insurance company believes that it does not have to pay if no invoice can be provided. Now I am of the opinion that something of someone else has been broken by human error and that the insurance/nursing home must pay the agreed amount or, if necessary, another amount (for example, the purchase price of the hearing aids at the time) despite the fact that no invoice can be provided. Can you perhaps tell me what rights I have on behalf of my grandmother in this situation? Can I demand payment without an invoice?

Lawyer

First of all, my condolences for your loss. You are right that something was broken and that someone is liable. The nursing home has acknowledged liability because their insurance would look into a new hearing aid. Since a new hearing aid never arrived, there is now no invoice. That does not mean that there is no damage. Do you know how the inheritance was settled? This may be important for the claim (to whom the claim was transferred after the death). In this case, compensation for damages could be based on the value of the 'broken' hearing aid. Do you have an invoice or other purchase details for that? Based on that, you can probably claim compensation for an amount. You can contact me without obligation via my profile if you would like to discuss the case or require legal assistance.