A resident's final decline must be reconstructed from daily care, not a single diagnosis code.

The review begins with admission status, diagnoses, medications, cognition, function, skin and nutrition risks, mobility, falls, continence, behavior, supervision, directives, and care goals. It then tracks Minimum Data Set assessments, care-plan changes, certified nursing assistant records, nursing notes, medication and treatment administration, weights and intake, wound measurements and photographs, turning and repositioning, falls, vital signs, labs, physician contacts, family notices, emergency transfers, hospital records, hospice involvement, and the final medical course.

Terms such as dehydration, malnutrition, pressure injury, infection, sepsis, aspiration, fall, fracture, medication error, elopement, or abuse identify questions rather than legal conclusions. Qualified clinicians must address the resident's prior condition, medical necessity, risk, actual care, response, alternative causes, whether a supported intervention probably would have changed the outcome, and the causal path to death.

The entity map should include the Oklahoma licensee, owner, landlord, operator, management company, parent, administrator, director of nursing, staffing companies, pharmacy, medical director, attending providers, therapy, wound care, laboratory, hospice, transport, hospital, insurer, and any public, Tribal, federal, or contractor relationship. Corporate filings, licenses, contracts, payroll or scheduling records, invoices, and actual control are more reliable than shared branding.

Record sources can include the complete clinical record, native electronic audit history, assignments, time and attendance, agency rosters, acuity and census, call-light or monitoring data, medication and treatment records, pharmacy dispensing, incident reports, grievance and family communications, infection-control logs, quality material subject to privilege review, video or access records, survey and complaint files, plans of correction, prior ownership records, and emergency or hospital records. Access, retention, privilege, and discoverability differ.

Nursing and medical experts may evaluate assessment, care planning, wound prevention and treatment, nutrition, hydration, falls, supervision, medication, infection, emergency escalation, and cause of death. An administrator, staffing, pharmacy, rehabilitation, wound, infectious disease, geriatric, pathology, or other expert may address a narrower question. Census and staffing numbers need resident acuity, assignments, qualifications, timing, agency use, absences, actual care, and causal linkage.

Federal participation requirements and Oklahoma licensure rules may apply to specific facility types and dates. A Medicare or Medicaid certification rule does not necessarily apply to every residence, assisted-living setting, tribal operation, or private actor. Regulatory compliance does not foreclose a civil claim, and a deficiency does not automatically establish civil fault. The exact rule, actor, scope, date, and resident connection matter.

Counsel should verify any health-care power, guardian, personal representative, will, probate orders and letters, family relationships, beneficial interests, minor or incapacitated survivors, final medical and funeral expenses, Medicare or Medicaid, liens, facility balances, insurance, arbitration documents, admission papers, and settlement authority. The enforceability and scope of an arbitration agreement or representative signature require current evidence and law.

The calendar should separately address the decedent's underlying nursing or medical claim, wrongful death, survival, limitations, discovery, repose, public or federal notice, tribal law or forum, arbitration, records retention, survey requests, probate appointment, insurance, liens, and venue. A complaint to the facility, ombudsman, licensing agency, police, or Adult Protective Services does not necessarily preserve the civil action.