Has your loved one experienced abuse in a nursing home? Do you suspect that an elderly loved one has faced neglect while in the care of a nursing home? If you've seen signs and symptoms of abuse, it's important to get help as soon as possible. Contact our North Miami Beach Elder Abuse Lawyers today to learn how we may be able to help you get justice if a family member has suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home.
Why Choose Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA?
If your loved one experienced nursing home abuse in North Miami Beach or the surrounding area, we want to help you seek justice. Our experienced elder abuse attorneys can help hold bad actors accountable. Including:
- Getting compensation for clients and their families when abuse has occurred
- Creating policy changes within nursing homes where abuse is common
- Shutting the doors on nursing homes where elders have been abused
- Ensuring that elders receive the high quality of care they deserve in the future
Don't let your loved one's suffering go unresolved Instead, contact our qualified attorneys as soon as possible; an attorney can help you make a claim for damages that will help cover care expenses, make sure that your loved one has the finances to cover their future needs, and hopefully, prevent future abuse at the care facility.
What is Nursing Home Abuse?
Nursing home abuse can take a number of forms. If you believe that your loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse, it's important that you work with police, investigators, and a qualified lawyer as soon as possible. Nursing home abuse can include:
- Physical abuse, when an elderly individual is hurt or denied necessary medical care due to deliberate mistreatment on the part of the nursing home staff.
- Emotional abuse, when a senior resident at a nursing home is called names, lied to, or otherwise emotionally mistreated while in the care of nursing home staff members.
- Sexual abuse, including assault, inappropriate touching, or another sexual mistreatment from members of the nursing home staff.
- Neglect, including failure to provide proper medical care, treatment, or accommodations for the elderly in the care of a nursing home.
- Financial abuse, taking advantage of a person in order to exploit their finances through extortion, threats, fraud, etc.
Elder abuse is more likely to occur the older an individual is. In many care facilities, individuals who are less able to care for themselves or more in need of specific types of care may struggle more to receive the necessary treatment. No one deserves to suffer from nursing home abuse: take note of unusual bruises or injuries, any unexpected decline in the mental abilities of your loved one, or any increasing medical symptoms that are usually managed by medication. You should also take note of bedsores, unusual smells, and other signs that your loved one is being mistreated at the hands of nursing home staff.
Who Is at Fault for Nursing Home Abuse?
Nursing home abuse can be committed by any member of the nursing home staff. This includes doctors, nurses, and other individuals responsible for providing care throughout the nursing home. Members of the nursing home staff who are not responsible for direct care can also be responsible for the abuse. Abuse is abuse, even if an individual is unable to protest treatment or communicate their poor treatment at the hands of nursing home staff members.
Why Does Nursing Home Abuse Happen?
Nursing home abuse is a truly terrible crime where people take advantage of those that are unable to even protect themselves. Such a terrible crime begs the question as to why does this kind of abuse occurs and what can be done to help prevent it. There is no simple answer as to why nursing home abuse occurs. There are a number of reasons ranging from mental instability to simple sadism but there are a few very factors that definitely increase the risk of nursing home abuse more than others. One of the biggest factors that increase the risk of nursing home abuse is understaffing. Caring for the elderly is very difficult and demanding work that requires skilled and trained caregivers.
These employees can sometimes be in short supply leading to a very skewed ratio of few caregivers that have to help a massive amount of residents. This can take a toll on overworked staffers that may lash out at the residents, caregivers have an increased chance to neglect some residents needs, or this may give an opportunity for some staffers to do what they please in an environment with reduced supervision.
What Damages Can a Lawyer Help You Recover in a Nursing Home Abuse Case?
Nursing home abuse can cause a number of severe damages to those affected and cause immense suffering among those that are affected. When someone undergoes nursing home abuse, they at the very least will be able to seek compensation for non-economic damages like the pain and suffering that they underwent because of their abuse. The psychological damages that come with nursing home abuse can be severe and cause immense mental anguish to those that have suffered all kinds of abuse at the hands of nursing home staff. This kind of trauma doesn't just affect one person. It impacts their entire family and even the whole community so the non-economic effects should never be underestimated.
Medical Expenses Caused by Nursing Home Abuse
When someone suffers abuse while in the care of a nursing home they can sustain serious injuries that can take extensive treatment and recovery to heal. Treatment of injuries for any accident injury can result in significant economic damages in the form of accumulated medical expenses but in the case of the elderly, these expenses can end up being even greater. Elderly residents of nursing homes have a significantly lower constitution than the average adult due to their progressive age and the likelihood that they are already suffering from a number of illnesses already like heart disease, dementia, Alzheimer's, etc. that can be made worse by an accident injury. The treatment and rehabilitation costs that come with these injuries can easily cripple abuse victim's finances.
Disability Damages
The injuries inflicted upon an elderly nursing home resident can cause permanent health issues that can disable an abuse victim. Some injuries can cause the loss of function or reduced function of certain organs which negatively affects an abuse victim's life in a number of ways. These disabilities caused by a nursing home's abuse of a resident can absolutely be part of the damages named in a claim.
Punitive Damages
In cases where the abuse against an elderly nursing home resident was part of gross negligence or intentional misconduct, there may be punitive damages awarded. These damages are not so much meant to compensate losses on the part of the abused but rather to punish the abuser by making them pay. Punitive damages are not very common and are usually reserved for higher profile cases where the abuse committed is considered especially terrible.
How Will Nursing Homes Try to Get Out of Abuse Claims?
Many nursing homes will attempt to prove that no abuse took place, even if they failed to provide proper care, or if they know that staff members have been guilty of neglect. They may try to argue that staff members have provided the highest possible level of care in spite of clear evidence of neglect. Nursing homes may also deny legal responsibility due to their lack of awareness of problems with specific staff members or may try to prove that it was neglect by an individual, not nursing home policy, that led to your loved one's abuse. By working with a lawyer, you'll substantially increase the odds of your loved one receiving just compensation.
What Does a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Cost?
An elder abuse lawyer won't cost you anything upfront. Consultations with our team of experienced elder abuse attorneys are always free, and we provide representation on a contingency fee basis: this means we do not collect a fee unless you secure a settlement or judgment. Come in for a free consultation and learn what the legal fees will really cost. In many cases, your fees will be based on the amount of the settlement. You shouldn't miss out on the legal support you need due to fear of high legal fees. Instead, consult with us to see how arrangements can be made for payment.
If your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse, don't wait! Contact us today at (305) 676-8154 or write to us using our online contact form. We'll schedule a free consultation to learn more about the abuse your loved one suffered and how we can help you get the compensation that they deserve.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA
1820 NE 163rd St #306,
North Miami Beach, FL 33162
(305) 676-8154