How Much Is a Nursing Home Negligence Case Worth?
Our elderly loved ones deserve a safe place to call home. If you suspect your loved one has been neglected or abused by a nursing home staff member or volunteer, our nursing home negligence attorneys have the skills and dedication to secure the damages you and your family deserve, including:
- Full coverage of medical expenses
- Pain and suffering damages
- Loss of enjoyment of life damages
- Relocation expenses
- Possible punitive damages
We have the resources and knowledge necessary to help you prove your case and navigate the complexities of nursing home negligence law.
Can You Sue a Care Home for Neglect?
Yes, you can sue a care home for neglect. Our talented legal team has extensive experience helping families protect their elderly loved ones. Some common care home facilities include:
- Rest homes
- Assisted living centers
- Nursing homes
- Convalescent homes
- Long-term care facilities
If your senior loved one has suffered injuries due to negligent care, you must report it to the nursing home staff immediately. If the situation does not improve, another report can be made to the administration. Creating a paper trail to show that you made the facility and the administrators aware of the neglect is critical to your case. Establishing negligence will significantly depend on proving the staff was informed of the injuries your loved one endured. If the abuse or neglect continues, the next step is to file a police report.
Next, be sure to have your loved one physically and mentally evaluated by a doctor outside the facility. To prepare a nursing home negligence claim, detailed medical records will be needed to show the extent of the neglect.
Choose an experienced and dedicated nursing home negligence lawyer to help your case and accurately evaluate your claim.
What Is Considered Negligence in a Nursing Home?
Nursing home negligence can be challenging to uncover. Due to their advanced age, an occasional bedsore or bruise may be expected and not considered neglect. It can be especially difficult to uncover negligence if your elderly loved one has dementia. It is vital to recognize repeating signs of abuse and file a report with the facility.
Nursing home negligence can take many forms. The most common types of elder neglect are as follows:
- Failure to report signs of illness and infections to the proper medical staff
- Failure to move immobile or partially immobile residents
- Inability to give proper medical care for existing issues, including medications
- Not providing safe drinking water or food
- Failure to clean bedrooms and common areas
- Emotional and social neglect:
- Isolating residents and patients
- Failure to provide mobility aids, including wheelchairs, walkers, and canes
- Personal hygiene neglect:
- Failure to keep residents clean, teeth brushed, and other grooming necessities
- Failure to change soiled bedsheets and clothes
- Failure to change resident’s outfits on a regular basis
- Failure to check on residents
Nursing home negligence can hurt a resident’s emotional well-being and physical health.
The nursing home negligence attorneys of Osborne & Francis will put your needs first and fight on your behalf. Call (561) 293-2600 to discuss the details of your case and how our award-winning team can help.
Are There Warning Signs of Nursing Home Negligence?
Nursing home neglect occurs when a medical provider fails to provide a patient the level of care that they require. It is essentially failing to provide a standard of care consistent with their individual needs but includes basic hygiene, assistance with meals, and help with mobility.
Nursing home neglect can take many forms. Look for the following warning signs if you suspect your loved one is being mistreated:
- Poor personal hygiene
- Unsanitary or just unclean living conditions
- Declining or loss of mobility
- Personality changes such as aggression, agitation, anger or withdrawal
- Injuries that seem to have no valid explanation
- Improper billing practices
- Bedsores
- Dehydration
- Infections
- Malnutrition
- Rapid weight loss
- Reluctance to speak about the staff or in their presence
- Heavy sedation
- Being frequently ill
Some signs of neglect are easier to catch. If your elderly loved one shows signs of neglect, abuse, or mistreatment, they are not alone. New studies are revealing elder neglect to be a grossly underreported violation.
How Pervasive Is Nursing Home Negligence?
Nursing home negligence is widely under-reported and under-researched. Several surveys have been pulled together over the years, revealing startling facts about the prevalence of neglect.
Currently, there are over 2.5 million elders living in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. The U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform released a report that found:
- 10% of nursing homes were cited for severe elder abuse and neglect that resulted in death or serious injury
- 33% of long-term care facilities were cited for neglect
Projections from analysts cite cases of neglect will continue to trend upwards as the largest population segment continues to age.
Recently, elder abuse and neglect have received more attention. Studies from the National Center on Elder Abuse report negligence and elder abuse statistics together:
- 11.6% of residents experience physical abuse and neglect
- 4.6% experience some form of emotional abuse and neglect
- 4.2% are subjected to different types of neglect
- 2.6% experience financial abuse
- .9% suffer sexual abuse
It seems unfair that we will depend so heavily on others at one of the most vulnerable times of our lives. Our elderly loved ones deserve to be cared for with dignity and respect.
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