In most cases, the nursing home owners, operators, and managers are held liable for any abuse or neglect that occurs. They have a duty to protect residents, ensure their proper care, and uphold their legal rights and protections. Failure to do so is negligence and could support a civil case against the company and its leadership.
If your loved one endured abuse or neglect in their long-term care facility, you could discuss your options with a nursing home abuse lawyer today. The team at Jenner Law offers free initial consultations for victims and their families.
You Can Hold a Nursing Home Responsible for Abuse and Neglect
Nursing home facilities have a duty to provide a safe environment that provides residents with the care necessary to support their needs. This includes protecting them from physical abuse or neglect. In most of these cases, the nursing home is liable for the injuries and damages that occur.
Nursing facilities must provide a wide range of key services for nursing home residents. This includes meals, shelter, clean clothes and bed linens, various hygiene care, and medical support. They must ensure access to proper medical treatment and care when necessary. Most of all, they must keep residents safe and support their well-being.
Nursing Homes Are Vicariously Liable for the Misconduct of Employees
When abuse occurs, it is often perpetrated by staff members or volunteers. Sometimes, the perpetrator is a visitor or another resident. In the eyes of the law, it does not matter. The nursing home still has a responsibility to protect residents, including by ensuring that providers who come into the facility to consult or provide care adhere to the proper standards of care. The nursing home is still liable for any injuries from neglect or abuse that occur within the facility.
Nursing home abuse can occur in many ways. Some examples where the nursing home’s negligence might cause injuries include:
- Failure to properly train staff
- Negligent hiring
- Failure to properly staff the facility
- Overcrowding, especially with a staff shortage
- Inadequate security
- Failure to provide for residents’ basic needs, such as shelter, food, and water
- Failure to treat injuries or illnesses
- Failure to uphold health and safety standards
- Unnecessary use of physical restraints
- Intentional abuse
Working with a nursing home abuse lawyer can help you identify how the care facility was negligent. Even if the administrators or owners had no knowledge of an abusive nursing home staff member, the legal doctrine of respondeat superior likely applies. Employers are generally vicariously liable for the actions of their workers while they are on the clock.
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(888) 585-2188
What Is Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect?
There are several ways residents can endure abuse and neglect in a nursing home setting. Each instance of nursing home abuse has its own signs and requires unique evidence. Forms of maltreatment include:
- Neglect
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Financial abuse
When you work with a nursing home abuse attorney, they will identify the types of abuse that occurred and document them. This is key to building a compelling civil lawsuit and holding the negligent parties liable.
What Duties does a Nursing Home Owe to Residents?
At any Medicare or Medicaid certified nursing home, the facility and its administrators have a duty to uphold each resident’s rights as established under federal law. Failure to do so would likely be considered negligence.
The rights of a nursing home resident include:
- Freedom from discrimination
- Freedom from abuse and neglect
- Being assured proper and prompt medical care when needed
- Being treated with respect
- Being free from unreasonable and unnecessary restraints
- Protection from involuntary transfer or discharge
- Freedom to manage their own money or appoint someone to do so
- To receive accurate information on services and fees
- The right to proper privacy, property, and living arrangements
- The right to file complaints
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Building a Case Against the Party Liable for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
When you first consider that abuse or neglect might be occurring in your loved one’s care facility, it is a good idea to begin keeping track of the evidence. Take pictures with timestamps and make notes about the injuries your loved one has. Document issues with hygiene and cleanliness, too.
Many people can quickly gather evidence strong enough to show there is a problem. However, you should consider discussing your case with a nursing home abuse lawyer early in the process. Not only will they offer advice and guidance about the evidence you can collect, but they can also take steps to strengthen the case.
Other evidence often used to document abuse in a civil case include:
- Medical records showing injuries, bedsores, or unexplained bruising
- Records from the care facility
- Interviews with staff, residents, and other visitors
- Documents and testimony subpoenaed by your attorney
- Medical experts, industry experts, and others
- Documentation of damages, such as medical bills
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What Should I Do if I Suspect Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect?
Even if you suspect that your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in their nursing home, you benefit from discussing the matter with a personal injury lawyer who handles these cases frequently. Of course, if your family member is in immediate danger, dial 911.
Working with a lawyer familiar with nursing home abuse cases will allow you to navigate the legal claims process and hold the facility liable. In addition to a free case assessment, most nursing home abuse lawyers will handle these cases based on contingency. You pay nothing upfront for their services. Instead, they receive a portion of the money they recover for you.
Discuss Your Loved One’s Nursing Home Abuse Case With Our Team for Free
Jenner Law provides free consultations for those who believe their loved one may have suffered nursing home abuse and neglect. We know how to build a compelling case based on even the most serious injuries or the most devastating neglect. Your family and your elderly loved one should not have to go through this. Let our law firm help you hold the at-fault parties liable.
Contact us today to learn more about your legal options and next steps during a free consultation.
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