Introduction
Have you or any of your loved ones become the victim of nursing home abuse?
Getting legal help is the best possible option you have right now. In most cases, older adults spend their retirement in nursing homes.
That is why the nursing home staff and administrator have to be extra careful, and in case any error or wrongdoing occurs that damages or harms the individual, they have to pay claims. It will not undo the damages, but it will definitely help to take care of the damages.
Here in this article, we will provide the necessary details about nursing home abuse and getting legal help. Let’s start with the basic knowledge about nursing home abuse.
What Is Nursing Home Abuse?
As per federal law, nursing homes are responsible for protecting and promoting the rights of all their residents. Any type of violations of all these rights can constitute nursing home abuse.
Here are some of the common nursing home abuse instances.
1: Lack Of Respect
When we are talking about elderly people, they must be treated with proper respect and dignity. They should always be allowed to create their own schedule, whether it is what they want to eat, what activity they do, and when they will go to sleep.
2: Abuse
From the nursing home staff, the individual should be free from any type of verbal, physical, or sexual abuse. This abuse should also be applied to the finances and properties of those elderly individuals.
3: Fear
All elderly individuals should be allowed to complain to the nursing home staff without feeling frightened about being disciplined.
4: Restraints
All elderly people should not be restrained medically (drugs) or physically due to punishment and convenience.
Nursing Home Abuse Legal Claims
For elder abuse, the elderly and also their loved ones are eligible for filing lawsuits against nursing homes. For elder abuse, different states have different age requirements. However, the usual age range varies from around 60 to 65 years.
Negligence is one of the most common legal claims associated with nursing home abuse. In order to earn success in the claim, the plaintiff has to show that the nursing home has conducted something that is beyond the reasonable standard of care.
For example, the plaintiff always has the option of showing that the nursing home has conducted continual restraint for no reason along with verbally abusing the individual, which was far beyond the reasonable standard of care.
Why Is “Get Legal Help” Essential With A Nursing Home Abuse Issue
Now you have developed a basic understanding of the nursing home abuse issue and when you can take legal actions against it. Here are some reasons why you need to consider getting help for nursing home abuse issues.
Reason 1: Two Cases Are Not Identical
In case your loved one has become the victim of nursing home abuse, you are obviously searching for help on the internet. You might get a lot of resources on it, but they can not help you completely.
Every nursing home abuse case is different. Thus, you need the expertise of a legal professional.
Reason 2: Gathering Evidence Is Tough
Just like any other claim, nursing home abuse claims also require a lot of evidence to prove the negligence or abusive behavior of the nursing home authority. Collecting proper evidence is actually really challenging.
At the same time, you might need some papers or documents from the nursing home authority. In this case, only an experienced legal professional will be able to do the necessary.
Reason 3: Nursing Home Administrator Is Always Against You
The nursing home administrator will show their activeness and will always try to solve the matter internally. It does not matter how compassionate and helpful they are; you need to understand they will always want to pay you as little as possible for the claim.
Here, if you get legal help, the professional will take care of all these things and will also ensure you are getting the best.
Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuits
In case you want to consider legal action for nursing home abuse, a nursing home abuse lawsuit is the most important option. Here are the situations when you can file a nursing home abuse lawsuit.
- A loved one was injured, abused, or neglected during their stay at the nursing home.
- The resident suffered from permanent or long-term disability as a result of the injuries.
- As a result of the abuse, neglect, or mistreatment, the resident dies.
- The resident and their family are now experiencing extra healthcare expenses due to that.