You trusted a nursing home to take care of your elderly loved one, but now you learn that she has suffered abuse or neglect. What can you do? How can you protect her, pay her medical bills, and ensure this does not happen to another vulnerable senior? By filing a claim or lawsuit against the responsible party(s), you can seek justice for your loved one and recover compensation for the harm she suffered.
Do not handle this alone. A nursing home abuse lawyer in Doral is here for you. Call the Law Firm of Anidjar & Levine to discuss your case.
What Kinds of Abuse Can Happen in a Nursing Home?
You can hold a nursing home liable for any of the following types of abuse:
- Physical abuse: Can include hitting, kicking, pinching, unnecessary restraint, failing to give prescribed medication, force-feeding, etc.
- Emotional abuse: Can include verbal abuse, forced isolation, humiliation, threats, etc.
- Sexual abuse: Sexual assault, sexual conduct of any nature
- Financial abuse: Forcing a resident to sign a financial power of attorney, forging a resident’s signature, taking money, etc.
- Violation of your basic rights: Violation of basic rightsevery nursing home resident has
- Neglect: Forgetting to give a resident medication, failing to change sheets, failing to help a resident to the bathroom or to shower, leaving a resident in her room, forgetting to turn a resident to avoid bedsores, etc.
Who Is Liable for Nursing Home Abuse?
Anyone at a nursing home can abuse or neglect a resident. However, in most cases, the nursing home itself will be your liable party. This is because the facility was responsible for ensuring your loved one’s safety and the protection of her basic rights. If she suffered abuse at the hands of a nursing home staff member, it will be vicariously liable for that staff member’s actions.
The nursing home can also be directly liable. Direct liability can stem from:
- Negligent hiring, training, or retention: If the nursing home did not do a background check, failed to train staff members, or kept an abusive person on staff, it may owe you and your loved one compensation.
- Understaffing: If your loved one faced neglect because the nursing home was understaffed, the nursing home is responsible for any injuries or damages that result.
- Failing to stop abuse by another resident: If the nursing home failed to stop another resident abusing your loved one, you can hold the facility liable for failing to keep your loved one safe.
- Failure to maintain the premises: The nursing home promised to keep your loved one safe. If it failed to keep the premises in a safe condition, you can hold it liable for failing to keep the facility hazard-free.
If another resident abused your loved one, we may be able to hold him or her liable as well.
What Compensation Might My Loved One Be Entitled To?
The compensation you can recover depends on the severity of the abuse or neglect. You can recover compensation for:
- Required medical care (can include rehab expenses, counseling, etc.)
- Any relocation or transportation fees
- Funeral expenses, if your loved one died from the abuse
We may be able to get a refund for any fees you paid the nursing home. We may also be able to recover punitive damages if the abuse was especially egregious or if the nursing home knew of the abuse or neglect but allowed it to continue.
How Can I Hold the Nursing Home Liable for My Loved One’s Abuse?
To hold a nursing home liable, we need to prove that the nursing home:
- Owed your loved one a duty of care: This duty is to keep her safe from harm and to protect her basic rights. We can prove the nursing home owed your loved one a duty by providing the contract you and your loved one signed.
- Violated that duty: The evidence we need for this depends on the abuse that occurred. We might have our investigator take photos of the injuries your loved one suffered or gather other evidence such as medical records or witness statements.
- Caused your loved one’s injuries and damages: To prove your loved one suffered damages, we can provide medical bills and possibly ask a therapist to testify as to how the abuse affected your loved one emotionally.
These cases are complex, but do not worry. We will navigate through all the red tape and legal requirements.
Is There Anything I Can to Help My Loved One’s Case?
The team at the Law Firm of Anidjar & Levine will handle the legal aspects of your case; however, there are a few things you can do:
- Get your loved one to safety: Call 911 if your loved one (or another resident) is in immediate danger. Move your loved one out of the nursing home as soon as possible.
- File a complaint with the nursing home: This will begin a paper trail and help us prove that the abuse or neglect occurred.
- Begin gathering any evidence you can: Consider speaking with other residents or staff members to determine if they saw anything.
Trust Your Case to the Law Firm of Anidjar & Levine
Right now it probably feels as though someone has pulled the rug out from under your feet. You are probably wondering where you can get help and whether you can trust anyone.
Trust the team at the Law Firm of Anidjar & Levine. We care deeply about the seniors in our community and we care about you. We will fight hard to get your loved one the justice and compensation she deserves.
And do not worry about payment. The initial consultation is free and there are no upfront costs to handle. We only recover compensation if your loved one does.
Call the Law Firm of Anidjar & Levine today today to line up your free consultation.
We Can Help.
