Nursing homes serve a useful role in the country and community given the fact that most of us are ill-equipped to take care of aging loved ones. These individuals will often need specialized and sometimes round-the-clock care, particularly if they are unable to move on their own or feed themselves, or even carry out hygiene practices unaided. Nursing homes range in price, location and what they offer, with some providing comprehensive services with a focus on community, making them feel like homes away from home. However, just because these facilities exist doesn’t mean that it’s all good and right in the world. Nursing home abuse is an issue that seems to show no signs of letting up, as evidenced by the statistics that 1 in 10 nursing home residents will face some kind of abuse during their stay in such a facility. Nursing home abuse is not only humiliating, it can also lead to severe injuries, both physical and psychological which may be next to impossible to recover from depending on their severity as well as the individual’s overall health.

Nursing home abuse is often a hush hush event, meaning that you as a loved one will not find out its impact or severity until when it’s gone on for way too long. Legally nursing home administration and workers are bound by the legal principle of duty of care which requires them to protect the wellbeing of the individual admitted into their facility by ensuing they are kept free from injurious risks and hazards, their concerns are listened to, workers are provided with timely training on how to care for said residents, failure to which one may file a lawsuit alleging breach of duty of care leading to injuries which are compensable under personal injury law. If you or a loved one became a victim of nursing home abuse, it is important that you fight for you or your loved one’s rights, and we’re here to help with that.

Are you looking for a best nursing home abuse attorney? Regardless of where you are in the country, we’d love to help you recover compensation and seek justice if you suffered injuries, whether apparent or psychological, due to the negligent or intentional actions of workers or administrative staff. The experienced nursing home abuse lawyers at McCready Law bring to the table over 20 years of experience where we’ve handled thousands of injury claims, garnering multimillion dollar verdicts for numerous survivors over the years. We are a law firm with a difference owing to the fact that we’re not afraid to litigate if we believe your case has merit and the other party is nickel and diming you with regard to a payout, but we also have experience litigating claims, something most law firms shy away from due to the higher burden of proof one is required to meet during litigation. We run a bilingual office (hablamos Espanol), and all cases are taken up on contingency fee basis, which simply means that there are ZERO UPFRONT FEES when we decide to represent you, as we only recover our fees at the end of the process, and only if we’ve recovered compensation on your behalf. For more information on the true value of your nursing home abuse lawsuit, please call us NOW at 312-444-0214 to speak with an experienced legal expert – our intake team is standing by.

Nursing Home Abuse – Shrouded in Silence

Nursing home abuse is not talked about or even heard of often in our society due to a number of factors, with the major one being a culture of silence and intimidation. These environments, touted as safe havens for the elderly, can ironically become torture chambers where abuse happens on a frighteningly regular basis. One of the most common reasons why nursing home abuse victims say nothing is due to fear of retaliation.

Given their vulnerability, these individuals rely on staff for their daily sustenance and care, and they often fear that speaking out may lead to isolation, worse treatment and even additional harm or abuse. Staff may also take the route of intimidation via subtle threats and emotional manipulation, creating a hostile and unfriendly environment which can become a powerful deterrent against reporting.

Are Nursing Homes Regulated? Where Can I Report Abuse?

In addition, nursing homes are poorly regulated by state or federal agencies, creating a sense of impunity amongst management and staff, who may become emboldened about acting in an abusive and aggressive manner as there may be no consequences levied against them. In addition, families or residents who notice or become victims of nursing home abuse may not know where to start when it comes to reporting due to the fact that there are limited reporting mechanisms in place, creating a kind of paralysis when it comes to taking action in order to stop further abuse from happening.

Familial Guilt Compounds Nursing Home Abuse Allegations

Lastly, but not least, is the denial most family members may choose to adopt because of their desire to avoid confronting uncomfortable truths about the nursing home and its level of care or lack thereof of it. Families may also feel guilty on account of having to place a loved one in a nursing home, and this may prevent them from taking action, as doing so may, in their eyes, prove that they were not loving or caring family members, and that putting them in these homes was the wrong decision to make from the get-go.

Warning Signs That May Point to Nursing Home Abuse

Some of the most common physical signs of nursing home abuse include:

1. Unexplained bruises in strange locations such as the arms, legs or the torso. While falls may cause bruises from time to time, frequent, or severe bruises may indicate ongoing and persistent physical abuse.
2. Fractures which are not consistent with the individual’s medical history or abilities may signal abuse. For instance, if one suffers a shattered eye socket when they have limited mobility or must use a wheelchair to get around may be a sign that a worker either attacked them or never provided assistance moving from one place to another
3. Frequent hospitalizations that have no merit such as the lack of adequate medical history to justify these visits may point to something not being quite right in the nursing home.
4. Sudden and unexplained weight loss may be a sign of nursing home abuse, particularly if it happens within a short amount of time as it may indicate poor feeding, hydration or nutrition, which in and of itself is a surefire sign of neglect. Physical or emotional abuse may also lead to depression and withdrawal, making it less likely that a resident will partake in their food, thereby leading to weight loss.
5. Lethargy, low energy, confusion and dry skin may also signal the fact that the resident isn’t being fed properly or is being ignored when it comes to their daily needs, something that must be looked into.

What Legal Principles Surround Nursing Home Abuse Reporting?

Nursing homes are legally bound to provide a certain level of service and care to its residents. Should they breach this duty of care leading to a resident’s injury or health complications, they may be held liable under legal principle of negligence. In addition, intentional abuse may lead to the breach of said care, and this can include things like verbal harassment, physical assaults and even sexual abuse. These cases are more often than not under a time limit within which one must file a claim, known as statute of limitations, which can be anywhere from one to several years.

Nursing Home Abuse – Can I Recover Compensation?

One can recover a number of damages in nursing home cases, such as the cost of additional and reparative medical care to help make the resident whole again such as surgery in the event that they suffered fractures or broken bones, therapy to help heal their psychological and emotional wounds, lost wages, if you, a family member, had to take time off work in order to care for your abused loved one, property loss and damage if valuables were stolen, as well as non-economic damages such as physical pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of companionship and punitive damages.

Experienced Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys – Call Us Today!

It is important that you seek out the services of an experienced nursing home abuse attorney when it comes to these cases as we will be able to preserve and collect evidence, serve the nursing home with timely court orders compelling them to relinquish CCTV camera footage which may have caught the abuse, engage medical experts to prove causation between you or your loved one’s physical or emotional injuries and the event which may have caused it, as well as negotiate with the insurance company or nursing home on the details of your compensation, failure to which we shall launch a litigable claim to be heard in a court of law. these cases are time-sensitive, and evidence may be destroyed, or individuals silenced: it is because of this that it is vital that you give us a call NOW at 312-444-0214 so we can preserve the integrity of your nursing home abuse claim in order to get you the maximum compensation allowed by law. Thanks for choosing McCready Law, and we look forward to helping you.