Nursing homes number in the tens of thousands across the country and provide a much-needed service to the elderly and unwell that cannot take care of themselves, as well as provide support to families who may not have the knowledge about certain conditions to take care of their loved ones. Nursing homes range in price, and they typically offer residential options within a communal environment, which may help alleviate the isolation and loneliness that so many senior citizens have to contend with in an individualistic society such as ours. While nursing homes can be a godsend to millions of elderly individuals, they can also be hell on earth to others who may have to contend with years of abuse, whether physical, sexual, financial or psychological, perpetrated in part due to the lax regulations surrounding these facilities. As a loved one of an individual in a nursing home, it is vital that you stay vigilant and note down signs of abuse as this is a phenomenon that doesn’t happen once, meaning that your mother, father, sister, brother, aunt or uncle may be enduring months or even years of this abuse, necessitating urgent help once you discover the same in order to safeguard their future and potentially moving them to a safer facility. Nursing home abuse is against the law, and it is possible to file a civil lawsuit in order to recover money damages to help make you or your loved one whole again, and we’re here to help with that.

Are you looking for a best nursing home abuse lawyer? The experienced nursing home neglect and abuse attorneys at McCready Law have for over two decades helped thousands of injured individuals who were either victims of the negligent or intentional actions of others seek and receive compensation for their injuries, whether visible or invisible. Our best nursing home abuse law firm caters to all affected senior citizens countrywide, and we run a bilingual office (hablamos Espanol). These cases are incredibly hard to litigate on your own as a layman due to the bureaucracy as well as secrecy and culture of protecting staff and management that you typically see in most nursing homes in the country, and the virtually non-existent laws to punish perpetrators certainly do not help either. Our experienced nursing home abuse attorneys will go to work at investigating the issue, collecting evidence, looking through records, preserving CCTV camera footage and speaking with experts in order to create a compelling case before presenting it to the nursing home in question, and should settlement negotiations fail, we will not hesitate to litigate the case in a court of law for a more favorable outcome and significantly larger settlement. Please be aware that these cases are taken up on contingency fee basis, and what this means is there are ZERO UPFRONT FEES should we decided to take on your case, as we will only recover our legal fees at the end of the process, and only if we’ve won your case for you. If you or a loved one fell victim to abuse at a nursing home, please give us a call NOW at 312-444-0214 to receive your 100% FREE legal consultation into nursing home abuse lawsuits – our intake team is standing by.

Open Dialogue May Help Uncover Nursing Home Abuse

As the family member or even friend of an individual in a nursing home, there are things you can do in order to help your loved one overcome this kind of abuse. Carrying out a thorough investigation can help collate evidence which will objectively help prove your case.

The first thing you want to do is have an open and honest conversation with the individual you suspect is being abused. In your visits, ask open-ended questions to put them at ease so they can divulge information in a trusting environment. These questions should also encourage sharing information without having them feel like they’re on the stand. In addition, ask about specific things such as how often they receive meals, their daily routine and so on. Next, you want to gauge their feelings by asking questions that have to do with the staff and management. Look out for any hesitation or pauses as well as facial cues which may point to deeper issues. Active listening also helps you retrieve more information by letting the resident share what’s in their heart.

For example, maintaining eye contact will show that you are engaged and want to really know what’s going on, and noticing their gestures, posture and facial expressions will also point to discomfort and insecurity around living in the facility. Lastly, ensure to not interrupt them while they speak even when they pause or struggle to find the right words as this creates a safe place which enhances or promotes open dialogue.

Investigating Nursing Home Abuse – What You Can Do to Help

Once you suspect abuse, it is vital that you launch into investigative mode in order to help build a case via proper documentation, something that will legitimize your claims and make it harder for the care home’s management to refute your claims.

1. For starters, you want to keep a journal where you will document specific events, including the date, location and time of the incident after extensive conversations with your loved one. This is perhaps something that must be done in a timely manner because the more time passes, the more people lose recollection of certain facts, which may cast aspersions on their credibility should they be cross-examined or be asked to attend a deposition.
2. In this journal, you should also include staff interactions and record their responses to your questions or allegations as this will help you establish a culture of negligence or specific patterns of behavior
3. Be consistent when it comes to updating your journal on a regular basis, particularly after you visit your loved one at the nursing home. Committing things to memory might lead to getting facts mixed up and even forgetting the specifics of conversations, which may jeopardize the integrity of your potential nursing home abuse claim.
4. Photographing evidence will also paint a clear and objective picture of the abuse, making it hard for the nursing home to deny allegations or defend itself. During your visits, take photos of any cuts, bruises and hidden injuries. In addition, photograph the individual’s living environment, the state of their room, signs of things being ransacked or moved as well as any safety hazards. Do not forget to include contextual images such as communal spaces, lunch halls and benches that may be in various states of neglect or disrepair. Lastly, organize these photos according to dates, adding descriptions as you go along as this will help demonstrate a clear evidential timeline which will further bolster your claim.
5. Under the Health and Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPPA, you are entitled to access to your loved one’s medical records. By requesting copies of these, you may be able to notice patterns of neglect which may include things like preventable or unusual injuries, as well as frequent trips to the ER or even hospitalizations that are not consistent with their current overall health. If the records do not make sense, do not be afraid to consult with a healthcare professional for comprehensive interpretation and additional insights into their injuries and whether or not they were caused or exacerbated by abuse.

Expect Resistance and Pushback from the Nursing Home

As you set upon the task of collecting all of this data, you should prepare yourself for pushback or resistance from the nursing home. This is because any allegations of abuse can do a number on any institution, which may in turn make the public question their operational practices and lead to financial instability which may last years or even permanently. Staff and management may deny any and all wrongdoing, may minimize your allegations, may become hostile when confronted with evidence, and in some extreme cases, may decide to retaliate against your loved one simply because you spoke out and asked questions.

Best Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys – Call Us Today!

It is for these specific reasons that you need the keen eyes of an experienced nursing home attorney to help navigate these murky waters so you can protect your loved one as well as recover compensation that will go a long way in providing medical treatment for their injuries, organize relocation and admission into safe facilities, reimburse you for any lost wages you endured due to spending your time investigating the issue, punitive damages which may act as a deterrent, preventing further abuse by staff and management, as well as things like pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. If you or a loved one fell victim to nursing home at any facility in the country, please reach out to us NOW at 312-444-0214 to learn more about how we can help you recover compensation and justice. Thanks for choosing McCready Law, and we look forward to helping