If you have a loved one living in a nursing home which is being neglected or abused, you might wonder if there’s anything you can do to help them. The good news is you have legal recourse.
This article will introduce you to the world of nursing home abuse lawsuits and explain what legal action you can take if your loved one has been mistreated by staff or other residents at their care facility.
Keep reading to learn more about what constitutes nursing home abuse and whether or not you have a case.
When people talk about nursing home abuse, they usually refer to the mistreatment of the residents by nursing home staff or other residents. There are many types of abuse, but the most common in nursing home settings include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
In addition, neglect and financial exploitation can also be considered abuse, but these are not as common as the above types.
In general, you can sue the nursing home that your loved one is living in. This includes the staff at the facility, the owners of the facility, or both.
If the abuse happened because of poor management at the facility, you could also sue the state department that regulates the facility. If the state department knew about the mistreatment and did nothing to stop it, you can also sue them.
Depending on your loved one’s circumstances, you could file either a personal injury lawsuit or a medical malpractice lawsuit. A personal injury lawsuit would be for abuse due to an individual’s negligence.
This could include abuse by a nursing home staff member or another resident or neglect by the nursing home administrators.
For example, if a nursing home staff member were instructed to bathe her loved one every day and skipped a day, that would be negligence. You could sue for negligence if your loved one got an infection from not being bathed.
A medical malpractice lawsuit would be for abuse related to medical care. For example, if a doctor prescribed your loved one medicine for an infection, but someone at the nursing home didn’t give the medication, you could sue for medical malpractice.
Since each abuse case is different, there is no set amount of damages for a nursing home abuse lawsuit. The cracks you can find in a lawsuit depending on the type of abuse, the severity, and your loved one’s injuries.
The typical damages you can get in a nursing home abuse lawsuit include compensation for medical bills, pain, suffering, and lost wages.
If your beloved one is living in a nursing home, you have the right to file a lawsuit if they are harmed by staff or other residents. The type of abuse will determine how you should file your case.
The damages in a nursing home abuse lawsuit can be substantial and may be the only way to get the help your loved one needs.
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