Nursing Home Neglect Attorney

With over 15,000 complaints of nursing home abuse and neglect filed in 2020 alone, there's no doubt that too many nursing home residents are suffering in the very places they should feel safe and at homes. Family members might need the help of a nursing home and neglect lawyer to pursue compensation for these injuries. Our law firm, Lento Law Group, has a track record in pursuing justice aggressively when the nursing home has crossed the line and failed to keep your family members safe.

Whether the cause was lack of training for employees in the care facility, inadequate staffing, or inappropriate supervision of workers in the care facility, residents of nursing homes have a right to dignity and respect. When this is ignored and residents suffer health problems or wrongful death under the home's supervision, you need compassionate help from a dedicated law firm.

Why Does Neglect Happen in Nursing Homes?

Neglect and abuse are both major issues for nursing home residents, but problems with staffing mean that neglect is increasingly common in these facilities. With lack of staff, much less caring or trained staff, those who do work in the nursing home may be assigned unrealistic caseloads. A new nursing home employee might not be properly trained in dealing with specific medical conditions like dementia. Or the employee might just cut corners.

It's a serious matter to ignore someone who requires nursing home care. Whether its failure to provide proper hydration and nutrition or allowing someone to develop bedsores after sitting or lying in the same position for too long, these can cause other symptoms and health conditions. When you trust the nursing home with your family member, you never expected that your loved one would be ignored or abused. Nursing homes have a responsibility to ensure proper staff levels and appropriately trained staff. If this does not happen and someone you know has paid the price with injuries or illness, a lawyer may be able to help with your case. 

Compensation for Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse 

Although each nursing home abuse case is unique, many people have successfully recovered compensation and stopped the cycle of abuse in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Making a report of the abuse is not enough, and that might not even stop the neglect or abusive behavior. Elderly residents might have the right to file a lawsuit with the help of a knowledgeable nursing home abuse lawyer.

According to a 2018 National Center for Victims of Crime report, the highest incidents or nursing home abuse include physical abuse, resident-on-resident abuser, psychological abuse, gross neglect, sexual abuse, and financial exploitation. Nursing home abuse can also include medication errors or emotional abuse. Nursing homes have a legal responsibility to provide enough nursing home staff and to ensure those staff members are trained in proper care techniques. Negligent hiring does happen and your loved one shouldn't have to suffer.

Signs of Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

Not all residents of a nursing home are able or willing to speak up for themselves regarding abuse. This means that as a friend or family member, you must pay close attention to their overall demeanor and take into account multiple symptoms at once. If your loved one is suffering from nursing home abuse, you need to take action quickly and take this situation seriously. Neglect and abuse are very harmful to residents and can even lead to serious long-term consequences or death.

If you see a loved one with any of these signs of abuse and neglect, be prepared to take action:

• Dry or cracked lips, which can indicate dehydration
• Lack of cleaning in the resident’s general room, which indicates staff who haven’t been there recently 
• Sudden weight loss
• Repeated fall injuries
• Unexplained injuries like bruises
• The loved one's discomfort in talking about incidents around particular staff members
• Reports of problems with other nursing home residents
• Pressure sores, usually caused by failing to physically move a resident to a new position on a regular basis

What Factors Influence a Nursing Home Neglect Lawsuit Outcome?

If you believe that your family member has suffered improper care at an assisted living facility or nursing home, multiple factors influence your damage recovery. These include:

• Evidence in the case such as camera footage, medical records, or witness statements
• Whether the case is settled outside of court or in trial
• The extent of the injuries, such as what medical treatment was required to address the abuse
• An early intervention by a qualified lawyer

You can't expect the facility to make things right even if your loved one or someone else already made a report about signs of neglect or abuse. If your family member's quality of life has been impacted due to neglectful care or outright abuse, you must take action now to how the nursing home staff and facility accountable.

Protecting the Rights of Nursing Home Residents

We offer a free case evaluation to any person who has been harmed by abuse or neglect as well as family members helping loved ones who have suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home. Our law firm attorneys know how devastating it can be to discover that your family member has been ignored or neglected in a nursing home. It’s why we take each case seriously and fight as hard as possible for justice for your loved one. We’ve worked nationally with victims of nursing home neglect and their families to hold these facilities accountable for dangerous and neglectful behavior. 

In order to succeed with a nursing home neglect case, you must be able to show that the nursing home failed to provide an acceptable level of care and that, in failing to do this, your loved one suffered one or more injuries. You may be entitled to compensation for past and future medical bills and more. 

Let our law firm do the heavy lifting and get the help you need with a nursing home neglect case now.