Assisted living facilities are often the best choice for seniors who need help with daily tasks, but they can also be a place where neglect and abuse occur.
If your loved one has been the victim of elder abuse at the hands of their assisted living facility, call an elder abuse lawyer.
Suing an assisted living facility is not easy, but it’s possible. Contact Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath today to get the process started. The sooner you begin, the sooner you will have justice for your loved one.
Filing a nursing home negligence claim can help others who may be suffering at the hands of overworked staff, greedy management, or abusive administrators.
Contact us today to start the claims process.
Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes
A recent study found that at least one in every five nursing home residents is abused each year. And this doesn’t even account for all of the other types of neglect and mistreatment that also occur in these facilities.
Many people who work in nursing homes don’t realize they are abusing their patients by not providing them with adequate care. It’s hard to tell what an individual needs when you’re overworked and a facility is understaffed.
Others know what they are doing violates the elders in their care, but they persist because they benefit from it. This is especially true for financial abusers. Financial abusers are care providers who steal money from the elderly or otherwise exploit them financially.
Whether these individuals are providing substandard care because they feel overwhelmed or because they benefit in some way, suing an assisted living facility is your solution to ensuring your loved one gets the treatment they deserve.
Cause for Suing an Assisted Living Facility
Poor Hiring
The hiring of a caregiver can be one of the most important decisions made by an assisted living facility.
Unfortunately, many facilities do not invest in proper training and screening for their caregivers. This leaves them vulnerable to lawsuits, typically from family members who are suing on behalf of the resident.
It is important that potential residents, spouses, or other loved ones are aware of these risks before deciding whether or not to enter into care at an assisted living facility.
Unsafe Premises
Assisted living facilities are often home to residents with varying degrees of mobility. These individuals require the use of walkers, wheelchairs, and other devices to get around safely.
Unfortunately, many assisted living facilities fail to provide adequate safety features for these individuals due to a lack of resources or simply because they neglect their duty.
Other times, the staff fails to remove unsafe obstacles in walkways or the management fails to provide a safe environment. Many assisted living facilities are not up to safety code in an attempt to cut costs.
Negligent Supervision
When an assisted living facility fails to provide adequate supervision for residents, they are violating their rights.
Entrapment is another common form of negligent supervision. When staff neglects or refuses to help residents who fall or have become stuck between furniture or door frames due to physical limitations or cognitive impairment.
This type of negligence can lead to serious injury as well as emotional distress on behalf of the victim.
Medical Negligence
Medical negligence is when healthcare providers fail to provide appropriate treatment according to their knowledge of what is medically accepted as safe and effective under similar circumstances.
This failure could lead to serious medical complications.
In assisted living facilities, medical negligence includes providing substandard care compared to what a patient would receive in another nursing home or hospital setting.
In some cases, this means staff is neglecting simple checkups and administering the wrong medication or dosage of prescription drugs. In other cases, it can mean that they are providing no medical treatment at all, leading residents to fall ill from preventable illnesses.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse in assisted living facilities is a growing concern. The problem is so widespread that it has become an issue for law enforcement officials at all levels to address, with many states considering legislation to protect seniors from sex-related crimes perpetrated by their caregivers.
Sexual abuse in nursing homes includes:
- Rape and attempted rape
- Unwanted sexual contact or touching
- Sexual harassment, such as making crude comments or gestures, displaying pornographic pictures or objects, and physical abuse which is sexual in nature (slapping the buttocks, fondling breasts)
Contact an Elder Abuse Lawyer
If you are considering suing an assisted living facility, you will need the help of an elder abuse lawyer.
An attorney specializing in this area will be able to help you win your case and recover compensation for your financial losses.
Contact an experienced elder abuse lawyer at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath today for assistance.
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