When you entrust the care of an elderly loved one to a nursing home, you want them to receive the best care possible. If they are treated otherwise, you’ll need to turn to a trusted nursing home neglect lawyer to handle the case.
While there are retirement homes that are true to their promise, many of the large corporations that own and operate nursing homes and assisted living facilities put profits over people and do not provide the quality care you expect.
Recent research has suggested that approximately 90 percent of U.S. nursing homes are in fact understaffed, a condition that results in instances of neglect ranging from forgetting to provide necessary care and treatment to careless, abusive lifting, hitting, and moving of patients. Sadly, an estimated 2.1 million U.S. seniors are victims of nursing home abuse or negligence each year.
The Orlando nursing home neglect attorneys at Warner & Warner formerly spent years defending nursing homes, so we know the tactics nursing homes use to fight lawsuits. After choosing to fight for plaintiffs’ rights instead, we now have decades of experience suing those same nursing homes and winning cases for our clients.
You don’t have to look further and search for nursing home neglect lawyers. We’re the law office to call. Our experience and knowledge can help you hold the nursing home or assisted living facility where your loved one was neglected accountable and help you obtain the justice you deserve.
Should You Seek Help From A Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer
RECOGNIZING THE SIGNS OF NURSING HOME NEGLIGENCE
Nursing home neglect can range from staff forgetting or not having time to provide necessary care to careless, abusive lifting, hitting, and moving of patients. Knowing these signs will help you decide when to call a nursing home negligence lawyer.
In the nursing home setting, the threat of serious injury is compounded by the fact that many victims cannot communicate well enough to tell family members about their suffering, so the abusive neglect can go unnoticed, often until it is too late to help the patient recover.
Recognizing the signs of neglect is, therefore, essential. These signs include:
✔️ Dehydration
✔️ Malnutrition
✔️ Bed sores and other skin conditions
✔️ Broken bones
✔️ Unexplained or frequently occurring bruises and cuts
✔️ Continual sedation
✔️ Poor personal hygiene
✔️ Unsanitary conditions
✔️ Decreased mobility
Changes in behavior, such as having a fearful demeanor, acting depressed or angry, or frequent rocking, mumbling, or sucking behaviors can also be signs of neglect or abuse. Knowing these signs will help you, as a family member, recognize the right time to call a nursing home negligence lawyer.
If you’re in Orlando, the nursing home negligence attorneys at Warner & Warner can guide you through the legal process. We’ll be with you every step of the way, doing everything we can, to obtain the best results for your family.
When Should You Call A Nursing Home Abuse Attorney?
WHAT IS NURSING HOME ABUSE
Nursing home abuse is an intentional act of caregivers to cause harm, injury, or even death to residents. Connect with a nursing home abuse attorney when you suspect nursing home abuse in any the following forms:
PHYSICAL ABUSE
Injuries like bruising, cuts, and broken bones staff members and caregivers may lie about or not report at all. Some residents have also suffered from choking, being shoved or spat upon.
EMOTIONAL ABUSE
Yelling at the resident, manipulating their decisions, or isolating them from people are all forms of emotional abuse which may increase the resident’s stress and anxiety level. Threats and remarks that are racist, sexist, or ageist are also considered abuse.
SEXUAL ABUSE
In some cases, residents may be sexually abused by staff members or other residents, leaving them traumatized and feeling helpless. These incidents include forcing residents to remove clothing, watching pornographic videos, or even sexual comments.
FINANCIAL ABUSE
Some nursing home employees may establish close relationships with residents only to steal their bank accounts from them, use their credit cards, or have them change their will’s beneficiary to the caregiver’s name.
MEDICAL ABUSE
Extreme cases of negligence may constitute abuse, including intentionally ignoring one’s medical needs, or refusing to provide medical attention to a resident who is sick or injured. Denying medications to punish residents is also a form of medical abuse.
UNNECESSARY USE OF RESTRAINTS
A chemical restraint is when drugs are administered to control a person’s behavior. A physical restraint is used to keep a person from moving around. The use of a restraint for the convenience of the staff is against the law.
In Florida, cases against nursing home abuse must be brought within two years. This means your family only has very little time to file claims for damages in such cases. If you already suspect nursing home neglect or abuse on your elderly loved one, it is critical to consult the best nursing home abuse lawyer in town as soon as possible.
At Warner & Warner, our elderly home abuse attorneys understand that time is of the essence. We don’t want you to lose the opportunity of getting the justice you deserve. Our nursing lawyers will file a claim on your behalf, go to trial for you, and discuss your legal options to achieve a just and fair compensation.
As the best nursing home abuse lawyers in Orlando, we take pride in our experience, knowledge, and success rates in cases against nursing home negligence. We’re not just any nursing home injury lawyers, our team is honest, professional, and persistent in pursuing negligent caregivers so they are held accountable.
What Case Can Nursing Home Lawyers File?
FLORIDA NURSING HOME NEGLIGENCE LAWSUITS
If a family member has been injured due to negligence at a nursing home, you may be able to file a civil suit against the nursing home and recover damages for your loved one’s pain, suffering, medical expenses, and other damages recoverable under Florida law. The grounds for such a lawsuit might be:
- Negligent Hiring: Nursing homes have an obligation to hire qualified personnel with the requisite academic degrees for the positions for which they are hired and no record of abuse or violence. If a nursing home hires its employees without conducting background checks, they are putting their patients at risk and can be held liable for negligence.
- Inadequate Training: In some cases, nursing home employees are not properly trained to handle disabled or disobedient residents, so they may provide substandard care. If inadequate staff training results in a patient being seriously injured, the nursing home can be held liable.
- Understaffing: The average nursing home staff to patient ratio is 1 staff member to every 1.64 patients; however, many facilities need more than the average number of staff members because their patients require extensive care. If a nursing home is understaffed, patients may be neglected because there is no one available to care for them or because staff members are overworked and stressed. If a patient suffers an injury due to understaffing, the nursing home can be held liable for the injury.
- Medication Errors: Medications are a necessary part of care for most nursing home residents. If they are not given the proper medication or proper dosage, they could suffer serious consequences. When this happens, the healthcare provider, pharmacy, or pharmacist can be held liable for negligence.
- Third-Party Responsibility: Nursing homes can also be held liable for injuries caused by third parties within the facility because they have a duty to provide a safe environment for their patients. For instance, if a patient is injured by another patient or a guest at the facility, the nursing home is legally responsible if they failed to provide adequate security to prevent such an incident.
Getting expert legal advice from an experienced nursing home lawyer is important when a loved one has been injured due to negligent nursing home care. The skilled nursing home attorneys of Warner & Warner will help you understand your legal rights and do everything possible to hold the responsible parties accountable.
WHY CHOOSING AN EXPERIENCED ORLANDO NURSING HOME ABUSE LAWYER MATTERS
Elderly Abuse Attorneys Near Orlando
Many lawyers have little or no experience suing nursing homes, yet advertise they do. Therefore, when choosing a lawyer to sue a nursing home, you need to be careful and ask about their experience.
If you’re in Orlando, look for an elderly abuse attorney with knowledge of the tactics nursing homes use to defend themselves and a track record of success in suing nursing homes.
The nursing home negligence attorneys at Warner & Warner have decades of experience defending and suing nursing homes, whereas not many lawyers can honestly make that claim.
Our Orlando nursing home abuse law firm has, in fact, handled hundreds of nursing home cases in Florida and we know how to successfully challenge the huge companies that own and control nursing homes.
If a family member has been injured due to negligence at a nursing home, please get the legal help you need to hold the negligent parties accountable by calling Warner & Warner at 321.341.6829 or submitting the “Do I Have a Case?” form on our website.
Sources
Florida Health Care Association. (2017). Facts about long term care in Florida.