Nursing home and assisted living facility residents rely on their healthcare providers and caregivers to help them complete daily living activities. When these healthcare providers take advantage of their patients, their victims could hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
If you or someone you love suffered harm due to nursing home abuse or neglect, you could reach out to a Joppatowne nursing home abuse lawyer at the Law Offices of Adam M. Smallow. You can learn more about your legal options during a free, no-obligation consultation.
What To Do if You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse in Joppatowne
Whether you are a nursing home resident or have a loved one who resides in a nursing home, you may be unsure whether nursing home abuse has taken place. First, it is essential to consider that an abused individual may not handle confrontation well. Instead, they may have concerns about how they will be treated. In addition, they may feel ashamed or embarrassed.
You’ll want to be compassionate and empathetic with your loved one while taking steps to remove them from the dangerous conditions. In addition, our Joppatowne personal injury lawyer can help you set your plan in motion. In many instances, nursing home abuse victims will need to be removed from the facility and placed in alternative housing.
Then, you may need to file a complaint with the nursing home facility, law enforcement officials, and the Maryland Department of Health to hold the liable party accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
For legal consultation with a nursing home abuses attorney in Joppatowne, call (410)777-8960
Nursing Home Abuse Is Increasingly Common
Sadly, nursing home abuse continues to be a significant cause for concern in Joppatowne and across Maryland. In the fiscal year 2021 alone, Maryland received over 2,500 reports of alleged abuse and neglect at long-term care facilities.
Many people assume that nursing home abuse entails only physical acts. However, the National Institute on Aging explains how older people suffer abuse and neglect in many ways. These can include:
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse is arguably the most common type of nursing home abuse. It might involve:
- Hitting
- Scratching
- Burning
- Pinching
Victims might sustain many injuries from their abusers, including:
- Broken bones
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Neck and back injuries
- Cuts and bruises
- Severe burns
Financial Abuse
Financial abuse occurs regularly at nursing homes and assisted living facilities. For example, caregivers may change the patient’s power of attorney, use their credit or debit card without their permission, make ATM withdrawals, steal money or other belongings, or deny the patient access to funds that are rightfully theirs.
Neglect
Neglect occurs when a nursing home facility and its staff fail to provide their patients with the necessary care. Nursing home abuse residents rely on their healthcare providers to assist with their daily needs such as:
- Bathing
- Eating
- Using the toilet
- Changing clothes
Failure to do so can lead to unsanitary living conditions that result in:
- Bedsores
- Pressure ulcers
- Poor dental care
- Malnutrition
- Dehydration
Emotional Abuse
Nursing home residents often suffer emotional abuse when their caregivers threaten or intimidate them by screaming or yelling at them. Staff members and other residents might also make fun of them or talk down to abuse victims, then gaslight them into believing the abuse didn’t happen.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse frequently occurs in nursing homes and assisted living facilities where staff do not adequately monitor residents or engage in unwanted sexual activity with their patients. As a result, you might notice your loved one withdraw socially, recoil from your touch, or have unexplained bruising on the thighs or genitals.
Joppatowne Nursing Home Abuses Attorney (410)777-8960
How To Get Justice for Nursing Home Abuse in Joppatowne
You could get justice for the abuse your loved one has endured in multiple ways:
- File a complaint with the nursing home facility or its parent company
- File a complaint with the state
- File a complaint with local law enforcement
- Contact a nursing call abuse lawyer to file a civil claim
Any of these options could help other nursing home residents avoid abusive conditions, hold the negligent facility accountable, and make the liable party compensate your loved one for their suffering. After all, nursing home abuse victims have the right to be made whole.
While no amount of compensation will change what you and your family member have been through, you could ease your financial and emotional burdens by recovering compensation for how you and your loved one’s lives were affected by the abuse. You could pursue these damages in a nursing home abuse and neglect claim against a Joppatowne facility:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
- Reimbursement for stolen property
- Relocation expenses
- Mental health counseling
- Other medical expenses and equipment fees
- Punitive damages
Important Joppatowne Nursing Home Abuse Claim Deadlines
If you want to move forward with a personal injury case against a Joppatowne nursing home, you must submit your claim before the statute of limitations expires. Under Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. Code § 5-101, you must file within three years of your loved one’s injury.
However, the circumstances of your loved one’s situation could affect the filing deadline. Thus, it’s critical to have an attorney working on your case as soon as possible to identify when the clock started. Unfortunately, if you miss the deadline, you will no longer have the right to have your case heard in the Joppatowne civil court system.
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Parties We Could Hold Liable for Nursing Home Abuse
Before we can help you recover compensation on behalf of your loved one, we must determine who caused their suffering. We can use evidence to prove their fault, such as video footage and witness testimonies. Parties who could be held liable for your loved one’s nursing home abuse include:
- A staff member of the nursing home
- Another nursing home resident
- Someone who visits the nursing home
- A nurse or doctor
- The nursing home facility
We can hold anyone who hurt your loved one liable. Some factors that could have contributed to nursing home abuse include:
- Lack of adequate training for nursing home staff members
- Failure to background check new employees
- Staff that is overworked and overwhelmed
- Allowing guests to enter the home as they please rather than checking in
- Failure to monitor residents
Our team will determine who contributed to the nursing home abuse your loved one faced. We can prove their negligence was the reason your loved one was injured. Then, we can take legal action against them.
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Reach Out to a Joppatowne Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Today
It is time to take legal action against a nursing home to protect yourself or your loved one and make the liable party pay for their abuse, neglect, and failure to act. So, contact a Joppatowne nursing home abuse lawyer at MD Accident Law to get started on your case.
When you contact us, we can answer your questions and offer you legal advice. Call us today for your no-cost, risk-free consultation.
Call or text (410)777-8960 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form