When people cannot care for a parent or grandparent, they might feel that the best option is to choose a facility where their loved one can receive round-the-clock care. Relatives expect nursing home employees to be well-trained, attentive, and compassionate. They expect their loved one to receive quality care and respectful treatment. Unfortunately, nursing home residents often suffer from abuse.
Elder abuse can take many forms, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA). It could take the form of physical, sexual, emotional, or financial mistreatment, or their abuser might subject them to more than one type. In many cases, relatives are unaware of what has happened to their loved one, and the abuse continues for months—even years.
If your loved one suffered abuse while living in a nursing home, an Austin nursing home abuse lawyer could help your family pursue justice. Ben Crump Law, PLLC, has represented the families of vulnerable people who suffered abuse and exploitation in nursing homes. We could help you file a personal injury lawsuit against the facility to seek financial compensation. Call our office today at (800) 712-9119 to speak with a staff member.
Types of Abuse that Can Occur in Nursing Homes
People who live in long-term care facilities may experience numerous forms of mistreatment. The list of potential perpetrators is lengthy: staff members, fellow residents, or people who come to the facility to work or visit other patients.
Overmedication
Overmedicating residents has become a serious problem in nursing homes. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), overwhelmed employees might give antipsychotic medications to residents with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, even though they do not have a psychiatric disorder. Those drugs can keep seniors docile and make them easier to manage, but they could also cause harmful side effects and dangerous interactions with other medications that patients take.
Physical
Senior citizens in nursing homes may experience physical abuse that consists of:
- Hitting
- Pushing
- Slapping
- Hair-pulling
- Kicking
- Other forms of corporal punishment
Sexual
Caregivers or nursing home workers might abuse residents sexually. They might force residents to participate in sexual acts or watch others engage in them. Abusers might also touch seniors inappropriately, watch or photograph them undressing, and subject them to verbal sexual harassment.
Emotional
Emotional abuse is common in nursing homes. Employees might yell at patients, call them names, threaten them, humiliate seniors in front of others, or deny them the ability to communicate with their relatives and spend time socializing with other residents.
Financial
Financial abuse also affects many elderly residents of long-term care facilities. Many nursing home inhabitants have amassed significant sums of money through decades of saving and investing. They might no longer manage their financial affairs because of cognitive decline, making them vulnerable to exploitation by others.
An employee or another individual may offer to help seniors manage their finances. Instead, they empty residents’ bank accounts, use their credit cards, write checks, and access patients’ funds in other ways to purchase items or pay personal bills. A perpetrator may also steal and sell items that belong to residents.
If you suspect your loved one suffered abuse at their facility, an Austin nursing home abuse lawyer could help you fight for the justice and compensation your family deserves. Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC, today to learn more.
For a free legal consultation with a nursing home abuse lawyer serving Austin, call 800-712-9119
How Nursing Home Abuse Can Occur
The Texas Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) identified the risk factors for spotting nursing home abuse potential at a facility.
Many long-term care facilities face understaffing issues because of the work’s demanding nature and low pay. Short-staffed nursing homes may cut corners in the hiring process or fail to conduct thorough background checks, leading to hiring workers with a history of abusing residents. After hiring new employees, managers might rush them into work and not provide appropriate training.
Understaffing can also lead to inadequate supervision. When employees feel overwhelmed and rush to complete tasks, they might not realize when a staff member has disappeared and assume that they are busy working in another part of the building. That can create opportunities for workers to abuse vulnerable residents without detection.
Sometimes, nursing home employees and managers cover up allegations of abuse. Workers may lie to protect each other. Managers may refuse to investigate alleged wrongdoing or conduct sham investigations not intended to uncover the truth. Nursing home administrators may fail to report credible abuse claims to the appropriate authorities because of concerns about negative publicity and expensive lawsuits. In some cases, employees might even threaten or punish victims to silence them and send a warning to others who also suffered abuse, so they will not report their experiences.
Austin Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Near Me 800-712-9119
How an Austin Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Can Help
At Ben Crump Law, PLLC, we understand the devastation that elder abuse can cause an entire family. We have represented abuse victims and helped them seek justice.
Our team can investigate what happened to your family member. We can speak with your loved one if they can communicate. We can also interview you, other relatives, fellow residents, and other people who might provide useful information. Our staff can also review records related to hiring, employee training, and disciplinary actions.
If we uncover evidence of your loved one’s abuse, we could file a personal injury lawsuit against the nursing home. We might seek financial awards to cover:
- Medical costs associated with the abuse
- Reimbursement of stolen assets
- Moving expenses to another facility
- Your loved one’s pain and suffering
Click to contact our Austin Personal Injury Lawyers today
Contact an Austin Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
Abuse victims and their families sometimes do not hire an attorney and seek financial compensation because they think that they cannot afford legal fees. You should not let concerns about cost stop you from pursuing justice for your loved one.
Ben Crump Law, PLLC, works on a contingency basis. If you work with one of our Austin nursing home abuse lawyers to file a personal injury suit, your family will not have to pay any upfront fees. We will only collect payment if we obtain a financial award on behalf of your loved one.
The law limits the amount of time available to take legal action. According to the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003, the statute of limitations to file a personal injury lawsuit is two years. Contact Ben Crump Law, PLLC, today at (800) 712-9119 for a free case review with a team member.
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