Nursing home abuse is a growing problem in the United States. More facilities face staffing issues and provide inadequate training for the tasks asked of their employees. With staff stretched thin, many nursing homes have tense environments, pushing employees to commit nursing home abuse.
If your loved one suffered injuries resulting from nursing home abuse, you might be able to file a lawsuit to recover compensation for any related expenses. You can contact a Los Angeles nursing home abuse lawyer for advice. Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC, today at 800-959-1444 to speak with a member of our team. We do not charge anything for initial consultations. We would love to answer any questions that you may have.
Forms of Nursing Home Abuse
Seniors living in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes, are at risk for abuse and forms of neglect. Dealing with abuse can prove difficult since it is not always easy to see. However, your loved one could experience distinct forms of nursing home abuse that you can observe and address:
- Neglect: Neglect happens when staff members do not provide the required amount or type of care. Understaffed nursing homes could inadvertently neglect their residents, as fewer staff members must cover the needs of a larger patient population.
- Financial abuse: Financial abuse happens when staff members steal seniors’ assets or fraudulently access their financial accounts, leaving residents without the funds to afford their care.
- Emotional abuse: Emotional abuse is an attack on a person’s emotional and mental state. Emotional abuse can cause long-term problems that take extensive therapy to correct.
- Verbal abuse: Verbal abuse is using language to attack someone’s mental state. Intimidation and harassment are common forms of verbal abuse.
- Sexual abuse: Sexual abuse can range from rape to unwanted touching or innuendo. Since most seniors cannot defend themselves, they make relatively easy targets for this type of abuse.
Any type of abuse is unacceptable, and authorities should deal with abuse as soon as possible. Early intervention can reduce the impact of different forms of abuse. With proper care, your loved one can overcome the effects of abuse over time. With abuse becoming a bigger problem in nursing homes across the country, you need to maintain vigilance about your loved one’s care.
For a free legal consultation with a nursing home abuse lawyer serving Los Angeles, call 800-712-9119
Prevalence
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), 51 percent of certified nursing assistants (CNA) surveyed admitted to yelling at nursing home residents. This number only accounts for one form of abuse that some staff members admitted to committing. The difficulty in addressing problems with abuse is that much of it goes unreported. Without more detailed information, developing a plan to combat nursing home abuse becomes challenging.
Nursing home abuse can take several forms, but all revolve around trying to control seniors. For example, many cases of staff members yelling at residents have to do with being frustrated and trying to get an older adult to do something. This reaction is unacceptable, but it could highlight underlying problems with staffing and training.
Some organizations attempt to find better ways of identifying and stopping abuse. Training is a common concern for these groups. Many think that by changing the facility’s training practices, staff members will come to work better prepared to handle the environment and become less likely to abuse elderly residents.
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Legal Actions
Abuse can lead to a lawsuit if you can identify who the abuser is. In most cases, you can hold the abusive staff member liable for your loved one’s injuries. There are also situations where you can hold the nursing home responsible as well. If the facility knew about the problem and did not address it, it may be possible to sue the facility as well.
To clarify who has liability in your loved one’s nursing home abuse case, you can consult a Los Angeles nursing home abuse lawyer. Every case is slightly different, and your case’s details can significantly affect how you should file it. Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC, to learn more from a team member.
You have a limited amount of time to file your lawsuit. There is a statute of limitations, or legal time limit, for how long you have to file. If you miss the deadline, the court could reject your case. In California, CIV § 335.1 sets a two-year time limit to file a nursing home abuse lawsuit.
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Causes
Workplace stress is one of the biggest causes of nursing home abuse. A facility could have too few staff members to provide adequate care for everyone. Having to carry multiple people’s workload can stress a nursing home worker, who often also faces financial stress due to being underpaid. This financial stress could explain why many abusers turn to financial abuse.
The lack of training that staff members receive also could lead them to abuse residents. If the training is inadequate, it will not prepare them for the work that they need to do. Training could focus more on handling patients so that staff can deal with many of the most stressful situations without resorting to abuse.
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Understanding Your Rights
At no point is it acceptable for your loved one to suffer abuse at a nursing home. If it happens to your family member, you have the right to sue for compensation. That compensation can help protect you from the financial burden of dealing with the abuse. You should not have to handle those economic costs alone, especially since the nursing home violated its responsibilities.
Discuss Your Case with Our Legal Team
If your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse, you could receive compensation related to the abuse, such as their medical bills, mental health therapy, and moving expenses to a new facility.
Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC, at 800-959-1444 today for a free case review from a staff member. Our Los Angeles nursing home abuse lawyers can support you throughout this difficult time. There is no cost for the initial consultation or any legal services unless we help you receive a settlement or win your case in court.
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