According to the New York State Department of Health, abuse in nursing homes is becoming a more common problem that needs to be addressed. The state government is investigating to try to determine the cause of the abuse and why it is becoming such a widespread problem. Nursing home abuse can include a wide variety of problems such as physical, mental, and emotional harm to nursing home residents.
If your loved one suffers abuse in a nursing home, this can lead to ongoing mental, physical, and financial health issues. Fortunately, you can take legal action to hold the nursing home responsible. Consult with a New York nursing home abuse lawyer to see what your legal options are. Contact Ben Crump Law, PLLC at 800-959-1444 to discuss your case with our team.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse
The key to preventing nursing home abuse is understanding what is happening and how it starts. There are multiple types of nursing home abuse, and the 6th District of New York is beginning its investigation into conditions with the nursing homes across the state. The types of nursing home abuse can include:
- Senior abuse: Any type of abuse that is directed at senior citizens can be considered senior abuse. This is a common type of abuse present in nursing homes and is one of the reasons why investigations are starting. Seniors, especially those with mental or physical health conditions, are at the highest risk for being abused.
- Physical abuse: Any abuse that results in physical harm to nursing home residents. Physical abuse is usually suspected when physical symptoms develop, which include bruises, cuts, or burns, among other options.
- Neglect: When in the care of nursing facilities, residents can expect a specific level of care. If they are not given access to the care that they need, this is considered neglect. Since the number of nursing home residents is rising, there are not enough care providers and the number of cases involving neglect are increasing.
- Financial abuse: Financial abuse happens when someone uses seniors’ credentials to access their financial accounts and take their money without permission. Financial abuse is also becoming a larger problem and can leave seniors without the funds to pay for their care.
- Emotional abuse: Emotional abuse is any type of action that is designed to cause harm to seniors’ emotional state. Some people use authority to control mental states of seniors to help make them more compliant with staff members.
There are other types of abuse not covered on this list. If you think that your loved one is experiencing nursing home abuse, investigate the situation immediately. Early intervention is the key to minimizing the negative effects.
For a free legal consultation with a nursing home abuse lawyer serving New York, call 800-712-9119
Causes of Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home abuse can be caused by several factors. Perhaps the leading reason why abuse happens is related to staffing nursing homes. There are not enough staff members available to fill all the positions across the country. Because of this, most nursing homes are understaffed, leaving fewer staff members to handle more people than that they are capable of caring for. This often leads to cases of neglect because nursing home staff are stretched too thin to provide the adequate level of care that seniors need.
Being understaffed and overworked can make nursing home staff members stressed, irritated, and frustrated by the conditions they work in. Because of this, some staff members can turn to abuse as a way of trying to control patients. Better training may make staff members more capable of handling larger workloads as well as managing stress on the job.
Another potential cause of nursing home abuse, particularly financial abuse, is that nursing home staff members are not highly paid. Added to the stress of being understaffed, many of these staff members struggle to make ends meet at their current pay rates. This can push staff members to look for ways of preying on seniors to find more money, including stealing it from nursing home residents.
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Determining Liability
Determining liability in a nursing home abuse case depends on the specifics of the situation. In most cases, the staff member that is committing the abuse is held liable. There are also cases where the facility can be held liable as well if it knew about the abuse and did not act to prevent it. When your lawyer files the case, he or she will determine who to file a case against and collect the appropriate evidence to support that decision. Call today for your free case review.
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Statute of Limitations
When your loved one experiences nursing home abuse, you are likely to remove them from that facility. You are also likely to provide additional medical care in the process. Doing so can be expensive, which is why many relatives of seniors that are abused in nursing homes file civil suits to collect compensation. You have the right to file a lawsuit, which can recover compensation to help you deal with these expenses. However, you have a limited amount of time to do so.
This time limit is called the statute of limitations, and it changes based on local and state regulations. In the state of New York, you have three years from the day of the incident to file a lawsuit. This can also be extended if you do not find out that a medical condition or other problem develops related to abuse until after it occurs. For example, taking your loved one to see a doctor a month after taking them out of the facility and finding out about the abuse changes when the statute of limitations starts. You will have three years from the date you find out about the condition to file the case.
It is important to give your lawyer as much time as possible to build the case. Collecting evidence and developing a case can be time-consuming. The longer you wait to start the process, the less likely you are to be able to collect all of the evidence that you need and talk to witnesses before the statute of limitations. Consult with a New York nursing home abuse lawyer as soon as possible to ensure that he or she has as much time as they need.
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Dealing with nursing home abuse can be a stressful and expensive process. You do not have to shoulder the burden of these expenses. File a civil lawsuit and hold the at-fault party responsible to collect compensation, which will help you afford those expenses. Consult a New York nursing home abuse lawyer to discuss your legal options. You can contact Ben Crump Law, PLLC at 800-959-1444 for a free consultation about your case.
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