Newport News Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
As Americans continue to age and life expectancy grows, the populations of nursing homes and assisted living centers continue to climb. Though elder care is indeed a booming and lucrative business, the desire for a profit does not relieve institutional senior caregivers from their responsibility to deliver a high level of care to our loved ones who can no longer fend for themselves. Nursing home residents have rights and specific protections under the law, which may provide compensation if those who care for them fail in that duty. This not only includes senior care institutions, but those who provide private in-home senior care services, such as private nurses. If an elderly family member has been a victim of abuse or neglect from caregivers in Virginia, an experienced Newport News nursing home abuse lawyer can help you to file a personal injury claim and hold the proper parties accountable for their actions.
When Should You Consult a Newport News Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer?
In the past several years, many respected news organizations have exposed institutional senior abuse, injury, and abandonment from which many senior citizens suffer. A wide variety of harms are caused by these negligent or willfully neglectful health care providers, including:
- Pressure ulcers
- Falls
- Malnutrition
- Dehydration
- Medication errors
- Infections
In recent years, state and federal legislators have passed new laws and regulations to assure that patients receive appropriate care, and that offending senior care centers are held accountable, both criminally and in civil courts. If your loved one is a patient in a Newport News area nursing home or assisted living facility and has been the victim of abuse or neglect, a Newport News nursing home abuse attorney who is a skilled litigator can help obtain well-deserved compensation and prevent the same thing from happening to others.
The Difference between Neglect and Abuse
Abuse is classified as someone taking direct action against another that causes harm. In this case that includes a member of a senior care center’s staff disregarding the senior citizen’s welfare. Neglect, on the other hand, involves inaction or inattentiveness to the nursing home resident’s welfare.
A duty of care must also be determined. If that duty is breached by a nursing home or assisted living employee, or even vendors or contractors, the violator and the facility may potentially be exposed to malpractice lawsuits. Damages that plaintiffs can collect in malpractice suits include medical costs (past, present, and future), along with non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. Punitive damages may also be awarded if the offense is particularly egregious.
Before proceeding with nursing home injury cases, a review of the victim’s medical records is critical. All family members, friends, and any other witnesses should be interviewed and the documentation of the elder’s treatment must be secured. Any third party investigations by government authorities or previous complaints against the center must be reviewed. The longer you wait to call a Newport News nursing home abuse attorney after you discover your elder family member has suffered abuse, the more difficult it becomes to gather the evidence necessary to prove your case.
Talk to a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
If you suspect that your loved one is the victim of abuse, be sure to voice your concerns to a nurse, supervisor, the director of nursing, and/or the facility administrator until they are satisfactorily addressed. If they are not, your relative could be in danger and you should instruct the facility to immediately transfer him or her to a hospital. If that becomes necessary and you strongly suspect negligence or abuse, contact a Newport News lawyer with experience in representing victims of nursing home abuse.
You may want to contact the adult protective services (APS) section of your local department of social services or the Virginia Department of Health to investigate the neglect or abuse. A government investigation could help you to strengthen your case and these agencies have instant access to documents and witnesses that may not be readily available to you.
When a health care provider or any trusted advisor takes advantage of an elderly person’s trust and confidence, they should be held accountable. This often happens to senior citizens who depend on others for assistance with their daily living, and there are even instances where predators attach themselves to an elderly person’s financial affairs, thus taking advantage of their elderly charge’s trust in order to embezzle or steal funds, property, or other assets. If your mother, father, or any elderly relative is suffering from nursing home abuse or senior care abuse, protect them with the help of a skilled personal injury attorney. Call Price Benowitz LLP, Virginia today at (703) 543-9615 for a free case evaluation and to explore your potential for a claim. If a loved one has died because of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact a Newport News nursing home abuse lawyer who handles wrongful death cases.
