Placing a beloved family member in a nursing home can be a frightening experience. You must trust that the facility will maintain a safe environment and provide your loved one with the highest level of professional and compassionate care. Unfortunately, this trust is often violated. In fact, more than half of nursing home residents in the United States report having witnessed or personally been the victim of some type of nursing home abuse or neglect.
If you believe your loved one has suffered at the hands of a trusted caretaker, please contact the nursing home abuse lawyers at Williams & Williams Law Firm at 770-823-2711 to discuss your case for free. We help clients from Alpharetta and Atlanta, Georgia fight for the justice they and their families deserve.
What Is Elderly Abuse?
Nursing homes have an obligation to keep residents safe from physical or mental harm and provide them with the daily care they require. When nursing homes fail to fulfill these obligations, they may be held accountable for their actions in a nursing home abuse lawsuit.
Nursing home abuse and neglect can include:
- Failure to provide adequate food or hydration
- Failure to provide proper medications
- Failure to provide supervision or assistance
- Verbal abuse
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Financial exploitation
- Misuse of restraints
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
You may have suspicions that your family member is suffering from elder abuse or neglect even without them telling you. Many times, elderly victims are reluctant to report abuse because of fear, shame or other reasons. Sometimes victims are physically unable to communicate their experiences. As a family member, you may notice signs that something is wrong, such as:
- Strange behavioral changes
- Bruises and unexplained injuries
- Infections and sepsis
- Dehydration
- Fractures resulting from falls
- Bedsores
- Poor hygiene
- Inattentive staff who fail to answer call lights
- Severe weight loss and malnutrition
- Illegal restraints
- Lack of communication
- Theft of personal property
- Attacks by staff and other patients
Proving Negligence in a Nursing Home Lawsuit
Nursing home cases can involve a broad range of abusive and careless actions, some of which are difficult to prove. While it may be more noticeable when a loved one is suffering from physical abuse, proving instances of neglect is often more complicated. Instead of presenting clear evidence of abuse, such as bruises or broken bones, you must demonstrate that the facility has failed to sufficiently care for your family member.
It is commonly accepted that nursing home residents may gradually decline in health. Even with the best medical care, residents may grow weaker and sicker, so proving that your loved one is receiving inadequate care can be difficult. It can also be challenging for elder abuse victims to be heard in court because the testimony of nursing home patients is not always considered reliable.
Proving negligence in a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit can be difficult. At Williams & Williams Law Firm, our attorneys can help by:
- Thoroughly investigating your case to determine the cause of your loved one’s injuries
- Accessing medical experts who can explain why care was inadequate
- Understanding how to build a strong and compelling case on your behalf
- Drawing on decades of experience proving negligence in personal injury cases
- Turning passion for protecting the rights of the elderly into action on your behalf; we won’t be intimidated by large nursing homes or their legal teams
Call for a Free Consultation with Our Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
Your loved ones deserve adequate care and justice in the face of abuse and neglect. To discuss your case for free with an experienced nursing home abuse attorney, call Williams & Williams Law Firm today at 770-823-2711. We proudly serve the Alpharetta and Atlanta areas of Georgia.
