ELDER ABUSE ATTORNEY - NURSING HOMES

Our specialist lawyers have detailed experience in dealing with compensation claim settlements for nursing home malpractice. We can help you to get the best representation available anywhere in the country from an expert elder abuse attorney who specializes in clinical negligence compensation claims. Doctors usually provide a high standard of excellence for their patients however there are occasions when things go wrong. Our lawyers deal with claims on a contingency basis which means they don’t get paid unless they succeed. If you would like free telephone advice from an expert just complete the contact form.

The US is an ageing society with birth rates down and the elderly living longer. Many who can no longer care for themselves now rely on long-term care facilities to provide an assisted living environment or full nursing home care. The care home industry has over recent years seen a boom in demand for residential care the majority of which is paid for by Medicaid however there has also been a corresponding increase in demand for the services of an elder abuse attorney due to an increase in the incidence of nursing home malpractice.

Facilities that rely on Medicaid funds must abide by the Health Care Financing Administration regulations which set guidelines for the evaluation, care and treatment of residents, aimed at maximizing the quality of each resident's daily life and minimizing abuse and neglect. Many of the institutions that provide care for the elderly are owned by corporations intent on maximizing profit which often means that there are inadequate numbers of properly qualified staff resulting in elderly or disabled residents receiving inadequate care and attention. Clearly these establishments would not stand up to the scrutiny of an investigation by an elder abuse attorney. Reports submitted to Congress allege that more than one million Americans live in nursing homes where there are not enough nurses and nursing assistants to give good care and 40% of nursing home residents are malnourished or dehydrated because no one helps them eat and drink regularly.

An elder abuse attorney will take legal action for any intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult including physical, sexual, financial, emotional or psychological harm. A vulnerable adult refers to any person aged over 18 years who :

• is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness and ;
  • is or may be unable to take care of him/herself or
  • is unable to protect him/herself against physical harm or serious exploitation.

This behavior is also a violation of an individuals human and civil rights by another person. These actions may not only breach criminal law but can give rise to civil legal action by an elder abuse attorney for malpractice. Examples of this behavior include :

• Physical Abuse
  which is the use of force resulting in bodily injury, physical pain or impairment including striking, hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, and burning. It also includes the inappropriate use of drugs and physical restraints, force-feeding and physical punishment of any kind.
• Sexual Abuse
  is non-consensual sexual contact with an elderly person and includes unwanted touching, rape, sodomy, coerced nudity, and sexually explicit photographing.
• Emotional or Psychological Abuse
  is the infliction of anguish, pain or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts and includes verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, enforced isolation and harassment. It also includes ignoring a vulnerable adult, denying their rights so as to cause distress and the use of racist language.
• Neglect
  is the failure to fulfill any part of a person's obligations, care responsibilities or duties to an elder including failure to provide food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medicine, comfort, personal safety and other essentials.
• Abandonment
  is the desertion of an elderly person by an individual who has assumed responsibility for providing care for an elder or by a person with physical custody of an elder.
• Financial or Material Exploitation
  is the illegal or improper use of an elder's funds, property or assets.

If you would like free advice without obligation from a specialist attorney then just complete the contact form and a member of the Association Of Trial Lawyers of America will telephone you at the first possible opportunity.