Proving nursing home neglect involves gathering evidence demonstrating a breach of the duty of care owed to a resident, resulting in harm or a risk of harm. Consider taking the steps below to build a persuasive case.
If your loved ones have suffered from nursing home neglect, contact a qualified attorney as soon as possible. You deserve professional support to navigate this challenging situation and pursue the financial recovery you and your family deserve. An experienced nursing home neglect attorney can guide you through the legal process, helping to ensure that your loved one’s rights are protected and that the responsible parties are held accountable.
Continue reading to learn more about how you can prove nursing home neglect and take the necessary steps toward justice and compensation.
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Nursing Home Abuse Statistics
According to Elder Abuse Statistics and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, nursing home abuse and neglect are at an all-time high, especially over several years.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, nursing homes in the United States receive 94,499 health citations annually. Of the citations issued in one year alone, 7,654 related to abuse, neglect, or exploitation of nursing home residents.
Types of citations that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the year previous included:
- Environmental deficiencies- three percent
- Administration deficiencies- four percent
- Nursing and physician services deficiencies- four percent
- Infection control deficiencies- seven percent
- Freedom from abuse, neglect, and exploitation deficiencies- 80 percent
- Nutrition and dietary deficiencies- eight percent
- Pharmacy service deficiencies- ten percent
- Resident assessment and care planning deficiencies- 14 percent
- Resident night deficiencies- 15 percent
- Quality of life- 27 percent
Nearly 16 percent of nursing home residents report experiencing abuse. In the previous year, American nursing homes were fined $153 million for health violations listed above. This number equaled $10,000 per facility.
The most common type of abuse reported by nursing home residents was physical abuse. The next type of abuse was psychological abuse.
Reports show that older people living with dementia are the most vulnerable population in United States nursing homes. As many as 50 percent of people with dementia experienced some type of nursing home abuse.
Nursing homes pose a higher risk of abuse than other care facilities, including assisted living facilities.
What Constitutes Neglect?
First, to prove neglect, you must understand what constitutes nursing home neglect. Neglect in a nursing home typically involves failing to provide necessary care or services, which can lead to harm. General examples of nursing home neglect can include:
- Nutritional neglect happens when a facility fails to provide adequate food or water, leading to malnutrition or dehydration.
- Hygiene neglect happens when the facility fails to assist with bathing, grooming, or cleaning.
- Emotional neglect happens if caretakers ignore or isolate residents.
- Medical neglect might be the most common type of nursing home neglect. Medical neglect happens when the facility fails to provide necessary medical care, medication, or attention to a resident’s chronic health conditions.
- Sexual abuse happens in nursing homes. Sexual abuse is when non-consensual sexual contact, harassment, inappropriate touching, or coercion into sexual acts from nursing home staff to residents.
- Financial exploitation happens when a nursing home staff member uses a resident’s finances or assets without authorization. Financial exploitation can also present itself as theft, coercion into changing a will, or misuse of funds.
- Healthcare fraud is also a form of nursing home abuse. Healthcare fraud includes improper or fraudulent actions by healthcare providers. An example of healthcare fraud includes overcharging for services or billing for care not provided to the resident.
What Are “Red Flags” For Nursing Home Abuse?
There are some serious red flags that you should not ignore. Contact an nursing home neglect attorney immediately if you notice any of the following issues when visiting a family member in their care facility.
- Overmedication or signs of chemical restraint.
- Emotional withdrawal, fear, or anxiety around staff.
- Poor hygiene or soiled clothing.
- Bedsores or pressure ulcers.
- Sudden weight loss or signs of malnutrition.
- Unexplained injuries, bruises, or frequent falls.
What Evidence Do I Need To Prove Nursing Home Neglect?
If you suspect nursing home neglect, start gathering evidence. Proving nursing home neglect requires that your present evidence shows the facility failed to meet the standard of care, resulting in harm or an increased risk of harm. Here is a breakdown of the key types of evidence that can support a neglect claim:
Witness Statements
Having witness statements available can strengthen your case for compensation. You can collect evidence from other residents who may have observed the neglect or abuse. There may be family observations and logs or verbal accounts from family members who visit the facility. Statements from current or former employees about poor practices or inadequate staffing.
Photographic and Video Evidence
A picture (or video) is worth a thousand words. You should try to get photographic evidence of the resident’s physical injuries, including clear images of bedsores, bruises, cuts, or infections. If neglect is due to unclean living conditions, gather pictures of unsanitary living spaces, soiled bedding, or poor hygiene. Images showing malnourishment, dehydration, or poor grooming can help your loved one’s case.
Medical Records
Evidence of medical records can help prove your nursing home neglect claim. Records showing untreated wounds, bruises, or fractures can help prove your loved one’s unexplained injuries. Medical records also show neglect due to missed medications because they will show documentation of skipped or improper dosages. Some records might have notes that indicate significant weight loss, poor hydration, or lack of necessary dietary care. Finally, medical records might show evidence of pressure ulcers, often resulting from prolonged immobility and lack of attention.
Facility Records
Reviewing nursing home records can help your case. An attorney can collect evidence of staffing schedules, which might show proof of understaffing or a lack of qualified caregivers. Reviewing the facility’s training records might prove that employees lacked adequate training for resident care. Internal documentation about injuries, complaints, or accidents can help build a compensation case. Lastly, evidence from inspection reports can reveal whether the regulatory agency found violations or substandard care at the facility.
Proof of Behavioral Changes
Keep notes of any behavioral changes you observe from your loved one living in a nursing home. Specifically, evidence of emotional or psychological distress, such as withdrawal or fear of staff, sudden changes in behavior or mood, or signs of depression or anxiety, can all help build your case.
Electronic Evidence
If available, video recordings from the facility can provide direct evidence of neglect or abuse. Electronic health records and logs can show missed or delayed treatments. Gathering electronic evidence might be difficult, so having an attorney work for you can strengthen the viability of your claim.
Complaints or Prior Violations
Reports from health or elder care agencies citing safety or care deficiencies or records of prior complaints or lawsuits against the facility will help build your case.
Professional Opinions
You can prove your nursing home negligence complaint through professional opinions. Professionals can confirm that injuries or conditions resulted from neglect. Consultants familiar with industry standards can testify about the facility’s failure to meet these standards, strengthening your case. An attorney can connect you with helpful expert witnesses.
Personal Documentation of Neglect
Record your visits and observations, including the frequency of staff attending to residents, interactions between staff and residents, and any concerns or signs of neglect. Keeping a daily journal with detailed notes about changes in the resident’s physical or emotional state.
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How Can I Strengthen My Nursing Home Neglect Case?
Ensuring you get the best results from your nursing home case is important. To get the best results, consider taking these steps:
- Act promptly because evidence may degrade over time, including injuries healing and documents being altered or lost.
- Consult lawyers or medical professionals to help guide you throughout the investigation.
- File a complaint and report the incident to regulatory agencies that can create an official record of your concerns.
How Can An Attorney Help Me Prove Nursing Home Neglect?
An attorney experienced in nursing home neglect cases can be instrumental in helping you build a compelling case. Here is how an attorney can support your case:
The nursing home neglect attorney you choose will evaluate your situation to determine whether the nursing home failed to meet its duty of care and whether harm occurred. An attorney will identify if you have sufficient grounds to file a lawsuit based on available evidence.
Your nursing home neglect lawyer can help by filing a subpoena for medical records, facility logs, incident reports, and other critical documents. An attorney can interview witnesses, such as staff members, other residents, and family members, to build a narrative of neglect. Your lawyer will work with professionals, forensic specialists, or nursing home industry professionals to analyze evidence and provide credible testimony.
Help Prove Your Negligence Claim
An attorney will establish the elements of a negligence claim for you. Nursing home abuse cases are negligent claims, and to win a negligence claim, you must prove each element of negligence, including:
Duty of Care
Plaintiffs must show that the nursing home had a legal obligation to provide adequate care.
Breach of Duty
An attorney can demonstrate how the facility failed to meet adequate standards of care.
Causation
Your attorney can link the breach of care to the harm or injury your loved one suffered.
Damages
An attorney can quantify the harm, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses the resident may have suffered.
An attorney can pinpoint whether the nursing home’s policies, staff negligence, or corporate practices contributed to the neglect. An attorney will determine if external vendors, like food suppliers or contractors, played a role in the neglect or abuse.
Help Handle All Legal Procedures
Having a nursing home neglect lawyer will allow you to focus on your recovery while they handle the legal procedures. They will prepare and file necessary legal documents, such as complaints or petitions, within the statute of limitations. Attorneys can negotiate with the nursing home’s insurance company or legal team to secure fair compensation. If a settlement is not possible, they will represent you in court, presenting evidence and making a convincing case before a judge or jury.
An attorney can guide you in filing complaints with agencies like Adult Protective Services, state licensing boards, etc. They will leverage past violations or regulatory citations as evidence of systemic neglect.
Pursue Compensation
If your case is severe, your attorney will collect compensation for you. If applicable, an attorney will recover your economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
Economic damages typically include medical bills, additional required care for your loved one, and the cost of relocation. Non-economic losses in nursing home abuse cases can usually include compensation for pain and suffering or emotional trauma.
Punitive damages are not always available in these cases. Speak to your nursing home neglect lawyer to learn more about the availability of punitive damages in your case. Courts usually only award punitive damages to plaintiffs in negligent cases when the behavior is outrageous.
Protecting Resident Rights
Attorneys will help their clients pursuing a nursing home abuse case by ensuring that the nursing home cannot retaliate against the resident or suppress evidence during the legal process. They will also take steps to protect the resident’s rights and maintain the integrity of the case throughout the investigation and litigation.
Why Does Hiring an Attorney Matter?
When protecting your loved one who lives in a nursing home, hiring an attorney is important to the potential success of your claim.
An attorney can guide you because they understand the complex laws and regulations that govern nursing home neglect. They have access to investigators, professionals, and tools to uncover hidden evidence of neglect. Attorneys will fight for justice, hold facilities accountable for substandard care, and work to prevent future neglect.
Contact a Nursing Home Neglect Attorney Today!
You and your family are not alone in your effort to hold negligent nursing home facilities for causing your loved one harm. Having legal representation will help improve your odds of getting the financial and legal recovery that you deserve after experiencing nursing home neglect. Do not delay. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney today.