Steps you can take to build your nursing home abuse case

Nursing home abuse and neglect goes undetected far too often. The statistics are nothing short of scary. As a result, innocent, unsuspecting, and vulnerable individuals are often left in harm’s way with no accountability. These elderly loved ones can suffer extensive injuries, too, that leave them with physical and emotional pain and suffering and worsened medical conditions that could prove fatal.

This is unacceptable, to say the least, but unless you take action, your loved one could be left abused and neglected without the protection that he or she desperately needs. Therefore, if you suspect that your loved one has been subjected to nursing home abuse or neglect, then you should do everything you can to take legal steps to bring the behavior in question to a stop, find accountability, and recover compensation. How do you do that? Read on to learn more.

Building your nursing home abuse or neglect case

To best position your legal claim for success, you need to be proactive in building your case. One of the biggest parts of building your case is gathering evidence. Here are a few things that you can do to gather the evidence you need to support your claim:

• Document what you observe: Your suspicions about abuse and neglect have probably come from your observations of your loved one. One way to make sure that you document bruising, bedsores, and other indicia of neglect or abuse is to take photographs. When you do so, make sure that you’re noting when the photographs were taken, what it’s a picture of, the surrounding circumstances, and what your loved one and the nursing home’s staff have to say about the injuries.
• Talk to other residents: By talking to other residents, you might get a clearer sense of what living the nursing home is like. These individuals may prove to be not only insightful, but also powerful witnesses who can help you better establish the foundation of your loved one’s case.
• Ask questions: Don’t be afraid to confront nursing home staff to get their explanations. Again, be sure that you’re documenting what they say, as it may prove helpful to you later down the road if your loved one’s case ends up heading into negotiations or litigation.
• Track damages: This can be a tricky thing to do in the context of nursing home abuse and neglect. After all, your elderly loved one doesn’t have any wages that have been lost. But he or she will probably still have medical expenses, especially if the injuries or medical condition in question led to hospitalization. Additionally, nursing home abuse and neglect causes extensive noneconomic damages that have to be taken into account. This primarily relates to pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment of life, which you can be shown through changes to your loved one’s behavior and demeanor. Even the onset of a mental health condition could be the result of nursing home neglect and abuse.

Do you and your loved one need legal assistance?

We know that in the aftermath of nursing home abuse and neglect, victims’ loved ones are infuriated and they want answers. That can make it hard for them to focus on the legal realities that are at hand. However, the good news is that they don’t have to bear the burden of a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit on their own. Instead, they can work closely with a legal team like ours that is well versed in this area of the law. That way, their attorney can focus on building the compelling legal arguments that are needed to increase the chances of finding accountability and recovering compensation. If you think that you and your loved one could benefit from that kind of representation, then now may be the time to speak with an attorney of your choosing.