Atlanta Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Finding out that your loved one has not been getting the care they deserve and need can be a heartbreaking and infuriating experience. Choosing to place a loved one in a nursing home can be a difficult and emotional process, so finding out that the location—often chosen after careful research and debate—is not doing its job can be especially disappointing. This is one of the most important decisions that people make about their loved one’s care, and having your trust broken is often a terrible experience.

If you’re in this unfortunate position, it may be time to find an Atlanta nursing home abuse lawyer who can tackle your case and help your family get the compensation they need.

When Should I Call an Atlanta Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer?

It’s not always easy to tell if abuse is taking place. If the patient of a nursing home has trouble communicating about their experiences, it may take some time for family members to understand the extent of the damages and the seriousness of the situation.

If you are seeing signs of neglect and abuse, chances are that there are even more incidents happening that you haven’t witnessed. The time to call an Atlanta nursing home abuse attorney is as soon as you suspect that there’s a problem. A lawyer can examine the details of your case and let you know if it is sufficient for a lawsuit. They can also help you figure out what kinds of evidence to look for and how to document it in a way that will make your case as strong and focused as possible.

What Are the Warning Signs of Nursing Home Abuse?

The first signs that something is amiss in a nursing home setting may be subtle, and it can be difficult to differentiate signs of abuse from the fragile state that many nursing home residents face. Not all of the warning signs of abuse are guarantees that abuse is taking place, so it’s important to look at the full picture and keep an eye on progress (or lack of progress) over time. While many of the warning signs of abuse can also be the result of a legitimate health concern that the nursing home cannot control, multiple red flags taken together are often a sign that neglect and abuse are present.

• Diminished Mental Capacity: Many victims of nursing home abuse struggle to communicate clearly about what’s happening to them, and the impacts of neglect or abuse may mean that those struggles are even more pronounced. If your loved one shows a marked decline in mental capacity, it could be a red flag.
• Broken Bones: While accidents happen, nursing homes are supposed to be safe spaces for residents that will protect them from falls and injury. If your loved one is suffering from fractures as a result of falls, that could be a warning that they aren’t receiving the supervision and care they need.
• Malnutrition and Dehydration: One area where neglect can have a huge impact is in nutrition. If your loved one is not receiving adequate food and water intake, they may be showing signs of malnutrition and dehydration. These can indicate neglect and abuse.
• Bed Sores: One of the most common signs of nursing home abuse is bed sores. These injuries occur when individuals spend too much time in one position without getting adequate attention to move around and promote healthful blood flow and muscle use.
• Medication Mismanagement: One of the main reasons individuals receive nursing home care is that they cannot adequately manage their health needs on their own. If the nursing home is making mistakes with medication, providing medication at the wrong time or in the wrong dosage, or failing to deliver medication as needed, it can be a major concern.
• Secretive Behavior: If the staff at the nursing home are being secretive or trying to hide details of care, it could be a sign that there is neglect and abuse that is being covered up.
• Preventable Death: Unfortunately, sometimes the extent of a nursing home’s neglect and abuse is not known until the patient dies from it. If your loved one died in a nursing home and the circumstances seem suspicious (such as a choking death), it may indicate they were not getting the supervision they needed to remain safe.

Different Types of Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home patients are vulnerable to a range of abuse, and it’s important to understand the possible categories.

• Emotional Abuse: Nursing home patients who are being belittled, berated, or verbally mistreated are victims of emotional abuse.
• Physical Abuse: If a nursing home patient has been assaulted or physically mistreated, they are victims of physical abuse.
• Sexual Abuse: Sexual misconduct on the part of the nursing home staff or the failure to protect a nursing home patient from sexual misconduct by another resident are both forms of sexual abuse.
• Medical Malpractice: Nursing homes are often staffed by physicians and nurses who have a duty of care under their profession. Failure to uphold this duty is medical malpractice.

Wrongful Death: If a nursing home patient dies while in the nursing home’s care, there may be a wrongful death case if the death was found to be preventable and related to neglect or abuse.

Who Is Responsible for Injuries From Nursing Home Abuse?

There may be many people responsible for nursing home abuse. Obviously, any individual willfully and intentionally inflicting physical, emotional, or sexual abuse on a patient is responsible for those actions, but the responsibility likely does not end there. If the facility failed to adequately screen staff before hiring them or neglected to provide adequate ongoing training for staff, they can be held responsible for their inaction as well. The responsibility can be spread across the facility including up to its off-site corporate offices, if they exist. Nursing home facilities may also have partnerships with physicians in other medical institutions, and those institutions may be responsible for any care overseen by their staff.

Top-Rated Atlanta Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Near You

If you’re facing the difficult situation of a loved one being abused by a nursing home, it can be overwhelming and confusing. Reaching out to a qualified and experienced lawyer can help make things easier and provide you with peace of mind and focused, actionable steps.

Reach out right away to schedule a free consultation.