(914) 220-1086There may come a time in your life (or the life of a family member) where a higher level of care is necessary. Nursing homes can be a great place to live, offering medical care, assistance with daily tasks, and opportunities for socialization. Unfortunately, nursing homes are also chronically understaffed, which raises the risk of abuse.
Nursing home abuse can take many forms, ranging from physical abuse to sexual abuse to purposeful neglect or deprivation. If your loved one has experienced nursing home abuse, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the facility. Our skilled New York nursing home abuse attorneys will fight to get you compensation for medical bills, future medical treatment, moving expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses.
At the Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan, we work hard to help our nursing home abuse clients get top dollar for their losses. We offer free initial consultations and never charge a fee unless we recover money for you. Reach out to our law firm today to schedule an appointment with our New York personal injury lawyers.
The Scope of the Problem: Nursing Home Abuse
Elder abuse is a growing problem in the United States, particularly as our population continues to age. There are several different types of elder abuse:
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional/psychological abuse
- Confinement
- Passive neglect
- Willful deprivation
- Financial exploitation
This abuse can happen in any number of situations, including in nursing homes. Older people are often more vulnerable to abuse, as are adults with disabilities.
Studies suggest that 10% of all people over the age of 65 experience some form of abuse. These rates are often higher in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. In several different studies, 40 to 50% of all nursing home employees admit to mistreating residents. Another study found that 44% of nursing home residents stated that they had been abused, while 95% stated that they had either been neglected or seen another resident neglected.
Common injuries associated with nursing home abuse include:
- Bruises, burns, and welts
- Fractures and broken bones
- Cuts or lacerations
- Dental injuries
- Unexplained sexually transmitted diseases
- Facial injuries
Nursing home abuse can also be devastating emotionally. A nursing home resident who is abused might become depressed or withdrawn, or show signs of unusual agitation. They may become anxious, especially around certain caregivers. A nursing home resident who experienced abuse may also become non-responsive or show signs of confusion.
Beyond physical abuse, willful neglect of a resident can also be a form of abuse. If a nursing home resident has bedsores, dehydration, poor hygiene, or unexplained weight loss, it could be a sign of neglect. In some cases, this neglect was purposeful, which makes it abusive.
If your loved one is at a nursing home, it is important to be vigilant for any signs of abuse. If you believe that they are being abused or neglected, you should take action to protect them. Once you have them in a safe place, you may consider consulting with a New York nursing home abuse lawyer about taking legal action.
Understanding Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuits
A nursing home abuse lawsuit is a type of personal injury claim. Essentially, you can pursue legal action if you suffer any type of harm from another person’s negligent, intentional, or reckless conduct.
With nursing home abuse cases, the case will likely be based on intentional or reckless conduct. If a staff member hits a resident, for example, that isn’t just negligent (careless) behavior. You can still file a lawsuit against the nursing home, the employee, and any other responsible parties for your losses if someone intentionally hurt you or your loved one.
In this type of claim, the injured victim (plaintiff) brings a claim against the responsible party (defendant). In some cases, the plaintiff can file the lawsuit themselves with the help of a lawyer. In other cases, a family member may bring the lawsuit on behalf of the injured nursing home resident because of competence issues.
Generally, the plaintiff has the burden of proving that the defendant was responsible for their injuries. Our experienced nursing home abuse lawyers will gather evidence to support your claim. This may include medical records, photos and videos, police reports, witness statements, and other evidence.
At this stage, we will typically send a demand letter to the nursing home and its insurance company. This letter sets out the facts of the case and the legal reasons why the defendant is liable for the plaintiff’s injuries. It then concludes with a demand for damages (compensation).
Most personal injury lawsuits are resolved outside of court. This is also true for nursing home abuse lawsuits. Most nursing homes and insurance companies don’t want to risk going to trial, where the details of the abuse may become public. The focus of the case is often on negotiating the best possible settlement.
It may be necessary to file a formal lawsuit. This step is important when it comes to protecting your legal rights, as there is a 3-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims in New York. It also allows the parties to learn more about the case through the discovery process.
During discovery, each side exchanges information with the other about various aspects of the case. Our lawyers may uncover facts about the incident that further support your claim, such as negligent hiring or negligent supervision. This may increase the pressure on the nursing home to offer a fair settlement for your injuries.
Throughout the process, our law firm will keep you informed of exactly what is happening. We will fiercely advocate for your rights, working hard to get you the compensation that you deserve. We understand how devastating nursing home abuse can be and are committed to protecting our clients’ interests.
Why You Should File a Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit
When nursing home abuse is uncovered, it is often the subject of a criminal investigation. The person responsible may even be charged with a crime and spend time in prison. In this situation, you may be wondering if it’s necessary to file a separate civil lawsuit.
A criminal charge may help bring a sense of justice when the perpetrator is held accountable for what they did. But in most cases, only the staff member who committed the abuse is charged with a crime. This means that the nursing home itself won’t be held accountable for its own failures (such as not screening job applicants closely enough, not training employees well, or not properly supervising their staff to prevent abuse).
Criminal cases also won’t allow you to recover money for the losses that you experienced as a result of the nursing home abuse. Filing a lawsuit means that you can get compensation for what happened to you. You might even be able to get a special type of compensation that is designed to punish someone who acted intentionally or recklessly.
Through a nursing home abuse claim, you can recover financial compensation for all of your injuries. This may include:
- Economic damages pay for direct financial losses. In a nursing home abuse case, this may include money for medical bills for treatment, physical therapy, long-term care, future medical treatment, and the costs of moving to a new facility. If your loved one died as a result of nursing home abuse, it can also include money for funeral and burial expenses.
- Non-economic damages pay for intangible losses, which can be quite significant in nursing home abuse cases because of the impact of abuse on a victim’s mental health. This can include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional trauma, scarring, and disfigurement.
- Punitive damages punish the facility for intentional or reckless conduct. Punitive damages go beyond your losses to offer additional money for truly outrageous behavior (such as hiring a worker who has a prior conviction for elder abuse).
Of course, money won’t make you or your family whole again. The emotional damage caused by nursing home abuse can be deep and long-lasting.
However, filing a lawsuit against the at-fault nursing home facility will help you gain financial stability. This can be particularly important when you are dealing with the after-effects of the abuse, which may result in a need for a higher level of care or even in-home care. Getting financial compensation can make it easier to move forward after nursing home abuse and to pay for the services that may be necessary to fully recover.
In many cases, the nursing home will want to settle your claim immediately to keep the case out of the news and to avoid disclosing anything in litigation that may be used in a criminal case. Keep in mind that the nursing home will rarely offer you a fair settlement if you don’t have legal representation. They may offer a lowball settlement to try to make the case go away, or to try to convince you not to report the matter to the authorities.
If your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse, you shouldn’t give a statement, sign any paperwork, or make any big legal decisions before you have had a chance to talk to a lawyer. A New York nursing home abuse attorney will evaluate your case and advise you of your legal rights and options. They can also take the lead on communicating with the nursing home, the insurance company, and law enforcement. In this way, they will protect your interests as you seek full compensation for your losses.
Help for Nursing Home Abuse Victims
Older people and people with disabilities are especially vulnerable to abuse. If you decide to put a loved one in a nursing home, you might be shocked to learn that they are being mistreated by staff. Our law firm can help you pursue a nursing home abuse lawsuit to get justice along with financial compensation for your losses.
Based in White Plains, the Law Offices of Thomas L. Gallivan represents nursing home abuse victims throughout New York. We have significant experience in both nursing home abuse and neglect claims, which gives us a unique perspective when it comes to handling these cases. We will use this knowledge to your advantage when litigating a nursing home abuse case against the perpetrator and the nursing home. To learn more or to schedule a free initial consultation with a New York nursing home abuse lawyer, call us at 914-220-1086 or fill out our online contact form.
