Nursing homes and assisted living facilities are usually great options for those of us trying to care for our loved ones who can no longer care for themselves. However, you might think twice about this decision when considering that an estimated 4 million senior citizens are affected by physical and/or mental abuse or neglect each year!
A common setting for this misconduct is in nursing homes. When nursing home staff are negligent and cause injury, or even malicious and abusive to residents, what legal recourse do we have?
At The Law Office of Fredson Statmore Bitterman, our team of personal injury attorneys has over 50 years of experience helping nursing home residents and their families to recover compensation for their injuries and damages in towns throughout New Jersey.
Call our office today to discuss your unique needs and concerns when it comes to recovering compensation for any kind of injury or incidence(s) of abuse in a free and confidential consultation with our Bloomfield nursing home abuse lawyers.
Defining Negligence in Nursing Home Abuse Claims
When it comes to recovering compensation for nursing home injuries and abuse, aggrieved party’s and our Bloomfield nursing home injury attorneys will need to prove that negligence or recklessness caused your damages.
To this end, nursing homes fall under “duty of care” laws, and therefore are required to be attentive, watchful, and reasonable when caring for you and your loved ones. Failure to do so will be considered an act of negligence.
Here are some common examples of negligent actions by nursing homes and assisted living facilities in New Jersey:
- Failure to provide secure, hygienic, and decent living conditions
- Failure to provide adequate food and water to keep residents nourished and hydrated
- Failure to properly bathe residents leading to poor personal hygiene
- Inadequate supervision of residents to prevent injurious accidents
- Improperly or inadequately trained staff
- Medical neglect, such as failure to distribute necessary medications or misuse of medical equipment
- Malicious and intentional abuse from staff
- Failure to prevent abuse from other residents
Proving Liability for Assisted Living Neglect and Harm
In broad terms, if the nursing home or assisted living facility has systematically failed to care for your loved on under “duty of care” laws, they may be found negligent as outlined above. Keep in mind that the actions of the staff still fall under the umbrella of finding the nursing home liable so long as they were acting within the guidelines of the institution. However, it is also possible to find third parties liable.
Premises liability – If your loved one was injured as a result of poor security, our personal injury attorneys will examine the details of the case to determine fault. This would generally fall under premises liability, particularly if the nursing home or assisted living facility handled it’s security internally.
Negligent Security – If the above is the case, you may have a negligent security claim against the institution itself. If the nursing home or assisted living facility hired outside security, and that agency did not adhere to their agreement, you may have a claim against that third party security agency as well.
Malfunctioning Medical Equipment – Injuries may occur from improper use or malfunctioning medical equipment. If a nursing home or assisted facility staff member misused medical equipment, they may be found at fault, or the facility may be found at fault if it is shown that there was improper or inadequate training. Additionally, if medical equipment malfunctions, it will need to be determined if the manufacturer or the staff was at fault.
Deliberate Abuse – It is also worth noting that in the case of malicious mistreatment of a resident by a staff member, the nursing home may not be held wholly liable.
This is a complex matter, and one you may want to discuss in greater detail with our Bloomfield assisted living negligence attorneys today.
What Should I Do If I Suspect Nursing Home Abuse?
It can be alarming to notice signs of potential nursing home or assisted living abuse. We trust these institutions to care for our loved ones and it is disturbing to believe they may not be holding up their end of the bargain. Our attorneys recommend the following plan of action.
You may first want to confront the institution and express your concerns. The nursing home or assisted living facility is legally obligated to follow up on your questioning, and must have a procedure to handle such inquiries. It is also a proactive measure to find out about the nursing home or assisted living’s procedures before making a decision on which institution is right for you and your loved ones.
The next step is reporting the abuse to the Elder Abuse hotline. The toll free number in New Jersey is 1-800-792-8820. State the particulars of the case and they will open up a formal investigation of the institution in question. This is an important step in the process as it may be helping other residents of that institution who may not have family to report their abuse.
Finally, contact our Bloomfield nursing home and assisted living attorneys today. We can help get you the peace of mind you and your loved ones deserve. If you have suffered from nursing home abuse, we will work with you personally to recover the compensation your family needs.
Contact Our Bloomfield Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys Today
To speak with our firm today in a free and confidential consultation regarding your potential nursing home or assisted living liability claim, please contact us online, or call our office.
We take all cases on contingency, meaning you do not have to pay us or any of the expenses related to your case until we win your case. If your injuries prevent you from meeting with us in our office, we are happy to come to you. A Bloomfield nursing home abuse lawyer is ready to help your family.
