Nursing homes are supposed to be the place where elderly loved ones get the care and love they all so deserve. It is the place where we trust that our family will be taken cared of and given the utmost attention.
Families often turn to these elderly facilities due to many factors. Some of these considerations can be lack of time, lack of special skill or expertise in handling complex cases of dementia or Alzheimer’s and many more.
However, it is an undeniable fact that some nursing homes treat these lovely elderly people with less respect and care than what is expected of them. In this case, would these abuses be compensable? Would their negligence on taking care of our elderly relatives be capable of being accounted for? The straight and simple answer is: YES.
According to a study made by the National Center for Victims of Crime, there have been many reports of incidence and prevalence of elder abuse and neglect. 27.4% of the reports were of physical abuse, 22.1% of resident-on-resident abuse (both for physical and sexual abuse), 19.4% of psychological abuse, 15.3% of gross neglect, 7.9% of sexual abuse, and 7.9% for financial exploitation.
The most common risk factors for elder abuse have been identified as elderly people with low social support, elderly people suffering from dementia, understaffing and overworked elderly facility workers.
Now, on to the main topic: Nursing home abuse is compensable. If you have recently been informed of a nursing home abuse incident, do not hesitate to call on a lawyer to help litigate the case.
A lawyer is usually needed so that the cases can be better defended. Since laymen like us are not as knowledgeable in the complexities of law than those who have spent years studying and applying them, we ought to seek their help if we want our rights to be properly enforced and if we want these offenders to be properly held accountable.
In choosing a nursing home abuse lawyer, it is always a good idea to do thorough research first. Do this by searching the world wide web of the respectable lawyers in this field. Also consider going about it the traditional way and ask friends or relatives for recommendations.
Once all the information is gathered, do not forget to first evaluate all of the potential nursing home abuse lawyers. Make sure to take into consideration the lawyer’s or the law firm’s background experience in handling cases like this. It is of utmost importance to take this into account because experienced lawyers have the edge of having to have dealt with many complex issues and questions of law while in practice.
Moreover, also check in on their specialties and expertise. As doctors have their very own fields of specialty, so do lawyers. It is best to hire not just any lawyer but a lawyer who is an expert in the area of nursing home abuse. Extensive and specialized knowledge regarding this matter is a make or break case.