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Nursing homes are supposed to be places where you can trust in the safety and comfort of your loved ones. In some cases, however, residents become victims of abuse and neglect that can cause severe injuries. In this situation, you may need the services of a Lancaster nursing home abuse lawyer to hold negligent elder care facilities accountable for their mistreatment of residents.
Incidents of abuse and neglect can take many forms, but they all demand that you hold the wrongdoers accountable for the behavior that harmed your loved one. Taking legal action can force the appropriate parties to take responsibility for the harm they caused or allowed to occur. A determined personal injury attorney could work on your behalf to bring care facility administrators and staff members to justice for the harms they caused.
Nursing Home Neglect
Reports of nursing facility abuse and neglect are on the rise in the media, but various factors make it difficult to determine just how widespread this problem is. Some residents are embarrassed or afraid of retaliation if they report abuse, and the complaints of some of the more vulnerable residents, such as those with dementia, may be disregarded by family members and staff alike.
Understaffing is a common problem that can lead to injury and neglect by staff members who do not have the time or resources to care for all residents adequately. Other incidents of abuse arise from poorly trained staff with inadequate qualifications to care for some nursing home residents.
Types of Abuse in Care Facilities
A personal injury claim can address all kinds of abuse to residents, whether perpetrated by staff, residents, or other visitors to the facilities. Some of the more common types of abuse include:
- Physical injury resulting in bruises, wounds, and broken bones
- Emotional abuse and threats of violence
- Sexual abuse
- Financial exploitation of personal property or finances
Abuse also can take the form of neglect in some cases. For instance, overworked staff may unnecessarily sedate or restrain residents so that they need not care for them. Other staff members may fail to meet residents’ basic needs, causing them to develop bedsores or become dehydrated. A nursing home abuse lawyer in Lancaster may be able to assist family members and their loved ones with personal injury claims arising from abuse or neglect.
Establishing Negligence
Although every care facility abuse case is unique, most claims are based on the legal theory of negligence. This concept requires that individuals and facilities maintain a certain standard of care that others in the same circumstances would consider to be reasonable. In other words, in evaluating the actions of others, the question is whether they acted as a reasonable person would act in the same situation.
These homes have a legal duty to meet the needs of and care for residents, as well as to keep them safe from harm. When nursing homes fail to live up to this standard of care, they may be responsible for any injuries or damage to residents that results. As a knowledgeable attorney in Lancaster may advise, any breach in the duty of care, even if the abuser is a single staff member, can make the nursing home responsible for the resulting injuries.
A Lancaster Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Might Be Able to Help
As long as care facility employees were acting in the scope of their employment when they perpetrated abuse, not only can they face individual liability for their actions, but the home itself can be liable. The desire to avoid paying out insurance claims and risk investigation by the state often makes homes reluctant to admit that any abuse has occurred, which can make these suits difficult. In this situation, a Lancaster nursing home abuse lawyer may be able to help.
Regardless of the source of the abuse, you have a right to demand the utmost quality of care for your loved ones when you place them in a nursing facility. When they suffer injuries as a result, you also have the right to hold negligent personnel and facilities accountable. Reach out to Schiller & Hamilton to schedule a consultation with an attorney.