Aiken Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
When your loved one enters a nursing home, you hope they have a safe environment to live out the rest of their years. Unfortunately, while many nursing homes are safe and provide quality care, some do not. At some nursing homes, residents suffer abuse and neglect at the hands of the caretakers tasked with their well-being.
If you suspect your elderly loved one has suffered from abuse or neglect, an Aiken nursing home abuse attorney from Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers can help you. When you work with our team, you can rest assured that we do everything in our power to secure financial justice. Call now to start a no-obligation case review.
How Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers Can Get Justice for Your Loved One
At Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers, we understand how challenging this time is for you and your family. You deserve to hold the liable party accountable for your loved one's mistreatment.
Once you choose our firm for your case, we can:
- Investigate the situation: We can investigate your loved one's mistreatment and determine who should pay for their losses. We can gather physical evidence from the nursing home and speak to eyewitnesses, if possible. The more information we have to support your case, the better.
- Handle the opposing attorneys: If we file a claim against the nursing home, typically, we speak to its legal representatives. We can handle all communications on your behalf, so your only worry is caring for your loved one.
- Negotiate a settlement: Our team comprises fierce negotiators who go above and beyond for our clients. We can negotiate with the opposing attorneys to reach a fair settlement. During settlement negotiations, we can present compelling evidence to bolster your claim.
- Litigate in court: If your case goes to trial, our litigation team can represent you. We have handled many court cases and know how to present our cases in an effective way.
These steps help us work toward a successful outcome. Our attorneys can take all legal matters off of your shoulders. With us by your side, you can rest assured knowing that we're advocating for your family.
We Offer Free Consultations
At our firm, we understand you might have to deal with extensive medical bills after your loved one sustains abuse or neglect. To alleviate your financial concerns, we offer free case reviews, so you can consult with our team with no obligation.
During the consultation, you can expect to:
- Discuss the circumstances surrounding your loved one's injuries and maltreatment
- Ask any questions about your legal options
- Receive information about our law firm's services
A legal team member is available 24/7, 365 days per year, to take your call. We understand the urgency of these cases and want you to reach us when you need to.
We Prove Negligence in Your Aiken Nursing Home Abuse Case
Our attorneys must prove negligence to seek a fair outcome in your case.
Proving negligence requires us to demonstrate:
- Duty of care: The nursing home owes your loved one a legal duty to take care of them. Usually, when a contract gets signed, the nursing home accepts responsibility for the resident's well-being.
- Breach of duty: The nursing home breached its duty by not providing a standard level of care. For instance, allowing an abusive caretaker to remain employed at the facility constitutes a breach.
- Causation: The nursing home's breach of duty caused your loved one to sustain injuries. In the above scenario, we may show that an abusive caretaker injured your loved one.
- Damages: Your loved one suffered harm and has monetary and non-monetary losses because of the abuse.
Our team can prove the elements of negligence occurred. Only then can we seek compensation for your loved one's injuries.
We Abide by All State-Mandated Deadlines
When your loved one suffers nursing home abuse or neglect, you can hold the facility accountable through a claim or lawsuit. Through the claims process, our attorneys can negotiate to reach a settlement. However, if we don't settle, a lawsuit could yield damages.
State law generally gives nursing home abuse claimants three years to initiate legal action. This deadline begins from the date of an alleged incident or when the abuse was discovered. We file your lawsuit's paperwork within the allotted timeframe to preserve your right to damages. That's why we encourage you to consult our team as soon as possible.
Recoverable Damages in a Nursing Home Abuse Case
Compensation should reflect your family's physical, emotional, and financial challenges due to nursing home abuse. After learning about your case, the nursing home may offer a fast settlement, so you'll drop the case. The initial settlement might be low and not account for your losses. It could also be "hush money," hoping to get rid of the claim as soon as possible without regard to your financial needs.
A fair settlement or court award could account for these losses:
Healthcare Expenses
Your loved one may have required mental health counseling, medications, and other healthcare services because of the abuse. Compensation could account for your loved one's necessary medical expenses, both now and in the future.
Your Lost Income
You may have removed your loved one from the nursing home and started to care for them full-time. This may have required you to miss time from work, use sick time, or even leave your job. We can include your lost income in your claim's value.
Your Loved One's Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering reflects the physical and emotional challenges of sustaining nursing home abuse. We evaluate pain and suffering's value based on the specifics of your situation, such as how long the abuse went on.
Relocation Costs
You have every right to remove your loved one from an abusive situation. Still, relocation costs can be expensive. Moving costs alone could cost hundreds of dollars. We can include any cost associated with relocation in your case.
Out-of-Pocket Expenses
You may have paid for certain damages out of pocket while considering legal action.
Some of these costs may include:
- Assistive devices, such as canes or wheelchairs
- The replacement of stolen personal possessions, such as electronics or jewelry
- Transportation expenses
We use your damages' receipts, bills, and invoices to determine your case's financial losses. As noted, we consider your loved one's specific situation when determining their pain and suffering.
We Advocate for Nursing Home Abuse Claimants in These Situations
Nursing home abuse and neglect comes in many different forms. Nursing home abuse is any intentional or negligent act that endangers an elderly person.
We advocate for survivors of:
Physical Abuse
Nursing home caregivers must refrain from hitting, slapping, punching, or otherwise physically injuring residents. This isn't just unethical -it's illegal. To prove that your loved one sustained physical abuse, we may use photos of your loved one's injuries, testimony from field experts, and eyewitness statements.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse is any type of non-consensual sexual contact imposed on another person. Nursing home employees can perpetrate sexual abuse, but residents can also threaten each other's safety.
Examples of sexual abuse may include:
- Inappropriate remarks
- The forced viewing of pornography
- Unwanted touching, fondling, kissing, or touching
- Sexual intercourse
We manage cases of sexual abuse with the care and tact they deserve. We empower survivors of sexual abuse to hold their abusers accountable.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse is one of the leading forms of maltreatment in nursing homes. Still, it's entirely unacceptable. Every nursing home resident deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
Emotional abuse may comprise:
- Isolating a resident from their peers
- Belittling residents
- Name-calling
- Preventing a resident from contacting loved ones
- Threats
- Ignoring a resident's requests for help
- Insults
Emotional abuse can inflict serious psychological injuries that affect a senior's mental health. If your loved one developed anxiety, depression, or another mental health concern because of emotional abuse, we can factor these hardships into your claim.
Financial Abuse
Financial abuse in a nursing home happens when someone takes a resident's personal belongings or money for their own use.
Examples of financial abuse can include:
- Forging checks
- Taking valuable items from a resident's room
- Using a resident's bank account information or credit cards to make purchases
- Misrepresenting the cost of remaining in the nursing home
- Asking for loans
If your loved one suffered financial abuse, we can fight to recover their losses.
Neglect
Nursing home neglect occurs when a facility fails to provide the care a resident needs.
Examples of neglect include:
- Failing to give patients the medical care they need
- Not changing clothes or sheets when needed
- Not moving patients frequently to avoid bedsores
- Not helping residents eat if they require help
- Not helping a resident who has fallen get up
If you suspect neglect, you should take immediate action to ensure your loved one's well-being. This may involve calling the authorities or removing your loved one from the facility. The longer your loved one endures neglect, the more harm they could suffer.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nursing Home Abuse Cases in Aiken
In the years we've advocated for nursing home abuse claimants, our law firm has received many questions from clients. Many want to know about their case's value, the liable party, and what laws apply. We can only answer case-specific questions during our case reviews. However, we've listed some general questions and answers below.
Does My Loved One Have Rights?
As a nursing home resident, your loved one has rights under federal law. For instance, the Nursing Home Bill of Rights outlines the protections your loved one has while residing in a care facility. Those rights involve living free of abuse or neglect. Anyone who abuses a senior in a care facility violates those rights and could face criminal charges.
What Should I Do if My Loved One Suffers From Nursing Home Abuse?
As noted, you should do everything possible to ensure your loved one's safety. This may include contacting the authorities if they're in immediate danger. You could also move them to a different facility or voice your concerns to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. We can do the latter for you if we take your claim.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Aiken?
It costs you nothing upfront or out of pocket to partner with Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers. We advocate for nursing home abuse claimants on a contingency-fee basis. Paying our attorney's fees is contingent on your case's outcome. You can learn more about this arrangement when you connect with our team. We can answer other questions relevant to your situation, too.
What Challenges Could I Face in a Nursing Home Abuse Claim?
Even if there's plenty of evidence to support your case, the nursing home may still contest your case. It could refute your loved one's allegations, saying their cognitive abilities cloud their perception of events. It could also have an ulterior motive for downplaying your loved one's maltreatment, such as wanting to avoid bad publicity.
Our lawyers are experienced problem-solvers. If the nursing home challenges your case, we can fight back with everything we have.
What Happens if Another Nursing Home Resident Hurt My Loved One?
Nursing homes must provide safe environments for residents. That includes running background checks on residents before they're admitted to the care facility. For instance, a nursing home should be careful of admitting sex offenders into the facility. It should also protect residents from the acts of others.
If another nursing home resident harmed your loved one, we can still hold the nursing home accountable for its failures. We could also pursue compensation directly from the abuser, depending on your situation.
Contact a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Aiken Today
When your loved one lives in a nursing home and suffers from abuse, they deserve to recover compensation. We aim to hold negligent nursing homes accountable for their failures to care for elderly residents. For more information, reach out to an Aiken personal injury lawyer.
Contact our nursing home abuse lawyers in Aiken now for a free consultation. Dial (803) 470-4444. We can start pursuing justice for you and your loved one today.
