Murrells Inlet Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys

Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys in Murrells Inlet

Abuse or neglect of the elderly or disabled is never acceptable. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse happens all too commonly. Around the country, elders regularly fall victim to abuse in long-term care facilities. Many do not speak about it to loved ones. Facing such trauma can cause an elder to withdraw or experience psychological symptoms, and physical injuries from such abuse can prove painful and life-threatening.

A Murrells Inlet nursing home abuse attorney at our firm can help if your loved one suffers from abuse at a long-term care facility. Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers wants to take a stand against nursing home abuse. We want to protect the rights of the elderly in long-term care facilities, starting with their most basic right to feel safe in their own homes.

If your elderly or disabled loved one suffered abuse at the hands of those charged with their care, you could take action against the nursing home or staff in a personal injury claim. Call us immediately for a free case evaluation. We want to know as much as possible about the situation to determine how best to help.

Our Lawyers Give Abuse Victims in Murrells Inlet Our Full Commitment

As we stand up for your loved one's rights, we lead with compassion, treating them with the dignity they deserve. We value our clients and work to foster a relationship of trust and respect.

Our nursing home abuse attorneys understand the challenges of coming forward and facing those who've hurt them. We fight for those abused in nursing homes because it's the right thing to do and because we care about our clients. If you hire our firm, you can expect:

Personal Attention

Our Murrells Inlet law firm works hard to establish a connection and continue to give personal attention to each client throughout their case. It's important to us that our clients feel like a priority. After your family faced such wrongdoing from a nursing home facility, it's about time someone gave you the attention you deserve.

Accessibility

We make it a point to remain accessible to our clients. You can call or email us and trust that you will receive a timely response. It's not always easy to go through the legal process, but we want you to have confidence that your lawyer is handling the case.

Resources for Your Case

We don't just commit our time and attention to you and your loved one-we commit our resources. We can investigate your abuse claims and ensure your loved one receives the appropriate medical and mental health treatment by tapping into our extensive network of experts. Moreover, we have the financial resources to take on negligent elder care facilities and the big insurance companies representing them.

You Can Discuss Your Nursing Home Abuse Case With Us Confidentially

During your free case evaluation, we'll provide answers to your questions and explain the rights you and your loved one have. We keep any details you provide in strict confidence. We do not discuss the identity of the abuse victim or certain details with outside parties unless expressly authorized by the victim or a legal guardian.

You have no obligation to move forward with our law firm, so you can feel comfortable changing your mind anytime.

We don't want you to worry about money when you have something much more important at stake. Getting help for your abused loved one should be your only focus. That's why our nursing home abuse law firm serving Murrells Inlet takes personal injury cases on contingency.

Our attorneys do not charge for their services upfront. Instead, they only receive payment if they recover financial compensation for the losses and injuries victims suffered. Even then, you don't have to pay any out-of-pocket expenses. The legal fees we collect come as a portion of the overall compensation we recover for your family. If we don't win your case, you don't owe us a thing.

How Can a Nursing Home Abuse Claim Help an Elder or Disabled Victim?

Personal injury claims offer a form of justice for those who have been harmed by the negligent or intentional acts of others. Through taking civil action- as opposed to criminal action-victims can hold their abusers or negligent care facilities responsible by seeking financial compensation.

State law endows injury victims and their families with this right. The law recognizes that harmful acts- even unintentional ones-can leave victims with physical, emotional, and financial losses. The law further recognizes that the individual or entity responsible should pay for them instead of the victim.

Beyond that, financial recovery in a nursing home abuse claim offers an acknowledgment that you or your loved one faced injustice and provides a remedy to help you heal.

A Murrells Inlet Injury Attorney Can Fight to Recover Damages

Your elderly loved one could get damages from the person or company responsible for their abuse. Damages refers to the money a negligent party owes to the victim in an injury case. We can work to recover both economic and non-economic damages in a nursing home abuse claim.

If your loved one suffered financial losses, such as medical bills or stolen assets, you can recover their value in a claim. The same goes for non-financial losses. You can recoup the value of these losses via non-economic damages.

Recovery of Economic Losses

Physical abuse or neglect can result in traumatic injuries to the elderly. For instance, leaving them alone unsupervised can harm their health or safety. Fall accidents may occur when no one can observe them. Your family could face overwhelming medical expenses for the resulting injuries.

Additionally, the incidental expenses related to your case-such as the cost of physical therapy or receiving care at a private residence-can add up.

A nursing home abuse attorney serving Murrells Inlet can fight for your right to economic damages that include:

• Ongoing medical expenses
• Prescription medication
• Physical therapy
• Mobility aids
• Home care costs
• Relocation to another long-term care facility
• Transportation expenses
• Stolen property or misappropriated funds

Recovery of Non-Economic Damages

The physical injuries you or a loved one suffers in a nursing home may lead to emotional or psychological injury in some elder abuse victims. Other victims may not have sustained any physical abuse or neglect but faced emotional and psychological abuse by nursing home staff or residents.

This kind of abuse does not leave physical scars but can result in equally serious harm to a nursing home resident. For that reason, our Murrells Inlet nursing home abuse lawyers can pursue damages for non-economic damages.

Your elder family member could recover non-economic damages for:

• Pain and suffering
• Disability
• Diminished enjoyment of activities
• Emotional distress and psychological pain, such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or an inability to sleep or eat

Our attorneys can enlist the help of medical and psychological experts, amongst other professionals, to correctly identify the injuries your loved one suffered. Then, we can assign an appropriate monetary value to these damages-and negotiate for them in a settlement or award.

Who Bears Legal Responsibility for Nursing Home Abuse?

Abuse in a nursing home doesn't just happen. It happens because those in charge allow it or fail to prevent it. The nursing home company ultimately bears responsibility for any abuse within its daily operations.

Whether staff members' actions or inadequate conditions cause harm, the nursing home bears responsibility for correcting the issue. In a compensation claim, the company or owner would prove liable for damages to victims.

That doesn't mean the nursing home is the only potentially liable party.

In a nursing home abuse claim, liable parties can include:

• The nursing home: Ultimately, the facility is in charge of monitoring staff, implementing safe practices, and correcting any problems.
• Staff members: Employees who perpetrate the actual abuse may bear liability for damages, particularly if physical abuse occurs.
• Visitors: Sometimes, it's not staff members but individual visitors who perpetrate abuse on a nursing home resident.
• Doctors: Medical professionals may directly abuse a resident or bear fault for a medical malpractice issue.
• Third-party contractors: If the nursing home contracted with another company to handle certain tasks, such as recruiting a company to screen, train, and hire employees, the third party may bear liability if the employees abuse residents. Another example might include a member of a hired cleaning crew that inflicts harm on residents during his or her time at the facility. The cleaning company may bear liability for damages.

Our Murrells Inlet attorneys serving nursing home abuse residents can identify the proper liable party in your case and work to hold them accountable for their actions or lack thereof.

Can I Seek Criminal Prosecution in a Murrells Inlet Case?

Victims of nursing home abuse have the right to call the police and seek criminal prosecution. In many cases, you should do this in addition to pursuing damages in a civil case.

If you report elder abuse in a nursing home to law enforcement, the authorities can get involved automatically. If you report to elder advocacy agencies like the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP), they may involve authorities based on their determinations or at your request.

Seeking criminal justice does not prevent you from seeking civil justice and compensation for your family's losses. You can go after results through both legal avenues.

What Are the Signs of Nursing Home Abuse?

The signs of nursing home abuse depend on the abuse the elderly resident experiences.

According to the National Institute on Aging, general signs of elder abuse could include:

• Changes in behavior, such as being withdrawn, agitated, paranoid, or acting violently
• Unexplained weight loss
• Physical ailments, like bruises, cuts, scratches, swelling, or broken bones
• Bed sores or infections
• Difficulty sleeping or eating
• No longer participating in enjoyable activities
• Ungroomed or dirty appearance
• Body odor
• Unclean or unsafe living conditions

You or your loved one may face other forms of abuse. If you do not know if your situation constitutes abuse, our team can listen to your story and help you understand your options.

What Types of Abuse Do Nursing Home Residents Experience?

Signs of nursing home abuse vary based on the abuse the elderly resident suffers. For example, an emotionally abused resident would not exhibit physical trauma. However, you should know about the types of abuse that can occur so you know what to look for as you monitor your loved one's care.

Physical Abuse

Elders in nursing homes may face physical harm. Punching, kicking, slapping, shaking, tossing, restraining, or forcing the elderly to undergo injurious acts could all constitute examples of physical abuse.

Emotional Abuse

Emotional or psychological abuse refers to using words or nonverbal behavior to inflict harm on a nursing home patient's mental state. Examples of emotional abuse include yelling, threatening, insulting, ignoring, isolating the resident from others at the nursing home, or keeping them away from family and friends.

Neglect

Neglect refers to failing to respond to a nursing home resident's needs or failing to provide adequate care. This may prove intentional or unintentional. It includes depriving the patient of food, water, medication, medical care, assistance with hygiene or grooming, or leaving them alone for too long.

Abandonment

Caregivers may abruptly desert an elderly or disabled person, leaving them with no one to care for them.

Sexual Abuse

Any non-consensual sexual contact or exhibition of sexual acts on an elderly person may constitute sexual abuse. This could include unwanted touching, kissing, rape, forced nudity, or forced viewing of sexual content.

Financial Abuse

A person faces financial abuse when someone steals their money, items, or assets, uses them without authorization, or uses them for unauthorized purposes. Using credit cards, cashing checks, changing insurance policy beneficiaries, and taking social security benefits without permission can constitute common examples of financial abuse.

All forms of abuse are unacceptable. Our Murrells Inlet personal injury lawyers dedicate themselves to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community. Regardless of the type of abuse your loved one suffers, a Murrells Inlet nursing home abuse attorney at Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers can do everything possible to seek justice.

Contact Morris Law Accident Injury Lawyers for Help With a Nursing Home Abuse Case

If your loved one faces abuse in a nursing home, you can get legal help today. Our team stands ready to help you navigate your options and bring the responsible parties to justice. You don't have to face your situation alone.

Contact us for a free case review of your Murrells Inlet nursing home abuse claim at (843) 232-0944. The call comes with no cost or obligation.