When a Loved One is Injured in a Philadelphia Nursing Home: Get the Right Legal Advice to Receive Fair Compensation
PROTECTING THE VULNERABLE: STANDING UP TO NURSING HOME ABUSE
State and federal regulations state that nursing homes must have a certain number of staff performing certain functions.
Requirements include the number of times a bedridden patient must be turned each day, residents’ nutritional requirements, required assistive devices, medication procedures, and residents’ rights. Background checks on all prospective staff members are also required.
When nursing homes or their staff fail to follow these regulations they are guilty of negligence, and must be held accountable.
Nursing Home Injuries
Most nursing homes will claim that their staff members treat their residents with the care, dignity and respect they deserve. But the truth is that one-third of all nursing homes in the US have been cited for abusing their residents.
Elder abuse is a painful and wide-ranging issue. Nursing home injuries happen frequently, and in many care facilities, particularly in private for-profit residences.
PROTECT YOUR LOVED ONE: KNOW THE FACTS ABOUT ELDER ABUSE AND NEGLECT
CNN has reported that more than 90% of nursing homes are understaffed. This cost-cutting measure results in many residents being abandoned and neglected, leading to a wide range of problems.
Elder neglect can result in problems such as:
- Bedsores and pressure ulcers
- Missed medication times, medications errors, and staff not conforming to care plans
- Poor hygiene
- Infections
- Injuries from falling
- Choking on food
- Not enough personal care and supervision
- Dehydration and lack of proper nourishment
- Lack of medical aids such as eyeglasses, hearing aid, wheelchair, etc.
- Lack of clean clothing or bed linens
- Understaffed facility
- Poor maintenance of the facility
- Poor maintenance of/lack of necessary equipment
Financial abuse is another form of nursing home injury. At least 70% of nursing homes are run for profit, often by large corporations. In 2009, US nursing homes billed patients for $1.5 billion in services that were not ordered, not delivered or not needed.[1]
Financial abuse can also include:
- Theft of personal items (cash, jewelry, investments, deeds to real estate)
- A caregiver taking control of victim’s finances
- A resident transferring property, giving power of attorney to caregivers, making new will, etc. without fully understanding what they’ve done
At least 25% of nursing home aides that have been prosecuted for abusing patients have been found to have had previous criminal records.
Physical abuse can include:
- Assault and battery
- Sexual abuse
- Use of medication to restrain victim
- False imprisonment
- Physical endangerment
- Withholding of food and/or medication
At least 20% of elder abuse cases reported involve emotional or psychological abuse.
Mental or emotional abuse can include:
- Making threats or verbally abusing the resident
- Isolating the resident by restricting visits or phone calls, including not allowing family members to enter the facility or speak to the resident
- Engaging in violent, controlling, aggressive or irresponsible behavior
Slip or trip and fall injuries are another large area of risk in nursing homes.
Falls can be caused by:
- Slippery floors
- Poor lighting
- Poorly maintained walkers or wheelchairs
- Insufficient or inadequately trained staff
- Poor supervision of residents’ movements
- Lack of assistance in getting up from chair or bed, or getting to bathroom
- Lack of bedrails or incorrect bed height
STANDING YOUR GROUND AND Recovering Your Losses
If you or someone you care about has suffered a home’s abuse and/or neglect injury, contact Your Philly Lawyers, Gay Chacker & Ginsburg’s Philadelphia nursing home injury lawyers.
We have decades of experience in representing nursing home injury clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and nearby areas. We will work diligently to correctly identify the legal issues in your case. We will cover all legal bases, including negligence claims, and survival or wrongful death lawsuit.
Our dedicated attorneys will work hard for you, determining the causes of death or injuries, and gathering medical evidence and expert testimony to prove the injuries and losses suffered by you or your loved one.
Contact us now to learn more about how we can help in a nursing home injury case. There is no risk or obligation. We charge you no legal fees unless we recover financial compensation for you. Call us today at 800-529-4030 for a free consultation with a Philadelphia nursing home injury lawyer, and start reclaiming the dignity and respect you and your family deserve.
