Nursing Home Abuse Claims
As our loved ones begin to age, the fact of the matter is that all too often, they tend to find it harder and harder to care for themselves as the years go by – no matter how independent they might have been in their younger years. And with father time being undefeated and getting older, and eventually passing simply being a fact of life – the next generation must do what they can to ensure their parents and grandparents safety for years to come. This might mean bringing them to live alongside their own family, or putting them in one type of assisted living facility or nursing home. Often expensive, we are generally paying quite a bit of money for these long-term care facilities to ensure that they are well cared for, and will be protected from the effects of any deteriorating physical and/or mental conditions.
Ordinarily, these facilities provide a positive environment and a beneficial experience for their patients. You expect the staff and nursing home employees to treat your loved ones with the utmost care and respect – not only because of the high cost you might be paying for their care and living expenses, but just due to the simple fact of human decency – plus, who in their right mind, isn’t nice to a senior citizen? And while you might think this sounds crazy, and for most of us it surely does – but in many cases, according to Mr. Charles Spinner, the best personal injury lawyer Sarasota senior citizens have turned to, in many cases, older people are often secretly being physically and/or psychologically harmed by the negligent or intentional acts of their caregivers. In institutional settings. This is often known as nursing home abuse and there have been many cases illustrating such issues across the United States over the last decade or so. several factors have been shown to contribute to the abuse or neglect of residents, including: poorly qualified and inadequately trained staff; staff with a history of violence; inadequate numbers of staff; the isolation of residents; and, the reluctance of residents to report abuse out of embarrassment or fear. And as per the best personal injury lawyer Sarasota has in practice, Mr. Spinner, nursing home abuse is an important, albeit semi-rare form of personal injury lawsuit – that can include both mental and physical impacts on our loved ones. To learn more about handling such cases or claims, be sure to read on below.
Liability for Nursing Home
The fact of the matter is that there are a number of different ways for nursing homes to e held responsible for injuring others as a result of their negligence, abuse, false imprisonment, or violations of criminal statutes, as well as violations of regulations pertaining to their licensing, maintenance, and general operation. According to Mr. Spinner, the best personal injury attorney Sarasota has in practice, the staff and management of a nursing home have an obligation to keep their patients safe and well-cared for, as per the agreement made between the patient, the staff, as well as the patient’s loved ones. All too often however, we hear horror stories of rampant abuse, neglect, and even exploitation of the elderly. In a nursing home in middle America some years ago, a story was reported where, at one of the ritziest and most expensive nursing homes in the country, that the staff was using the elderly’s to put together handmade craft items such as bracelets, necklaces with stones from a local rock quarry, knitted tote bags, hand-sewn wallets, and much more – to be sold for huge markups over the internet. And to the families it looked purely like arts and crafts time, and the patients were often threatened with violence, the threat of poisoning, or even letting off a bomb, if they told their loved ones a thing. As the best personal injury lawyer Sarasota has to offer. Luckily the majority of staff members are usually good, decent people, and this type of behavior will only last so long depending on the scruples of the other staff members – someone will eventually have a debate with their conscious, and often confess that what they’re doing is wrong to the authorities.
An act of abuse, neglect or exploitation of an older person might give rise to one or all of the following types of proceeding: 1) an investigation and finding by an adult protective services agency; 2) a civil cause of action for damages (a lawsuit); and/or, 3) a criminal prosecution. These three types of proceedings have different objectives. The objective of a protective services investigation is to provide immediate help and relief to the victim and prevent further harm. The goal of a civil action (lawsuit) is to remedy damages, and the criminal prosecution is meant to punish the harmful conduct. If you are in a situation like this, don’t ever be afraid to speak up, while the threat may sound convincing there is little they can do to you with the police on your side. For more information on nursing home abuse, be sure to contact the best personal injury attorney Sarasota has to offer, Mr. Charles Spinner.
