Nursing homes are supposed to offer a healthy environment where your loved one will get professional care so they can have a high quality of life. While it can be an emotional decision for a loved one to move to a nursing home, this is usually because they require a high level of care and their health and safety will be protected in a nursing home. If your loved one has been in a nursing home, but their health has suffered, they may have been subject to abuse or neglect. This is a terrible experience that no one should have to go through, but you can take action. A Georgetown nursing home abuse lawyer from Golden Law Office can provide you and your loved one with the legal assistance necessary to recover fair compensation for your loved one’s injuries and suffering.
Our firm has stood by families whose loved ones were neglected in their nursing homes. The people responsible for your loved one’s injuries should be held accountable for their actions. Our lawyers in Georgetown have the experience and compassion to fight for your loved one no matter what. As Kentucky senior citizens, they have rights in their nursing home. If any of these rights were violated, we’ll discover it. Let’s take a look at the rights of seniors in our state.
Resident Rights in Kentucky
Residents, under federal law, have the rights to do the following:
- Have a dignified existence
- Communicate with people and services inside and outside of their nursing home
- Exercise rights as a resident and as a citizen of the U.S.
- Be free of interference, discrimination, or retaliation when they exercise their rights.
- Have full information on their health and medical condition.
- Refuse treatment and research participation.
- File a grievance concerning residential abuse and neglect.
There are many rights that are set to protect your loved one. You can view the rest here. If you believe any of these rights have been violated, you should get in touch with our lawyers today.
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
While knowing your loved one’s rights can help you discover if their rights have been violated, you may want to also know what to look for when you’re visiting your loved one. There are some signs that indicate neglect or abuse could be occurring.
Signs of physical abuse can include wounds. Bumps, bruises, and scratches are minor wounds, but should not be occurring regularly. The occasional bruise does happen, but if you notice your loved one has a high number of minor injuries, this should raise some red flags. Serious injuries like falls, broken bones, or head trauma are indicators that something is wrong. Whether an aggressive staff member pushed your loved one and they fell, or the staff wasn’t attentive enough and your loved one tried to walk on their own and fell, both instances are unacceptable and put your loved one’s health at risk.
Psychological and emotional abuse occur when staff talk about your loved one like they’re not there, use harsh, demeaning, or rude language, and isolate your loved one from the rest of the home. This can damage your loved one’s self-esteem and independence. Being treated with respect and regularly interacting with other residents are socially positive interactions that elevate your loved one’s quality of life. Not having this can make your loved one feel alone and they may feel disengaged from their life as a resident.
Some may try to take advantage of your loved one’s mental state and steal from them. Taking credit cards, signing checks, or even changing wills and deeds are possible. Your loved one may not realize their nurse is financially exploiting them—it’s important to remain vigilant about your loved one’s estate.
Sexual abuse is another type of abuse that can occur in a nursing home. If your loved one has injuries or contracts an STD, they may be a victim of sexual abuse.
There’s also the chance your loved one is dealing with neglect. While this may be unintentional because nurses have so many patients to attend to, it’s not an excuse for your loved one to suffer because the home doesn’t have enough staff. If there aren’t enough people to care for your loved one, they may miss meals, medication, and their hygiene could suffer. If your loved one looks malnourished, unwell, or is in dirty clothes, soiled bedsheets, or lacking an overall cleanliness in their room, then they may be neglected.
Keep in mind that your loved one may not be able to communicate their abuse or mistreatment. If your loved one has memory problems, they may not always be in a lucid state. Speech can also be affected, making it difficult for your loved one to inform you verbally. Unfortunately, they may also feel ashamed or scared to speak up. It’s important to remain vigilant and vocal about your loved one’s health—you may be their greatest advocate.
How Can Representation Help You and Your Loved One?
After you get your loved one to a safe environment, you may wonder what to do next. Our Georgetown nursing home abuse lawyer will hold the nursing home accountable for their actions. Your loved one deserved better—their injuries should have been prevented and would never have happened if the nursing home hadn’t acted negligently. When you bring a claim forward, you may face opposition from the nursing home. They may try to say they weren’t at fault for your loved one’s injuries. Our team has experience in investigating nursing home abuse cases. We’ll carefully examine medical records and determine if any of your loved one’s rights were violated. Once we have a full picture of what happened, we’ll seek compensation for the economic and noneconomic damages your loved one suffered.
It’s important to get started on your case quickly. The sooner you begin your legal journey, the sooner you’ll have a result so you can focus on your loved one. We’re ready to help Georgetown citizens who were neglected in their nursing home. Give our office a call today for a free case evaluation.
Golden Law is a local, Kentucky Law Firm, attorneys/lawyers in Fayette County, Kentucky, working in the fields of personal injury, auto accidents, car and truck wrecks; medical malpractice: doctors, hospitals & nursing homes; senior living abuse: neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, dehydration, bedsores, catastrophic injuries, and broken bones. If you are considering a lawsuit, call us at 859.469.5000 for a free consultation. We are located at 771 Corporate Dr. Suite 800/ Lexington, Kentucky 40503. We handle cases all over the Commonwealth of Kentucky. We have represented and trained people in major insurance companies & major trucking companies. We have first hand experience and know the ‘inside of the insurance business’ … that’s a distinction that no other law firm can make. We’re Your Advocate. Dale Golden, Laraclay Parker.
