Has someone you love been abused in a nursing home? Was your parent or relative harmed or neglected by someone who was to provide them with professional care? If you even believe there was a chance that occurred, it’s worth it to reach out to a Long Beach elder abuse lawyer. Here at Belal Hamideh Law, we’ve helped many who were abused by those they relied upon for care to receive the compensation that they deserved.
Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, caregivers, and other forms of elder care are supposed to provide the elderly with the care they deserve. Alas, the elderly can be vulnerable to abuse from those who were to help them. Whether your loved one was harmed through malice or neglect, Belal Hamideh, an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer in Long Beach can help.
How Can You Tell if a Nursing Home is Abusing or Neglecting a Patient?
In a nursing home, your loved one deserves to be safe and healthy. That’s why they’re there. If the nursing home’s services and/or level of service make them unsafe or unhealthy, then they’re a victim of nursing home abuse. Nursing home abuse and negligence are abusive and negligent no matter if it was intentional or unintentional. This harm can be physical, emotional, or even financial in nature.
Signs of physical abuse are often visible. You may notice injuries, odd bruises, impairment, or even signs such as dehydration and bedsores.
Emotional abuse isn’t visible, but it is noticeable. Often, it comes out as unexplained mood changes or dramatic changes in your loved one’s behavior. Examples of emotional abuse from nursing home staff include being intimidated, trying to make your loved one afraid, as well as humiliating them.
Financial abuse is insidious. It occurs when nursing home staff deceive your loved ones for their own financial benefit or even steal their belongings. Indeed, if your loved one’s personal items aren’t accounted for, that’s often a clear sign that your loved one is being abused. Sudden changes are bad, whether they’re in your loved one’s physical condition or bank account.
Too often, financial abuse manifests as sudden, dramatic changes in powers of attorney, titles, wills, and other legal documentation. We’ve even seen financial activity that the elderly could not possibly have taken, such as getting money out of the bank they were unable to get out of bed.
Other common sites include your loved one complaining about care constantly or refusing to participate in activities in the facility.
No matter the reason, your loved one should not have to go through that. Whether the nursing home is short-staffed, the staff is unqualified, or for any other reason, the nursing home very well may be liable for any neglect or abuse that occurs at the facility. When this occurs, we can help you and your loved one to receive the compensation you deserve.
How Do You Know if an Elder is Being Abused/Neglected?
It can be challenging to recognize the signs of elder abuse and neglect because they may seem as if they’re just symptoms of your loved one’s frailty, dementia, and so forth. Worse, negligent and/or malice caregivers may attempt to use those as explanations. You know your loved one. If you believe they’ve been abused, it’s worth it to reach out to professionals.
Some clear signs that they may have been abused may include unusual sprains, dislocations, or even broken bones. If you notice rope marks on their wrists or other welts and bruises that appear on two sides of your loved one’s body symmetrically, they may be abused. It could be something as simple as their glasses are broken or the caregiver won’t let you see your loved one alone.
Another clear sign that something may be amiss: they’ve lost an unhealthy amount of weight. You’ll want to look at their environment, too. If they seem dirty, or if their living conditions are unsanitary, then they’re most likely being neglected and/or abused. Again, if you have the slightest suspicion that something is amiss with your loved one’s care, it’s worth it to reach out to a professional.
What Can I Do If Wrongful Death Happens in a Nursing Home?
If your loved one passes away as a direct result of abuse or neglect in a nursing home, you and other members of the family may be entitled to compensation. As difficult as it can be to hear, these cases involve fatal injuries that, if proper standards of care were followed, would have been prevented.
Those fatal injuries can occur from staff members physically or even sexually abusing the elderly. However, they can also come from injuries that are a direct result of neglect, intentional or otherwise. Indeed, so many come from staff members who neglected the health needs of the elderly. Many cases also involve staff members being unable (or unwilling) to break up violence between residents, or even something as simple as an error with medication. Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis injuries are more common than many may think.
If you’ve lost someone you love due to the negligence and/or abuse of nursing home care staff, you deserve to be compensated for it. No amount of compensation can make up for the loss of your loved one. If your loved one’s passing could have and should have been prevented, it’s worth it to reach out to us. Beyond fighting for you to get the compensation you and yours deserve, you may help to save lives by holding those accountable, keeping them from doing it ever again. Click here to speak to a wrongful death lawyer.
California Nursing Homes Neglect During COVID-19
The pandemic affected essentially everyone in some way. But, the elderly in nursing home facilities were, in many ways, hit the hardest. Thousands lost their lives throughout the pandemic. Many nursing home workers did everything they could to ensure the safety of the elderly, but some were abusive and neglectful, with fatal consequences.
Other states may have shielded nursing homes from liability to COVID-19, but California is not one of them. If you believe that your loved one was harmed or even killed due to negligence or abuse throughout the pandemic, it makes sense to reach out to a nursing home abuse lawyer in California.
How and When Can I Sue a Nursing Home?
If your loved one was harmed due to neglect and/or abuse in a long-term care facility, you may be able to sue. You don’t have to wait to sue, in fact, you can sue right now. Reaching out to an attorney sooner is better than doing so later. The sooner you sue, the faster you’ll be able to receive the compensation you deserve, yes, but that also means that the sooner the nursing home and their staff will be held accountable as well.
A statute of limitations can come into play with these cases. In California, you have two years. You do not want to let that time expire, which would keep you from receiving the compensation you and your loved one deserve. If you have any inkling that your elderly loved one has been abused or neglected, it’s worth it to reach out today.
How Much is a Nursing Home Neglect Case Worth?
Each case is different, as there are specific factors to every single case. That said, many past lawsuits have awarded nursing home abuse victims and their families millions of dollars. We can help you to claim economic as well as non-economic damages for your injuries.
Those could include pain and suffering because of your loved one’s injuries, of course, as well as medical expenses. Those medical expenses could include both past and future care that result from their injuries. If your loved one has, unfortunately, become disabled due to the injury, you can receive compensation for that.
In some cases, punitive damages may be available. Other factors can include the facility’s conduct, the extent of your loved one’s injury, the nursing home’s insurance, and much more. We have a proven track record of helping nursing home abuse victims and their families to receive the compensation they deserve.
How Long Does it Take to Settle a Nursing Home Neglect Case?
These cases are very complicated. A majority of them are highly dependent upon unique circumstances. Every case is different. That said, on average, these cases tend to take anywhere from two to three years. However, some cases do settle more quickly, within a year. Others have lasted much longer.
Here at Belal Hamideh Law, we’ll represent you and yours aggressively immediately. A majority of these cases are settled before going to court. We’ll always make you aware of your options and let you know what the other side is offering. However, we’re always glad to go to court, to be able to stand up for our clients in a court of law. No matter the circumstances, we can fight for you and yours to receive what you should.
How Do You Prove Nursing Home Abuse / Neglect?
We can do this through multiple methods. Over the years, Belal and the team have cultivated a group of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals that we trust. Many of them have extensive experience with nursing care. So, we have them thoroughly evaluate your loved one, their medical records, the facility, and anything else pertinent to the case.
With that information, they’ll be able to determine exactly what happened as well as how it happened. As medical experts, they’ll be able to render options about your loved one’s condition, the standard of care, and so forth. With this information, we’ll know the truth, and be able to use it to help you and yours receive the right compensation.
A Long Beach Nursing Home & Elder Abuse Lawyer That Can Help
When you take your loved one to a nursing home, elderly care facility, or to any caretaker, you expect them to be taken care of. You expect your loved one to be kept safe and healthy. When they abuse that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, something must be done. When you file one of these cases, you’re doing it on behalf of your loved one, yes. But, it also can help everyone that this nursing home and/or its staff may harm in the future.
We can help you and yours throughout the entire process. We know how challenging this time can be, and how reaching out to an attorney can be the last thing you want to do. Indeed, it’s tragic how often elderly abuse cases are unreported. If you believe there’s any possibility that someone you love has suffered abuse, it’s important that you reach out to an experienced attorney who has taken on nursing homes and won.
Contact us through this site or by calling for a free case evaluation.