Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other places that provide live-in medical and personal assistance to residents serve a crucial role in modern society. While most of these facilities provide high-quality care to everyone they take in, there are more exceptions to that rule than you might wish to believe. Some of those exceptions result in serious harm to the people in their care.
Anyone who abuses, neglects, or otherwise mistreats a nursing home resident should be held legally accountable for the consequences their actions have. A skilled Sterling Heights nursing home abuse lawyer could provide vital assistance with ensuring this happens. Civil lawsuits over nursing home abuse can be complex on multiple levels, and a seasoned attorney’s guidance is key to getting the best possible case result.
Despite the choice of terminology, nursing home “abuse” does not always take the form of a staff member or other person affiliated with a nursing home intentionally and maliciously causing physical harm to a resident. In many cases, the bulk of mistreatment a nursing home resident experiences is mental and emotional rather than physical. This often includes mockery, shouting, berating, and social isolation perpetuated by staff members, administrators, and even other residents.
In other situations, residents may be taken advantage of financially or even sexually by people who know a particular resident is cognitively disadvantaged or physically unable to resist. Other instances of nursing home mistreatment stem not from anyone intending to cause harm but rather from inadvertent neglect that can be traced back to an individual worker’s lack of experience or an owner’s failure to ensure that the facility is properly staffed with qualified workers.
Regardless of what specifically leads to a nursing home resident being unjustly harmed, anyone whose reckless, careless, or malicious conduct contributes to causing that harm could be civilly liable for ensuing damages. A Sterling Heights nursing home abuse attorney could help take proactive legal action over any form of neglect or abuse that impacts a resident.
Both economic and non-economic forms of harm may be factored into a comprehensive settlement demand or lawsuit over nursing home abuse, including:
If mistreatment in a Sterling Heights nursing home directly leads to a resident’s premature death, a compassionate attorney could assist surviving family members with pursuing compensation for their ensuing losses through a wrongful death claim.
When you have any suspicion that a nursing home is mistreating your loved one, it is vital to be proactive about investigating and potentially taking legal action over that harm. Older adults are especially susceptible to suffering life-threatening injuries from neglect or abuse, and not trusting your instincts that something is amiss could have dire repercussions for your family.
Help is available from experienced legal professionals who know how to fight tenaciously on behalf of families like yours. Call a Sterling Heights nursing home abuse lawyer from Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. today to discuss your options.
Please contact us today for answers to more complex questions or questions specific to your case. The initial consultation is FREE.
