Our nursing home injury attorneys at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. handle cases involving sexual abuse in Michigan nursing homes, hospitals, and assisted living facilities. These despicable acts cause great harm to the residents and give rise to substantial nursing home lawsuits. A resident who is sexually abused does have legal rights under Michigan law.
Nursing home residents are extremely vulnerable due to their medical conditions, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This makes these residents vulnerable to sex abuse by staff members and other nursing home residents. In addition, nursing home residents are often weak and unable to communicate to others the fact that they have been sexually victimized, and therefore, many of these incidents are unreported.
Michigan nursing homes are required by law to screen potential employees for their past criminal records, but quite often prior sex offenders are not screened and are given employment at the facility. These individuals prey on the residents who are unable to protect themselves and cannot speak out against these disgusting acts. When a resident is sexually abused by a staff member, a sexual abuse lawsuit can be filed against the nursing home.
Dementia related resident-to-resident sexual abuse is the most common type of sexual abuse there is in a nursing home. Our Michigan nursing home attorneys file lawsuits on behalf of residents who are sexually abused . Residents who are weak and unable to resist abuse or unable to communicate are an easy target for sexual abuse by another resident. When sexual abuse occurs from another resident, this also provides a basis for a nursing home lawsuit.
According to a 1996 Medicaid Fraud Report, 10 percent of all nursing home physical abuse cases are a result of sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is defined as non-consensual sexual contact with a nursing home resident.
Unfortunately prevention is not always possible, but being aware of signs can help your loved ones with Alzheimers. Below are the different types of abuse and signs that indicate that abuse may be happening to your loved one.
Signs of Physical Abuse:
Signs of Emotional Abuse:
Signs of Sexual Abuse:
Another form of abuse besides emotional, physical, and sexual abuse can include financial exploitation. Patients with severe mental illness like Alzheimers might be more willing to sign away life documents and money to strangers.
Our attorneys vigorously pursue cases involving sexual abuse in Michigan nursing homes and perform our own independent investigations. These investigations often turn up more information than those performed by local police and state regulators. These lawsuits seek compensation for the resident and the family for the injuries suffered from the abuse. They also serve to prevent such a tragedy from happening to another resident in the future
Sexual abuse is a form of nursing home neglect and action should be taken immediately. If a loved one has suffered from sexual abuse in a nursing home, call our office now. We will start working on your case instantly gathering all the evidence and witness statements to prove and win your case. We will also get you the real answers as to what happened and how it happened.
Please contact us today for answers to more complex questions or questions specific to your case. The initial consultation is FREE.