Elder care lawyer NJ

What Does an Elder Care Law Lawyer Do?

Elder care law lawyers in NJ are advocates for the elderly and their loved ones. Most elder care law lawyers handle a wide range of legal matters affecting an older or disabled person. These may include issues related to health care, long term care planning, guardianship, retirement, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and other important matters.

They can they handle important financial and estate planning matters and also take care of day-to-day issues affecting the actual care of seniors, such as assisted living and life planning. They are often more equipped to handle the sensitive emotional and physical needs of older or disabled adults and are therefore able to handle a variety of challenging situations.

How Can an Elder Law Lawyer Help Me?

An elder law lawyer can help with any one of the following:

•       Discuss the importance of wills and estate planning, including planning for a minor or adult with special needs, probate proceedings, and other matters.
•       Create a durable power of lawyer.
•       Provide help with health care and planning, including long term care options, patient rights, Medicare, and health care power of lawyer.
•       Financial representation: financial planning (including durable financial power of lawyer), housing opportunities and planning, income, estate, and gift tax matters.
•       Guardianship: help with the selection and appointment of a legal guardian.
•       Help locate long term care facilities and manage assisted living cost.
•       Explain nursing home resident rights and help file nursing home claims.
•       Draft a living will or other advance directives, including a durable power of lawyer and long-term planning documents.

How Do Elder Law Lawyers Bill for Their Services?

Elder care law lawyers in NJ generally charge by the hour based on the type of work. In some cases, they charge a predetermined flat rate charge based on the type of work, such as review and signing of documents, filing of tax returns, and will preparation.

What Questions Should I Ask an Elder care Law Lawyer?

Most elder law lawyers do not specialize in every area of law affecting seniors, so it is important to hire a lawyer who has experience in your particular area of concern. Also, before selecting an elder law lawyer, you should feel comfortable that he or she will represent you or your loved one in a sensitive and understanding manner.

Here are some questions you should ask:

•       How long have you been practicing law?
•       What percentage of your time is devoted to elder law?
•       Do you have a particular emphasis on a certain area within elder law?
•       What information should I prepare for our first meeting?
•       How are your fees computed?

When Is a Nursing Home Liable for Elder care Abuse and Neglect?

If it can be demonstrated that a nursing home or its employees have acted negligently, they may be held liable for any resulting damages. Damages available in a nursing home abuse lawsuit may include medical bills, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and disability. Some states also allow for punitive damages, which are intended to deter the defendant and others from engaging in similar conduct.

The following may be grounds for filing a nursing home abuse claim:

 Negligence: Nursing homes have an obligation to hire personnel who have the properly combination of training and skills for the position into which they are hired. They should also ensure staff have no record of abuse, violence, fraud or financial abuse. If a nursing home hires its employees without verifying their background, the residents may be put at risk. If a resident is harmed or has their rights violated by such a person, the nursing home may be liable.

Understaffing: When a nursing home fails to employ a reasonable number of staff members, residents may be neglected because there are insufficient staff members to look after them. Understaffing is a frequent cause of harm and neglect in nursing homes.

What Nursing Home Elder Abuse and Neglect Looks Like

Elder abuse is defined as the mistreatment of an older adult by someone who is in a position of trust and authority. Nursing home mistreatment can take many forms, including emotional, mental, physical, financial, or sexual abuse. The person inflicting the abuse is most commonly a care worker at the facility. During your consultation with our NJ elder care lawyers, you should expect to be asked to provide details of what you have seen, what you have heard, and whether there were any red flags that abuse was occurring, so we can better evaluate your potential case.  Our team can also give you information about how to gather evidence and what options may exist for you to safely remove your senior relative from the facility before more harm can be inflicted.

Abuse by care workers may take in many forms, including:

• Intentionally or negligenty failing to provide necessary care and treatment;
• Physical Abuse – Hitting, slapping, shaking, pushing, burning, etc.
• Touching or penetrating genital area
• Failing to attend to elder’s needs, such as food, water, and medicine
• Failing to help the elder bathe, get dressed, brush teeth, etc. 
• Accessing financial records and exploiting finances for personal gain

How Family Members Can Take Action Today

As an elder care lawyer in NJ like the team at Davis & Brusca will tell you, one of the best things you can do to keep your elderly loved one safe in a nursing home is to visit, stay attentive & involved, and to thoroughly research the facility. Look into records for that facility and whether they have faced any lawsuits related to mistreatment in the past. However, even if you did your due diligence, abuse and neglect can still happen.  

We understand that looking further into whether your loved one is being abused in a nursing home can be emotionally triggering and terribly painful to think about. We are here to help and hold the offending parties accountable.

Please contact a NJ lawyer for elder care abuse at Davis & Brusca, LLC today for more information about how we can help protect your cherished senior loved one. 

Nursing home abuse lawyers in NJ such as Davis & Brusca, LLC can help with all the concerns and cases that may result from neglect and abuse in a nursing home. Contact our office today to schedule a one on one consultation.