When entrusting a nursing home with the care of a loved one, families expect compassionate care, a strong sense of community, and access to quality medical attention. If you or a loved one has been a victim of nursing home neglect, our PA nursing home neglect lawyer is here to help you. These facilities promise a safe haven, equipped with amenities and a healthcare staff dedicated to residents’ well-being. However, the stark reality often falls short of these expectations. In the United States, alarming statistics reveal that over 5 million elderly residents suffer abuse each year, a figure that likely underrepresents the issue due to underreporting. If you believe that your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse, you should contact a trusted and experienced PA nursing home neglect lawyer at Davis & Brusca, LLC right away so that you can receive legal help. 

Recognizing the gravity of this issue, it’s crucial for families to understand their rights and the recourse available. Davis & Brusca, LLC, a trusted PA nursing home neglect lawyer, stands ready to assist those affected by nursing home abuse and neglect, ensuring victims receive the legal support they need.

Choosing the Right Nursing Home: Prevention and Advocacy

To prevent neglect, thorough research and regular visits to prospective facilities are crucial. Inquire about staff-to-resident ratios, training programs, and protocols for handling abuse and neglect. Advocacy doesn’t stop with choosing the right facility; it extends to staying vigilant and involved in your loved one’s care, ensuring their rights are respected.

Standing Up for Your Loved Ones

The decision to place a loved one in a nursing home is fraught with challenges, but facing neglect should never be one of them. Davis & Brusca, LLC is committed to protecting the elderly from abuse and neglect. Our team of compassionate and experienced lawyers understands the intricacies of nursing home neglect laws in Pennsylvania and is dedicated to ensuring victims and their families receive the justice and dignity they deserve. If you’re confronting the challenge of nursing home neglect, remember, you’re not alone. We’re here to help navigate this difficult journey, offering the legal support and guidance you need. Contact Davis & Brusca, LLC today to discuss your case and explore your legal options.

The Role of a Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer

A specialized nursing home neglect lawyer can offer invaluable assistance by:

• Investigating Claims: Gathering evidence and documenting the neglect.
• Legal Advocacy: Navigating the legal system to hold responsible parties accountable.
• Seeking Compensation: Fighting for compensation to cover medical expenses, pain and suffering, and more.

Residents’ rights, protected under both federal and state laws, include the right to dignity, quality care, and freedom from abuse. The Pennsylvania Department of Health oversees nursing home regulations, but when systemic issues persist, legal action may be the only recourse.

Understanding the Scope of Nursing Home Neglect

Nursing home neglect, a form of elder abuse, encompasses a range of issues from physical harm to emotional distress, stemming from inadequate care. Contributing factors include:

• Understaffing: A prevalent issue, understaffing leads to inadequate care, as overwhelmed staff cannot meet all residents’ needs, increasing the risk of accidents and neglect.
• Inadequate Training: Staff lacking proper training may miss critical signs of distress or fail to provide the necessary level of care, resulting in neglect.
• Poor Management: Facilities poorly managed may not enforce the standards of care required, allowing neglect to occur unchecked.

Recognizing the signs of abuse and neglect is the first step in advocating for your loved one. Warning signs include unexplained injuries, sudden mood changes, signs of restraint, poor hygiene, and financial discrepancies.

Identify The Signs

One of the first steps in preventing abuse is to research prospective nursing homes. Visiting the nursing homes in person, meeting staff, and asking questions of the administration is critical to making a smart choice and selecting a good nursing home.  But, in the end, no amount of research can guarantee good care.  Even if the family has done everything possible to find care for their loved one, it’s still possible for neglect and abuse to occur. As such, it is critical that the family visit frequently and be able to recognize signs of abuse.  These are varied and may include:

• Mood Changes
• Unexplained Injuries
• Signs of Restraint
• Bed Sores
• Lack of Hygiene
• Torn or Soiled Clothing and Bedding
• Unexplained Financial Transactions

If any of these signs are observed, taking action as quickly as possible is crucial. Start by addressing potential problems with nursing home staff and administration. If there is no response, the next step should be to search for alternative care options. While problems may be rectified, it’s essential to remember that if your aging loved one has been injured or is in imminent danger, it might be necessary to ensure they receive immediate medical care and are removed immediately from the facility they are living in. 

Taking Action Against Nursing Home Neglect

If you suspect neglect, immediate action is essential. Documenting evidence, speaking with facility staff, and reporting concerns to state authorities are critical steps. However, when these measures fail to resolve the issue, legal intervention becomes necessary.

Every resident in a nursing home should be made to feel safe and secure, but unfortunately, there are many cases of nursing home abuse, as the skilled PA nursing home neglect lawyers at Davis & Brusca know all too well. Finding out that your loved one is a nursing home abuse victim is not easy. It is a difficult and painful thing to discover, and as the victim’s loved one may be at a loss of how to deal with the information. Nursing home residents who experience abuse and neglect can be entitled to recover compensation for what they have gone through, and they should know their rights. If you think that your loved one has been a victim of abuse, It’s important that you know and take the right steps.

• Talk to Your Loved One

Your loved one who is the victim of abuse or neglect may have the most information to provide you. If they have the mental capacity to recall and communicate, try to talk to them about what they have specifically experienced or seen in the nursing home. They may be reluctant to talk at first but write down whatever information that they can share with you. 

• Gather Evidence

Evidence is crucial if you suspect nursing home abuse. As a PA nursing home neglect lawyer like one from Davis & Brusca, LLC can tell you, common evidence provided for nursing home abuse include video recordings and critical gaps in medical reports. Direct family and powers of attorney are frequently entitled to copies of the medical chart upon request.  You may also be entitled to see the facility’s policies and procedures, and to review their staffing data.  This kind of proof can prove invaluable and the more you can gather, the stronger your case may be.  Often, records gathered by family prove critical as facilities may alter charts once a lawyer gets involved. 

• Take Photos

Unexplained injuries are all too common and often indicate neglect of patients. For instance, bedsores may indicate that a patient is not being regularly repositioned in their bed. A patient must be moved periodically because they can suffer pressure sores or bedsores. Take many photos of injuries that your loved one has on their body, such as bedsores, bruises, scars and cuts. Photographs are especially important if your loved one has injuries on parts of the body that are usually covered by clothing, as our PA nursing home neglect lawyers can explain. 

• File a Complaint with the State

You can contact your state’s Department of Health if you believe that your loved one’s nursing home is not providing sufficient care. Frequently, this is done through online reporting.  Be prepared to give an account of what your loved one has experienced. Have all your records, evidence, and other requirements ready to include in the complaint. It is important that you notify them as soon as possible following incidents of neglect or abuse, to maximize the prospects that an investigation into the nursing home may be productive. Be prepared to follow up with them to find out what your next steps should be.