ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Nursing Home Residents at Risk of Abuse and Neglect
When Quality Care Loses Out to the Bottom Line
The nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent elderly persons injured by abuse or neglect in the nursing homes of Marin County and throughout California. Our attorneys know how harmful nursing home abuse or neglect can be. Data on nursing home abuse reveals just how widespread the risk of harm really is. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently reported that one-third of Medicare beneficiaries experience some type of harm or adverse event during their stay in a skilled nursing facility in this country. About sixty percent of those incidents were preventable according to CMS. CMS has initiated a quality improvement campaign in nursing homes and our lawyers applaud that effort.
Our litigation experience indicates that most abuse and neglect is the result of bad hires, understaffing, lack of supervision, little training, or an incomplete grasp of resident care needs. Our lawyers believe nursing home owners, administrators, and staff should be held accountable for any neglect or abuse resulting from understaffing, inadequate supervision, poor training or cost-cutting practices. Owners may deliberately hire low-cost undertrained personnel, keep staff levels low to save money, and drain cash from the operation, leaving insufficient capital for needed services. Our lawyers know how to investigate these cases and sue the responsible parties for all remedies available to victims and their families. If you or someone you know is suffering from nursing home abuse in Marin County or elsewhere in California, call the nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Nursing home abuse can be fatal. Nursing home residents are in homes for a reason – they can no longer take care of themselves. The patients and their families trust skilled nursing facilities to take care of these patients, and they pay dearly for that care. If you have a loved one in a nursing home, visit as often as you can and monitor the care your loved one receives. Watch for signs of possible abuse or neglect:
- Bedsores/pressure ulcers or other poor skin conditions;
- Bruises and scratch marks;
- Falls;
- Injuries from wandering off unsupervised (known as elopement);
- Indication of sexual assault, rape, or battery;
- Lack of equipment and supplies;
- Overmedication;
- Rapid weight loss;
- Dehydration;
- Abnormal or withdrawn behavior and unusual silence;
- Prolonged sleep or drowsiness;
- Agitation especially when certain caregivers are present;
- Reluctance to speak when staff is nearby;
- Unsanitary and unclean conditions, soiled bed linens and clothes;
- Fear of being touched.
You know your loved one best and other observations may concern you. If you suspect abuse or neglect, do something about it immediately. Notify the nursing home administrator who is required by law to report the situation to the authorities. And call qualified counsel like the nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm to help you.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one is or has been the victim of nursing home abuse in Marin County or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other nursing home abuse attorneys at the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
