Nursing home residents pay these places to help them live their last days in peace. The elderly deserve to have people take care of them properly. Unfortunately, it's common for them to suffer from physical, psychological, and even sexual abuse in the place where people are supposed to help them.
It's truly difficult for many people to report abuse when they suffer from it because they are afraid that it will lead to worse consequences. Nursing home residents depend on nurses and doctors there to do everything, so it's only natural they are afraid to make them mad.
Therefore, the elderly need someone who can notice if they suffer from nursing home abuse and report the problem when it happens. However, what is the next step after reporting the situation? Everything that happened still did, and it's difficult to recover from certain injuries and psychological trauma.
Recovering from physical abuse, depending on how severe the injuries were, can take a lot of money. Where can people get that money from? This blog post has an answer to that question.
Here, people will learn how to file a nursing home abuse lawsuit. People can also go to this law firm's website to read similar blog posts or hire a personal injury lawyer who can provide insight on how to file a lawsuit for product liability in TN as well.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse
There are different types of nursing home abuse. It's important to understand what each of them represents because the damages the victim suffers from reflect the compensation they can get later. Narrowing it down, it gets to neglect and sexual, physical, and psychological abuse.
When people talk about neglect cases, they mean nursing home residents who don't get as much attention from their caregivers as they should. If someone is a victim of nursing home neglect, they may not get as much medicine or food as they need, let alone special needs each resident may have.
Setting aside neglect, physical abuse is also more common than many people think. Since doctors and nurses manage victims' medical records, they just modify them to make it seem like they have a problem. That way, they can get away with all the nursing home injuries they inflict on victims.
The same happens with the injuries they may leave after engaging in sexual abuse. As for psychological damage, it's more difficult to show. Hence, nurses and doctors manipulate victims into thinking they can't say anything about what's happening, or the situation will worsen.
Although it's not as common as the others, financial abuse happens too. This consists of forcing the elderly into giving them money or spending more than they should on other things.
What Tells People That Nursing Home Residents Are Abused?
Since abusers manipulate nursing home abuse victims to think bad things will happen to them if they report abuse, it's important to know what signs that show people their loved ones are suffering from this problem. Some people spend years suffering in nursing homes just for their family members to know about the situation when it's too late.
These are a list of signs people could follow to know their loved ones are suffering from nursing home abuse:
Physical Abuse
Physical nursing home abuse may be the easiest-to-detect type of abuse among the others, though it's still kind of complex. People should check for unexplained injuries or pain complaints that don't come from an obvious injury. These could be burns, bruises, and others.
Although unexplained pain is a huge sign of nursing home abuse, the lack of reaction to pain could also be it. If the victims are trained to hide pain, they will get the habit of doing it.
Sexual Abuse
The worst thing about sexual nursing home abuse is the psychological trauma it leaves behind. This kind of problem could lead to physical and emotional injuries for life. The most obvious sign of sexual abuse in nursing homes is if the victims get any STDs.
It would be weird for an elderly person to have an STD without their family already knowing it to this point. The same happens to any injury to their genital area or sudden problems to walk or sit.
Psychological Abuse
Psychological abuse is one of the most difficult-to-notice problems people can suffer from in nursing homes. Unfortunately, it's one of the most common too. Victims of emotional abuse may show a more passive and emotionless behavior.
The signs of psychological abuse could lead to notice other types of abuse too. Sudden changes in the victim's behavior and fear of being alone with caretakers are significant signs of this problem.
It's not common for joyous people who are full of love to have a completely withdrawn behavior all of a sudden. People should always keep an eye on this, regardless of the excuse the nursing home gives to their lack of emotion.
Neglect
The signs of neglect are relatively easy to notice because they are similar to physical abuse. If someone sees their loved one is not properly dressed or as clean as they should, it could mean they are suffering from neglect.
Something similar happens if they have any special condition that needs treatment that suddenly worsens. It could mean they are not taking the medication they need for it. Loss of weight is also a huge sign of neglect in nursing homes.
Can People Sue Health Care Facilities?
The answer is yes. People can sue healthcare facilities for nursing home abuse. However, they are not the only parties that can be liable for this problem.
Naturally, nursing homes are the most common defendants in these cases since it's their job to offer patients a safe environment to live. People could sue these institutions for improper staffing, lack of training, or failure to respond to complaints or abuse reports.
Staff members such as doctors and nurses can also be liable for nursing home abuse. Basically, anyone who works for the facility. In this case, people can sue them for physical, emotional, financial, or sexual abuse. Neglect of basic care needs is also a reason for suing nursing home workers. The same applies to third-party contractors such as security or cleaning personnel. For more information, nursing home abuse attorneys may be able to help.
How to File a Lawsuit for Nursing Home Abuse in TN
Now that everything related to abuse is on the table, is time to know how to file a Tennessee nursing home abuse claim. Doing this process is essential to get the victims the compensation they deserve.
File a Complaint
Once the victim's family discovers the abuse their loved one suffered in the nursing home, they need to contact a lawyer as soon as possible to file a complaint to a court. The complaint needs to include all the details and evidence related to the case.
People have one year from the day the injury should have been reasonably discovered to file a complaint. Before doing so, they should look for enough evidence to prove the nursing home abuse.
Abusing patients goes against many laws from the Tennessee Department of Health. Hence, victims will get all the money they need to recover from their injuries if they can prove what happened to them there.
In this case, footage from security cameras and witness statements from other residents are key pieces of evidence.
Serve the Defendant
After hiring nursing home abuse lawyers and filing a complaint, the defendant needs to know about the claim. Most times, this is the job of a court process server that sends them a copy of the complaint and tells them how much time they have to respond to it.
The future actions of the victim depend on the answer the defendant gives to the complaint. Although they can accept the claim and pay for everything, it's very odd to see that happening. Realistically speaking, nursing homes often deny everything, so victims should be prepared for that.
Discovery Phase
Each lawsuit has a discovery phase that consists of exchanging information with the defendant. This includes the evidence both have about the case. People often use the discovery phase to determine if they will try to get to an agreement with the defendant or if they will try to go to trial directly.
Negotiation/Trial
Everyone, regardless of the case, has the opportunity to get to a deal with the other party before going to trial. This is a decent option for people not so sure about winning the case. Negotiations shouldn't happen without the presence of the victim and its legal representation.
Getting to an agreement means receiving less compensation but being sure the victim will get it. Lawyers will always ask their clients what they think about the situation and what they feel safe doing. If the defendant and the plaintiff fail to get to a fair settlement, they will go to trial. They can also assist with how to file a lawsuit for mesothelioma in TN.
Conclusion - Hire Tennessee Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Now!
Since it's already difficult to notice abuse in a healthcare facility, it's essential family members who suspect abuse act quickly. Nursing home abuse victims need freedom from their emotional and physical restraints as soon as possible, and lawyers can help them get that.
Hiring experienced Tennessee nursing home abuse attorneys is the most straightforward to compensate victims for the emotional, physical, and financial abuse they went through. Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys can go to war for any victims of this problem in Nashville, Tennessee.
This law firm is experienced in nursing home abuse cases, and it works with former insurance company lawyers. People can contact it today to schedule a free consultation now!