When you put your senior loved one in a nursing home, you expect the staff to offer the best possible care. You want your loved one’s needs to be met securely. Nursing homes are the best option for long-term, professional care for many families, but in some circumstances, these facilities fall short of that level.
If your loved one was abused, mistreated, or neglected by a nursing facility, you might be entitled to take legal action. The competent Prairie Village, KS, nursing home abuse law firm, Ricket Law Firm, can help you seek justice for your loved one. Call our medical malpractice and elder abuse attorney now!
Why Do I Need Prairie Village Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers?
Our skilled Prairie Village nursing home abuse lawyers can assist you in understanding abuse and demonstrating what to look for. You may suspect a nursing home staff member of wrongdoing, but our institutional nursing home abuse lawyer can spot all of the warning signs and may be able to help you determine if you or a loved one has been abused.
Common indications of nursing home abuse in senior residents are frequently explained away or misunderstood. As a result of this oversight, many incidences of abuse go undetected. According to the National Council on Aging, just one out of every twenty-four occurrences of elder abuse is reported to authorities (NCOA).
Our skilled Prairie Village nursing home abuse lawyers may be able to assist you with the following:
- Hold nursing home employees accountable.
- Prevent others from experiencing the same pain and suffering that you have.
- Seek compensation to help pay for medical care or relocation expenses.
- Seek justice for what has happened to you or a loved one.
Our trained nursing home abuse lawyers understand the legal and emotional complexities of institutional elder abuse and may be able to help you take legal action. Call our Prairie Village nursing home abuse law firm today to discuss your legal options.
What Are the Different Types of Nursing Home Abuse?
The Centers for Disease Control classify nursing home abuse into five categories: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, abandonment, neglect, and financial abuse.
Financial Abuse
It is the most prevalent kind of elder abuse. This occurs when a nursing home caregiver misuses, steals, or improperly distributes an elderly person’s funds or assets. Misuse or theft, forgery, force or fraud to surrender assets, and illegal use of guardianship authority are all examples of financial abuse.
Physical Abuse
It refers to using physical force against an aged person to create pain, anguish, impairment, injury, or disease. Hitting, choking, slapping, scorching, kicking, shaking, or suffocating are all examples of physical abuse.
Emotional Abuse
Another widespread yet often missed type of nursing home abuse. This type of abuse includes nonverbal or verbal activities that cause an older person grief, fear, distress, or mental pain. Controlling an elderly person’s access to resources, isolating them from family and friends, threats, and humiliation are all forms of abuse.
Abandonment and Neglect
These refer to a caregiver’s failure to offer necessary care to an elderly person. Abuse might include failing to safeguard the elderly from injury or failing to provide necessities such as medication, hygiene, exercise, water, and food. A caregiver may also abandon an elderly person at a nursing home or in public.
Sexual Abuse
It encompasses any forced, coerced, or unwelcome sexual encounter between a trusted caregiver and an elder adult. Sexual abuse can also occur when an elderly person cannot consent. Sexual abuse includes penetration, unwanted caressing, fondling, and attempted sexual assault.
What Are the Common Signs of Nursing Home Abuse?
Abuse at nursing homes can be difficult to detect unless you know what to look for. When a person in a care home is abused, certain symptoms develop. However, everyone expresses abuse differently, making it difficult to diagnose.
Behavioral changes are some of the most visible indications of abuse. If your loved one starts acting differently, this could indicate something is wrong. Many abuse victims are shy around others or want to avoid them entirely. They may strive to shun any social activity. If you discover this problem, you should investigate who they see daily and whether there are any other symptoms of abuse.
There are other physical indicators to look for. Burns, bruises, and cuts are classic indicators of abuse because they can be concealed while still having the desired effect on the patient. It is possible to sustain these injuries without abuse, but injuries at a nursing home should be thoroughly documented. If the facility cannot prove how those injuries occurred, it could be a clue that your loved one is being abused behind closed doors.
Changes in your loved one’s condition over time might sometimes be symptoms of abuse. Nursing homes frequently provide laundry and other basic hygiene services to keep your loved ones clean and healthy. If you detect unclean clothes, body odor, or other indicators of being unclean, it could indicate that your loved one is being abused or neglected.
What Can I Do If I Suspect Prairie Village Nursing Home Abuse?
Your greatest concern if you suspect nursing home abuse and neglect in Prairie Village nursing home is the safety of your loved one. Do not be afraid to relocate them or contact authorities. If you fear your loved one is in imminent danger, dial 911. If your loved one exhibits physical or sexual abuse, or neglect, such as being dehydrated or malnourished, you should seek medical assistance as soon as possible.
This is crucial for their health and may also be relevant evidence in your case. You should express your concerns to the nursing home’s elderly residents. They should have procedures to deal with these issues, yet their actions are frequently insufficient. However, you should not simply notify the nursing home about the incident.
You should also contact the appropriate state agency and communicate relevant information. Prairie Village nursing home abuse is a criminal felony punishable by jail time, but victims can also sue the nursing home for civil damages. A personal injury claim will not erase your loved one’s agony and suffering but will help repay you for costs, medical care, and other intangible losses.
Take photographs if your loved one has any injuries or shattered possessions. Medical records, bank statements, accident reports, and anything else that may be relevant to your case should also be kept. You should also keep a log of any suspicious behavior or concerns. Contact one of our skilled Prairie Village nursing home abuse lawyers as soon as possible to begin an investigation.
We will assist you in filing a nursing home abuse case and pursuing the compensation you and your loved one are entitled to.
How Can I Report Nursing Home Abuse in Prairie Village?
Any suspected abuse or neglect should be reported as soon as possible. It is not enough to inform nursing home staff members about elder abuse. It must be correctly reported for the appropriate action to be taken. When you call one of our Prairie Village nursing home abuse lawyers, we can assist you in notifying the appropriate authorities and ensuring that appropriate action is taken to safeguard your loved one.
Our first move will be to notify the appropriate institutions set up to protect the elderly, such as:
- The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS). It is in charge of examining allegations of abuse and failing to provide proper care in adult nursing home facilities in Prairie Village, Kansas. They have a complaint hotline from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can reach them by dialing 1-800-842-0078.
- The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. They can investigate and reclaim payments fraudulently invoiced to Medicaid by healthcare providers.
- The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). They look into the abuse of vulnerable adults. DHSS can be reached at 1-800-392-0210 from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m., 365 days a year.
- Adult Protective Services (APS). They investigate reports of abuse of adults in nursing homes who cannot protect themselves when the culprit is not a resident or a member of the facility’s staff.
- The Kansas Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. It is a statewide organization that reviews long-term care facility complaints.
How to Determine Liability in a Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit?
The issue of liability is one aspect of elder abuse cases that may perplex victims and their loved ones. Liability for injuries implies that a person or facility is financially liable for the losses they produce. In most situations, the abuser is held accountable. However, under some conditions, it may also extend to the facility.
In some circumstances, medical facilities, including nursing homes, are held accountable for the activities of their workers. If the facility fostered an environment in which abuse was encouraged, allowed, or overlooked, the facility is just as much to blame as the abuser. To recover compensation for connected expenses, you may be entitled to bring a lawsuit against the abuser and the facility.
Request that we renegotiate the settlement agreement until it satisfies your needs. You can also take your case to court.
What Are the Possible Grounds for Legal Action Against a Nursing Home Care Facility?
After hearing your story, our team determines what grounds your case can be filed on and who the liable parties are. If we accept your case, we will begin investigating immediately, gathering relevant evidence such as medical papers and facility reports, interviewing witnesses, and completing the necessary paperwork. Our Prairie Village nursing home abuse law firm will work tirelessly to obtain the compensation you deserve.
Some of the most typical grounds for filing nursing home abuse lawsuits are:
Negligent Hiring
Nursing facilities owe it to their residents to hire appropriately qualified personnel, hold the required academic degrees for the role, and have no history of abuse or violence. When a nursing home recruits personnel without doing background checks or keeps an employee who is known to be incompetent, the nursing home residents are put at risk. As a result, the nursing home may be held liable if unqualified staff members cause harm to residents.
Shortage of Staff
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average staff-to-resident ratio is one staff member for every 1.64 residents. Residents may be ignored when a nursing home fails to engage a sufficient number of staff members since there is no one to look after them and offer necessary care.
Furthermore, the low staff-to-resident ratio creates extra work for staff members, who may not be adequately rewarded for the labor they need to complete. This can cause stress in employees, resulting in a loss of morale and compassion. Nursing homes may be held accountable if a resident is injured or dies as a result of an insufficient number of caregivers.
Insufficient Training
In certain circumstances, nursing home workers are not properly trained to deal with impaired or problematic patients and hence fail to deliver the degree of care mandated by law and expected by families. Nursing homes can be held liable if their staff’s lack of training results in a patient’s injury.
Third-Party Liability Claim
Nursing homes can be held liable for any abuse committed by third parties within the facility. This is due to their obligation to offer a safe atmosphere for the occupants. For example, if a person is injured by another resident or a resident’s guest, the nursing home may be held accountable if proper security is not provided to avoid such an incident.
Infringement on Statutory or Regulatory Rights
Residents in nursing homes have the right to autonomy, dignity, and privacy. If one of its employees violates these fundamental rights, the nursing home can be held accountable.
Errors in Medication
Medications are an inevitable aspect of old age, and nursing home residents might suffer if they are not given the correct medication dosage at the appropriate time. If a prescription drug error causes injury to a resident, the physician, administering nurse, pharmacy, or pharmacist may be held liable.
Failure to Provide a Clean and Safe Environment
Many pathogenic microorganisms can infect residents of nursing homes. Showers, tubs, and bathrooms that are not frequently sterilized pose a high risk of germ transmission among nursing home residents. A lack of sanitation can also cause diseases. When nursing home personnel fail to clean properly, patients are in danger of infection and other health concerns. This is an example of facility neglect.
How to Prove Nursing Home Abuse?
Missouri and Kansas courts typically use the negligence statute to evaluate whether a Prairie Village nursing home and its personnel are guilty of abuse. It must be established in negligence cases that:
- The nursing home owed a duty of care to its senior patients, as nursing facilities always do.
- The nursing facility or its workers violated that duty of care by engaging in unreasonable or negligent behavior.
- Their activities caused injury or exacerbated an underlying condition.
- As a result, damages have occurred.
Contact our Prairie Village nursing home abuse lawyers if your loved one has suffered due to someone else’s negligence.
The Prairie Village in Kansas
Prairie Village is a small town in Johnson County, Kansas, in the United States. It is located east of State Line, west of Overland Park, south of Mission Hills, and north of Leawood. It was farmland before it became a town. The prairie in what is now Johnson County was first used as pasture land for livestock and horses by early settlers.
Contact Our Prairie Village Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers Today
When it comes to avoiding nursing homes and elder abuse, prevention is key. Make every effort to find a reputable Prairie Village nursing home for your loved one. To locate the ideal fit, scout other locations, study reviews, and visit the establishment in person. Once at the facility, your loved one may not speak up about mistreatment.
You must visit the nursing home regularly, look for symptoms of potential abuse, and report any suspicious activities or injuries to the authorities. Maintain contact with your older loved one, keep them as active as possible, encourage community interactions, be aware of friends or carers in need of money, and, most importantly, urge your loved one to speak up about neglect or abuse.
Take your loved one’s complaints of abuse seriously and listen to them. Inform your loved one that you believe them and will contact our qualified Prairie Village nursing home abuse lawyers immediately soon. If a family member has been abused at a nursing facility in Prairie Village, you should contact our Prairie Village nursing home abuse law firm as soon as possible.
We will assist you in protecting your loved one and pursuing compensation. The attorney-client relationship is fundamental to everything we do, and we are always open and honest with you, so you know precisely where you are. Don’t face the stress of a nursing home abuse case by yourself.
We will assist you in navigating the legal system and fighting to safeguard your loved one’s rights.
How to get to Ricket Law?
To get to our law firm from Prairie Village:
- Head southeast toward W 75th St
- Follow W 75th St and Ward Pkwy to KCMO
- Turn right
- The law firm will be on the left
