We trust nursing home facilities and staff to care for our loved ones. While many in-care facilities are older residents affected by physical or cognitive disability, other residents may be younger with conditions requiring around-the-clock attention. Whatever specific reason demands their admission into a facility, they depend on it for respectful, watchful care, and legally, that is the kind of care facilities must provide.
Experiencing abuse or neglect while in a nursing home is a betrayal, and victims have the right to fight back. A Laughlin personal injury lawyer from H&P Law can help with that fight. Connect with a caring, experienced Laughlin nursing home abuse lawyer from our team to demand accountability and seek compensation and justice for the abuse you or someone you love experienced in a nursing home.
Forms of Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home abuse takes a variety of forms, and sadly, it is not uncommon for older people to experience abuse. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) estimates as many as 5 million older Americans experience abuse each year and that only one in every 24 cases is reported. While abusers can be family members, such as spouses or children, much of the abuse occurs in nursing care facilities.
Elder abuse is more than physical, and forms of it include:
- Physical: victims are beaten, slapped or struck, unnecessarily restrained, subjected to corporal punishment, or otherwise have physical pain or injury inflicted on them.
- Emotional: victims experience verbal threats, insults, intimidation, or harassment.
- Sexual: victims can be molested, raped, or forced to perform or watch sex acts. Forcing a person to engage in any sexual behavior or performing sex acts on them without their consent or after drugging or otherwise incapacitating them is sexual abuse.
- Neglect: victims are left without adequate access to food and water, clean clothes, a clean environment, or appropriate medical care. Having their spoken needs or concerns ignored is neglect as well.
- Isolation: victims are cut off from others, having no opportunities for socialization or interaction.
- Financial Exploitation: victims’ finances are stolen, used, or controlled–not for the benefit of the victim. Stealing a victim’s identity or changing their will or estate plan are also forms of exploitation.
Most forms of abuse warrant criminal charges and penalties. Even if the abuser faces criminal charges, you can still demand justice for yourself or your loved one in civil court. To help secure justice, reach out to a Laughlin nursing home abuse attorney from H&P Law.
Possible Damages Available for Nursing Home Abuse Victims
Every abuse case is different, and compensation amounts vary from case to case. You can trust your nursing home abuse attorney in Laughlin to examine your situation with great care and determine an amount that respects your, or your loved one’s, losses and your dignity. In Nevada, victims of nursing home abuse can seek economic and non-economic damages and, in some cases, punitive (also called “exemplary”) damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are compensatory. They recover financial losses incurred by the abuse. Economic damages can cover medical bills for physical injuries, counseling costs for emotional trauma, or restore drained bank accounts or credit card bills for items the abuser purchased without consent.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are also compensatory, serving as an acknowledgment of the non-financial damage inflicted through the abuse. They account for physical and emotional pain, disfigurement, and other costs that do not come with an actual bill. Non-economic damages recognize the dignity of the abused, forcing the abuser to compensate for the dignity they stole through their despicable actions.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are not compensatory. They represent a financial penalty the abuser must pay on top of compensatory damages. Nevada Statute §42.005 allows for punitive damages when victims can prove
“by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud or malice, express or implied.”
What to Do if You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse
Though many nursing homes honor and care for their residents, loved ones should always watch out for the most common signs of nursing home abuse. Warning signs include:
- Frequent Injuries: While accidents happen, frequent injuries may indicate your loved one is experiencing physical abuse or falling or hurting themselves because they are not being carefully monitored
- Malnourishment or Dehydration: Some older adults have a reduced appetite, but take care to ensure consistent or drastic weight loss is not from lack of access to food
- Depression and Anxiety: Abuse causes mental and emotional distress. Note changes in your loved one’s demeanor and how they react to staff members or others in the facility
- Damaged Property: Torn clothes or damage to other personal items, for example
- Unexplainable Financial Transactions: Keep up with your loved one’s accounts and look for unexpected purchase changes to their accounts–such as the amounts they hold or password changes
- Missing Medication or Other Items: Sometimes, abusers steal victims’ medication or medical devices and sell them or do the same with other personal items of value
If you suspect abuse, report it to the facility and through Nevada’s Adult Protective Services procedures. Once you report the abuse to the facility, the home must follow nursing home facility-reported incidents requirements to comply with Nevada and Federal Law. You can also reach out to the Nevada Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.
After reporting the abuse and ensuring your loved one’s immediate safety, connect with H&P Law. We will review your case for free and present you with your options. You can count on us to treat you or your loved one with the utmost respect while we fight for the highest compensation possible.
Getting Justice and Restoring Dignity with a Laughlin Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer’s Help
Victims of abuse suffer devastating losses. Abuse attacks a person’s humanity, stealing their power and sense of value. H&P Law is here to help victims experience restoration by reminding all parties that the victim’s life has value and is worth fighting for and that damaging this life comes with a cost.
Reach out for a free case review. Simply call or send a message. An attentive, skilled nursing home abuse lawyer in Laughlin from H&P Law is ready to help.
