Nursing homes are supposed to be a safe place for a loved one to stay. However, nursing homes can be a place of abuse and neglect. The abuse can range from stealing money to false imprisonment and lack of medical care. False imprisonment occurs when a person is keeping an individual from leaving.
What is Nursing Home Abuse?
This type of abuse occurs when a nursing home fails to provide standard care required by Nebraska law. For example, the nursing staff may over-medicate a loved one or physically assault them. This type of care is negligent. Negligence is the act of failing to provide the same type of care another Nebraska nursing home would in a similar situation.
Three Types of Nursing Home Abuse Categories
Nursing home abuse occurs in a variety of ways such as not providing a loved one the adequate medical care. However, this type of abuse falls into three general categories. The categories are:
- Neglect: Neglect is legally defined as the failure of a nursing home to provide for one or more of its residents. Signs of a nursing home is not providing standard care mandated by law includes food and water deprivation, unclean living conditions for the loved one and lack of proper hygiene.
- Physical abuse: Physical abuse is defined as any type of physical action. The physical action includes, but is not limited to kicking, slapping, shoving. This causes the loved one physical pain and possible injury such as lacerations, unexplained bruises and broken bones.
- Mental and emotional abuse: Emotional and mental abuse is defined as any type of physical or verbal actions that cause an individual anguish and suffering. They can also experience emotional distress.
Filing a Nursing Home Abuse Personal Injury Claim in Nebraska
A nursing home abuse personal injury claim is a lawsuit against the nursing facility. It is filed by the nursing home abuse attorney Omaha NE of a resident or family member of the resident to obtain damages for the substandard care received. Damages is a money award to cover the abuse-related expenses such as additional medical bills.
To win a lawsuit like this, the plaintiff must prove four things. The first is the nursing facility had a duty to the resident to provide standard care. This involves showing the nursing facility was hired to care for the resident. The next element is the nursing home breached its duty of care. This means they did something wrong to cause harm to the resident.
What to do When There’s a Suspicion of Nursing Home Abuse in Nebraska
Nursing home neglect or abuse can happen at any time and anywhere. It is important to know the signs of elderly abuse and nursing home neglectsuch as bedsores. If an individual suspects the nursing home is providing substandard care, seek medical attention for the loved one. This will record evidence of the abuse or neglect. File a complaint with the nursing home administrator. Also, contact a personal injury lawyer who specializes in resolving nursing home abuse cases.
