(Newswire.net — November 14, 2019) — A nursing home is supposed to be a safe place for elderly people to live and others to recover from illness or injury. Unfortunately, many nursing homes end up in the news when they get sued for abusing or neglecting residents.
There have been countless incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect, but these six cases are the most horrific. In one instance, a nursing home refused to move their patients when Hurricane Katrina hit and 35 residents drowned.
If someone you love has been abused or neglected in a nursing home, you have every right to file a lawsuit and sue for damages. If you’re hesitant to get involved in a lawsuit, here are 6 reasons to rethink your position:
1. The financial compensation will help your loved one
If you win your case, you can use the financial compensation to move your loved one into a better facility. That money will also help to pay medical bills generated by the abuse or neglect. For instance, if your loved one had to undergo any kind of special treatment in the nursing home or the hospital as a result of abuse or neglect, winning a lawsuit will help cover those bills.
2. Internal investigations often go nowhere
Elder abuse includes more than physical violence and the signs aren’t always visible. If you report potential abuse internally, management might not be willing to investigate if they don’t see any evidence. If management is aware of the abuse they might give you the runaround.
Before reporting suspected abuse internally, educate yourself about how to identify the signs and symptoms of elder abuse. You can use this information to file your report, but if the management doesn’t want to investigate, then filing a lawsuit is your only option.
3. The facility will be hard pressed to change
If you win your case, the judge might award punitive damages to get the nursing home to remedy the problem at the root. Even without punitive damages, the facility will be hard-pressed to change because they’ll want to avoid bad press.
Sometimes nursing home facilities aren’t aware of abuse, so filing a lawsuit – even if you don’t win – will bring the issue to their attention in a way they can’t ignore. If the nursing home wasn’t aware of the abuse and they don’t condone it, they’ll be more likely to fire the offending staff members and pay closer attention to resident care.
4. Your lawsuit might encourage others to speak out
Speaking out against abuse is never easy. Many people are too scared to tell anyone what’s going on. Others are embarrassed. However, once someone starts speaking out, it’s easier for others to follow suit. By filing a lawsuit for elder abuse, you might encourage other victims to file their own lawsuits and recover compensation for their injuries.
5. Reporting abuse is your responsibility
Some professionals are required by law to report signs of abuse. If you’re legally a caregiver, you might be required to report abuse. If you let the situation go, you could be held liable.
Even if you’re not legally required to report incidents of suspected abuse, as a human being it’s your moral responsibility to protect your loved one. The same goes for anyone else in the nursing home that you suspect might be abused or neglected.
Statistics show that 1 in 10 Americans aged 60+ have been the victim of elder abuse, but only 1 in 14 cases are reported. Surprisingly, 60% of abuse incidents are perpetrated by a family member – usually adult children or a spouse.
6. Your loved one depends on you
The most important reason to file a lawsuit for elder abuse is because your loved one depends on you for protection. Depending on their situation, they might depend on you to be their voice as well.
If you suspect your loved one is being abused in a nursing home, contact an attorney immediately and start pursuing a case against the facility. The abuse won’t stop on its own and if you don’t pursue the matter in court, it will probably get worse.
Protect your loved one by standing up for their right to live a healthy, happy life. When the case is resolved, they’ll be grateful you took the time to fight for them when they couldn’t stand up for themselves.