St. Louis Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer – Protecting Your Loved Ones
St. Louis Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
Do you need a St. Louis nursing home abuse lawyer? The Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers are here to help. We will work for you every step of the way, and get you the justice that you deserve.
When properly maintained, nursing homes provide an invaluable service to the elderly and their families. Sadly, some nursing homes fail to provide the care and support afforded to their residents. In some cases, nursing home staff have been known to take advantage of residents, both physically and financially. Those who engage in such carelessness should be held accountable for their negligence.
If you or a loved one suffered injury while under the care of a nursing home, you should contact a compassionate attorney as soon as possible. A St. Louis County nursing home abuse lawyer can work to investigate the incident, prove liability onto negligent nursing home administrations, and protect your rights during settlement negotiations and at trial.
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If you wish to hold the at-fault party accountable for their actions, contact a St. Louis County Nursing Home Abuse lawyer today. A seasoned injury attorney could work tirelessly on your behalf to demonstrate that another party was responsible for the crash.
Indicators of Nursing Home Abuse
When someone is placed in a nursing home, you expect them to experience the best care possible for their conditions. The nursing home is supposed to provide a high level of care to their patients, and ensure that they maintain a high standard of living throughout their later years. However, this is not always the case, and many nursing homes neglect their residents. If you come visit your family member and you see any signs of bedsores or bruises, lack of social engagement, or mood swings, it is recommended to get in touch with a St. Louis nursing home abuse lawyer immediately.
It is a sad fact that abuses are common in St. Louis County nursing homes. Unfortunately, many residents who are the victims of this abuse are unable or unwilling to speak out on their own behalf. As a result, it is often the responsibility of friends or family members to recognize common signs of abuse. These may include:
- Sudden changes in mood or demeanor
- Unexplained bruises or cuts
- A sudden change in overall health
- A lack of social engagement
In the likelihood that victims may be too intimidated to address the abuse they experienced; families should seek the services of a St. Louis County elder abuse lawyer who could hold the nursing home accountable for the harm they caused. Let’s go into more detail about what to look for when visiting someone in a nursing home.
Bruises or Bedsores
Bruises or bedsores could affect seniors when they are in one position for an extended period of time. When someone is in a nursing home, staff must frequently move the patient, as failure to do so could result in bedsores. If the nursing home staff does not take immediate action to address this issue, the sores could increase in severity. When this occurs, nursing homes unfortunately attempt to hide these sores to avoid a lawsuit.
Dietary Deficiency & Dehydration
It is the duty of the nursing home to provide its residents with a well-balanced diet. This includes helping residents to leave their rooms and go to the dining room; however, some residents may opt to eat in their rooms; therefore, staff must put a meal together for them, and bring it to them. However, it is unfortunately very common for nursing home staff to not provide adequate nourishment to their residents, resulting in a number of health issues. Some of these include feelings of weakness, difficulty recovering from illness or injury, and noticeably profound weight loss.
Every human being needs water to survive; therefore, it is critical we drink enough daily to avoid dehydration. If dehydration is present, you will notice the patient’s health begin to decline, especially those who have conditions such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. In some cases, this could be caused by these conditions, as it makes it difficult for patients to realize when they need to drink water. However, this could also be due to neglect by nursing home staff.
Neglecting Preexisting Medical Conditions
As we get older, it is common for current medical conditions to worsen and new conditions to develop. If the condition was well-managed prior to the individual entering the nursing home and begins to become more severe, this could be due to the nursing home staff mismanaging the patient’s medical conditions. If this occurs, it is best to get in touch with your St. Louis nursing home abuse lawyer.
Personal Hygiene Issues
Poor hygiene is another telltale sign of nursing home neglect. You might notice things like the patient not changing clothes frequently, or you notice an odor due to lack of bathing or other important personal hygiene tasks. If you are visiting someone at a nursing home and you notice a decline in personal hygiene, it is important to report this right away.
Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers Can Help With Nursing Home Abuse in St. Louis
Suppose you have recently visited a resident in a nursing home and believe you notice signs of abuse or neglect. In that case, you must report it right away and get in touch with your St. Louis nursing home abuse lawyer so we can fight for the justice that they deserve. At The Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers, we believe that nobody deserves to experience this type of neglect, especially when you expect them to be in the best possible care. We have assisted many victims of nursing home abuse in the past and have gotten them the maximum compensation owed to them. Get in touch with us today!
Root Causes of Nursing Home Abuse in St. Louis
There are a few main reasons why nursing home abuse might occur. However, this still holds those responsible for their actions against the residents. Let’s review a few different causes of nursing home abuse and why this might occur.
In most cases, the abuse is not intentional; however, the nursing home is short-staffed and has trouble delivering the best care possible to all residents. Nursing homes can be a difficult environment to work in and can prove stressful to employees. If a nursing home is short-staffed, it might be difficult to provide proper care to all residents, especially those who need special attention.
Many individuals who work at nursing homes do so to make a difference in the lives of others and care for them in their time of need. However, some staff might take no interest or care in the health and wellness of their patients and neglect their needs.
Proper training is critical for nursing home staff, and inadequate training can result in improper care of residents. Some nursing home staff might not know how to properly care for the patients, resulting in injuries and neglect. The staff members, through no fault of their own, might not even realize they are neglecting the patients, as proper training was not provided.
Although the staff can choose whether or not to provide a high level of care, the nursing home is liable for the staff’s knowledge of exactly how to care for the patients and is held liable if a patient is a victim of extreme negligence.
Doctors have a responsibility to provide top-notch care to their patients and must be held liable if abuse occurs under their watch. Furthermore, if a nursing home does not hire employees themselves, and goes through an employment or staffing agency, that agency can also be held liable.
Reporting Nursing Home Abuse
Reporting nursing home abuse is often not an easy task. In many cases, the patient does not want to bring the abuse to anyone’s attention. However, at The Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers, we can help you figure out the next steps and ensure that the individual residing in the nursing home gets the best care possible. We will gather evidence for your case, interview witnesses, and even consult industry professional to support your claim.
It is important that the individuals who caused the nursing home abuse be held liable for their actions. The Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers will help determine who is at fault for the patient’s injuries and assemble a case that will help provide your loved one with the compensation they deserve.
How Much Compensation Am I Owed For Nursing home abuse?
It is difficult to pinpoint the exact amount of compensation a nursing home patient might be owed in St. Louis, as it depends on each individual case. However, The Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers will take a look at the medical expenses incurred by the patient, and provide you with a firm number on how much compensation you can expect from your case.
It can be stressful and, sometimes, downright impossible to negotiate with the nursing home or insurance company of the at-fault party. This can be extremely taxing when the patient has been experiencing serious medical issues that have caused a significant amount of debt. Your St. Louis nursing home abuse lawyer will take care of all the negotiations for you, as we are adept at talking with insurance adjusters, and know about every tactic they will try to undermine your damages.
How Could Someone Prove Negligence Against a Nursing Home?
Negligence is a common cause of action that plaintiffs may use to demand damages from at-fault defendants. More specifically, nursing homes are responsible for the actions of their employees through a relationship known as agency. If an employee commits a criminal act, such as physically striking a resident, that employee is criminally liable. However, the nursing home may also be civilly liable for negligent hiring or improper training procedures. A St. Louis County nursing home abuse lawyer may be able to help residents and their family members make a legal case for damages after an incident of abuse.
What Type of Compensation Can I Expect From My Claim?
If you or a family member has been the victim of nursing home abuse, you might be wondering who to turn to. The experienced lawyers at The Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers can help you through the process, and get you the compensation that you deserve. Nursing home abuse or neglect can result in mounting medical bills, but more importantly, the conditions of the affected individual could worsen and cause them significant discomfort and pain. Let’s review a few of the most common types of compensation that we have won for our clients in the past, and we hope to do the same for your case.
Mounting Medical Bills
Medical bills can rise quickly, especially when an individual’s condition is worsened due to nursing home neglect. However, your St. Louis nursing home abuse lawyers can help you get compensated for these medical costs and ongoing medical costs that might be necessary in the future.
Pain and Suffering
Neglect due to the incompetence of the nursing home could lead to significant pain and suffering for the individual affected. This suffering is not only physical but mental as well. They could have experienced trauma as a result of the experience and need psychological care. Our firm will fight every step of the way to provide you with the compensation you deserve for any pain and suffering incurred due to nursing home abuse.
Cost of Intensive Care
It is common for those who are victims of nursing home neglect to be transferred to a different nursing home. For some, the individual’s family wants to ensure that they are properly cared for, and for others, due to the nursing home neglect, they need more intensive care as a result. You can be compensated for these expenses when we file your case.
The Obligations of Nursing Homes to Prevent Abuse
All nursing homes in St. Louis County have an absolute duty to protect their residents from all foreseeable harm. Naturally, this includes preventing their employees from abusing residents. These abuses can happen in one of two main ways.
Willful Neglect
Abuse can be the result of willful neglect. This occurs when a staff member knows that a resident needs care but refuses to administer it. This can include instances of:
- Failure to provide adequate food or water
- Not taking a resident to the toilet
- Not bathing a resident often enough
- Not allowing a resident to socialize
- Keeping a resident from contacting friends or family
What is Intentional Abuse?
The other class of abuse is intentional acts designed to harm a resident. Staff members may use unapproved restraint methods, may yell or berate a resident, or may strike out at a patient as a means of retaliation or discipline. Even worse, some workers in nursing homes see their jobs as residing in a position of power and take advantage of this position to feel superior through physical abuse.
A St. Louis Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Could Fight for You and Your Loved Ones
Every person who is a resident in a St. Louis County nursing home has the right to feel safe and secure in their living situation. This includes the right to receive skilled nursing care, but also to be free from any intentional abuses that result from physical attacks or willful neglect. Sadly, these incidents are all too common.
Nursing homes have an obligation to provide a safe environment. However, many nursing homes fail by not properly screening potential employees or not providing proper training to prevent abuses. This makes both an abuser and the nursing home liable for any damage that results.
A St. Louis County nursing home abuse lawyer may be able to help when nursing home abuse results in an injury. They can work to gather essential evidence concerning the incident, to evaluate your legal options, and to pursue those options with vigor. Schedule a free case investigation to begin discussing your options today.
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St. Louis Nursing Home Abuse FAQ
FAQ
- Physical Abuse: Any intentional use of force that causes injury or bodily harm.
- Emotional Abuse: Inflicting mental pain, anguish, or distress through verbal or non-verbal acts.
- Neglect: Failure to provide necessary care, resulting in harm to a resident.
- Financial Exploitation: Improper or illegal use of a resident’s funds, property, or assets.
- Sexual Abuse: Any non-consensual sexual contact or interaction.
- To identify signs of nursing home abuse, look for signs such as unexplained injuries, poor hygiene, and even weight loss. Abuse might also be present if the patient is missing their personal items or is being exploited financially.
- Report: Contact Adult Protective Services or the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to report the abuse.
- Seek Medical Help: Ensure the victim gets appropriate medical attention.
- Document: Take notes and pictures of injuries, and gather any evidence.
- Contact an Attorney: Consider contacting a lawyer specializing in elder abuse cases.
- To prevent nursing home abuse, it is critical to visit the patient often to ensure they are receiving the care they need. It’s important to be aware of any signs of abuse and to get involved in healthcare decisions.
- At The Mutrux Firm Injury Lawyers, we will guide you through the process of filing a claim and seeking compensation for damages. We will be with you every step of the way, ensuring the patient receives the care they need and the compensation to cover the expense.
- The statute of limitations varies by state and type of abuse. In Missouri, you have five years to file a nursing home abuse claim. However, you should not wait until the statute of limitations expires and get in touch with a St. Louis nursing home abuse lawyer right away.