Akron Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Unfortunately, elder abuse and nursing home neglect are crimes happening around the country in assisted facilities in the United States. If you have a loved one residing in an Akron nursing home or long-term care facility in Ohio, consider learning the warning signs of nursing home abuse and neglect. Acting quickly is essential to keep someone you love safe by contacting one of our Akron nursing home abuse lawyers.

Was your loved one abused in a nursing home? If so, call our affiliate Ohio personal injury lawyers at (800) 926-7565 (toll-free phone number) to arrange a free consultation with one of our super lawyers. Our Akron nursing home abuse lawyers will review your case and discuss your legal options for maximum compensation for the elder abuse and nursing home negligence your loved one may have endured.

We serve clients throughout the state, including those living in Akron. All information you share with a nursing home abuse lawyer within our law firm remains confidential. Our affiliate neglect attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, can assist you in understanding your rights and seeking justice for your loved one.

Physical abuse is an intentional action that causes pain or injury to nursing home patients. Examples may include hitting, kicking, broken bones, broken eyewear, and shoving.

However, physical abuse is not necessarily physical touch and is not just a direct physical attack or battery. Physical abuse can also include practices such as overmedicating and force-feeding.

Financial abuse happens when an individual, usually staff members of the living facilities, steals from a resident or manipulates them into giving them money.

Theft of cash, credit cards, or other valuables directly from residents, stealing their financial records, manipulating their will, or prohibiting them from accessing their own money are some examples of financial abuse.

Sexual abuse involves subjecting a nursing home resident to unwanted sexual contact, including groping and improper touching. There can be physical signs of bruising, scraping, or sores around the genital area, and unexplained sexually transmitted diseases.

Unfortunately, sexual abuse happens in assisted living facilities, typically to those who are disabled mentally or physically and are unable to provide consent.

Psychological abuse can take the form of verbal or emotional abuse. It may include threats, emotional manipulation, seclusion, name-calling, remarks about the resident’s appearance, coercion, or insults.

Patients of an assisted living facility could be pressured into tolerating emotional elder abuse out of concern that they won't be adequately fed, bathed, groomed, or otherwise receive inadequate care.

A long-term care facility caregiver's negligent or deliberate acts could lead to bedsores (pressure ulcers, pressure sores). Staff should regularly reposition residents to maintain their health, ensure they receive adequate nutrition and change their clothes daily. Being proactive can prevent harmful bedsores.

In addition to being uncomfortable, bedsores can have catastrophic consequences such as sepsis, surgery, or even wrongful death.

The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel has created a system to determine the severity of a pressure sore, with a scale of 1 to 4:

• Stage 1: The skin is not yet broken but appears red or discolored. It can often be warm or hot to the touch and doesn’t lighten or change color when you press on it.
• Stage 2: A shallow sore and cracked skin are present.
• Stage 3: The sore has spread to the fatty tissue beneath the dermis level.
• Stage 4: Muscle and bone have been penetrated by the wound.

If there are any indications of a Stage 1 bedsore, the health care professionals at the nursing facility should take immediate action to prevent it from worsening.

Bedsores are considered “never events,” indicating that if the patient was rotated correctly and cared for that this wound would not have started developing in the first place.

If your loved one developed bed sores while residing in a nursing home, consider contacting an Akron nursing home abuse attorney for their negligent or intentional actions.

The majority of nursing homes regularly give substantial doses of medication to a high number of patients. The volume of medicines handled by nursing facility personnel increases the risk of prescription errors. Extra precautions are required to ensure the right drug is given to the right person.

The leading underlying cause of prescription drug mistakes in nursing homes is the high resident-to-staff ratio. One way to avoid nursing home medication errors is to ensure the facilities are adequately staffed.

Another to ensure that staff is adequately trained to administer medications is to have all employees pass required training courses.

This form of negligence slowly tortures the victim and can be fatal. Dehydration begins when an individual expels more fluids than they are taking in. Common signs in suffering residents are seizures, brain injuries, kidney failure, and even comas.

Although residents are provided a meal daily, the food may not have the caloric nutrition to keep their loved ones alive, causing insufficient nutrients in the body. Your loved one could also have difficulty swallowing, chewing, or eating without assistance. All the factors can lead to malnutrition.

Typical indicators a care home resident suffers are weight loss, weakness, pale fingernails, weariness, and bad breath.

Ohio has strict legislation against nursing home abuse. Knowing and understanding what your loved one is entitled to receive can be very powerful if you have a family member in a nursing home.

• Sanitary and Safe Environment: Residents’ rooms need to meet the cleaning standards of Medicare and Medicaid, the state laws, and the director of health to continue to receive funding. All patients must have a clean place to live, free from filth. Seniors' clothes and bedsheets should be cleaned regularly.
• Freedom from Abuse and Neglect: Abuse involving nursing home residents is a crime, including mental, physical, sexual, and verbal. Nursing staff in nursing homes cannot prevent residents from seeing other people. Inform the care facility, your family, and the authorities if you believe you or someone you love has been mistreated, if the facility fails to meet your needs, or is ignoring your claims.
• Receive Information on Services and Fees: Nursing home residents have the right to be told in writing about all services and fees before they move into the nursing facility and at any time when services and fees change.
• Medical Treatment: Residents have the right to receive adequate medical treatment, irrespective of their ailments or needs.
• Protection Against Unfair Transfer or Discharge: Patients should not be transferred to another Ohio nursing home or made to leave their chosen facility unless necessary for their welfare, health, or safety.
• Timely Responses to Requests: When a patient requests anything, food, help, seeking medical advice, or speaking to a family member or guardian, the facility must attempt to complete that request as quickly as possible. If the request cannot be met, it will be noted in their care plan and submitted the following business day.

The resident or a family member should review any documentation that clarifies the nursing facility has a legal obligation to provide the necessary care and that any claims of a staffing or funding shortfall are unjustified.

The report or claim should be submitted in writing to the grievance officer of the care home, and if necessary, supporting documentation such as evidence of abuse or pertinent statutes might be attached.

Documents like a doctor's order, professional assessment, or treatment plan may demonstrate the requirement for a particular type of care. A complaint can be submitted to the state inspection agency if the nursing facility withholds necessary care.

Other choices include bringing up the matter at a resident or family council meeting, contacting the long-term care ombudsman program, or getting legal advice from a qualified professional.

While nursing home abuse and neglect are all too common, it isn’t always as easy to prove in court and has specific legal requirements that must be fulfilled. If you feel your loved one is being abused by their caregiver, you must take the appropriate actions to document and corroborate any abuse.

Record indications that your loved one is being mistreated or neglected. Evidence can include getting the medical records of your loved one or taking pictures of any wounds or torturing circumstances you may find them in.

Researching prior complaints against the Akron nursing home or its staff can also be very helpful in your case, gathering witness accounts and narrowing down the responsible parties. Previous accusations of abuse or neglect might establish a history of poor treatment.

You can also look into any complaints against other nursing home chains and search for any previous inspections, penalties, and licenses. Identifying citations, investigations, and staff transfers might aid in compiling a list of the state regulations that the institution has violated.

The most successful way to prove nursing home abuse is with the help of an experienced nursing home abuse attorney. Hiring nursing home abuse lawyers ensures that every aspect of your case will be investigated to the fullest extent and complaints correctly filed.

Your team of Akron nursing home abuse attorneys may assist you in obtaining relevant records and the optimal witness statements that prove a pattern of nursing home neglect, error, or abuse. These statements may come from other residents, visitors, family members, or facility employees.

The purpose of a lawsuit is to seek compensation for the trauma, suffering, harm, and monetary losses brought on by the abuse or neglect of the victim or remaining kin if the victim died. A case may occasionally be resolved by citing the facility fines or settling out of court. However, certain matters do need to go to trial to be decided.

A nursing home abuse or neglect case can help the victim and their family recover compensation for:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental health therapy
• Medical expenses (current and future)
• Repayment of stolen or damaged property
• Relocation to a different nursing facility
• Rehabilitation services
• Emotional distress
• Punitive damages
• Payment of legal fees attorneys spent to pursue your case

Our nursing home abuse attorneys will assist you in obtaining total compensation for the damages you have incurred, whether you or a loved one have suffered physical, psychological, or financial suffering due to abuse or neglect.

When we place our families in an assisted facility in Akron, we expect nursing home staff members to provide an environment free from nursing home abuse and neglect, with proper care and good quality of life.

Unfortunately, the Ohio nursing homes entrusted with the best interests of our families often fail to adequately care for their clients at their weakest and most vulnerable moments. Our Akron, OH, lawyers can discuss your elder abuse and neglect case during a free consultation and help you fight the unjust situation your loved one is experiencing.

The affiliate Ohio personal injury attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC provide legal help to many Akron nursing home abuse and neglect victims. Our lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis, so you don't have to pay us unless we win your case.

Call our Akron, Ohio, nursing home abuse lawyers at (800) 926-7565 (toll-free phone number) today or use the contact form for immediate legal advice and schedule a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our nursing home abuse lawyers remains private through an attorney-client relationship.

• World Health Organization - Elder Abuse
• National Coalition on Ageing - Senior Citizen Abuse