Cincinnati Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Was your elderly loved one neglected, abused, or mistreated in a Cincinnati nursing home facility? If so, contact our affiliate lawyers to schedule a free consultation to discuss a fair compensation claim to recover your damages.

Our affiliate Ohio personal injury attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, are experienced in handling cases where nursing home residents suffered severe harm and elder abuse while under the care of nursing home staff.

Call our Cincinnati nursing home abuse lawyers for a free consultation at (800) 926-7565 (toll-free phone number) for immediate legal advice if your loved one has suffered from elder abuse.

All confidential or sensitive information you share with the attorneys at our law firm remains private through an attorney-client relationship. Let our network of affiliate nursing homes negligence attorneys protect your loved one’s rights if they were mistreated, abused, injured, or died unexpectedly from elder neglect while in an assisted living facility.

Forms of physical elder abuse may include, but are not limited to:

• Unexplained broken bones, dislocations, or sprains
• Bruising that slowly heals
• Chemically restraining
• Overmedicating
• Force-feeding
• Broken eyeglasses, or hearing aids
• Being pushed, hit, or slapped
• Head injuries or broken bones from being dropped

The use of unauthorized restraints can also be considered physical abuse. Sometimes, caregivers violate protocols when making it easier to handle residents, like using restraints to keep them from falling like:

• Ropes, seat belts on wheelchairs, or mechanical hoists
• Unauthorized side rails or chemical restraints

Sexual abuse includes any form of unwanted sexual encounter, contact, activity, or inappropriate touching.

Sexual abuse covers a vast array of actions, including:

• Inappropriate comments
• Taking photos of nursing home residents against their will or without them knowing,
• Being forced to watch pornographic material
• Being forced to undress
• Unwanted touching or fondling
• Unwanted sexual activity, including rape, sodomy, or oral sex

Financial exploitation can occur in nursing home facilities through various means:

• Staff or family members steal personal property
• Unauthorized financial transactions
• Forcing, coercing, or tricking the senior into changing their will
• Unauthorized changes of a power of attorney regarding a victim’s checks or income
• Stealing cash from the elderly residents’ room
• Using the senior’s credit card or checks to buy things for themselves
• The residential care facilities billing for services the patient does not receive

There are many different types of emotional elder abuse, including:

• Verbal, emotional, or psychological abuse
• Threats, seclusion, caustic remarks, or insults
• Emotional manipulation
• Intimidation
• Humiliation
• Isolation
• Yelling
• Harassment

Caregivers, visitors, or others at the facility may coerce nursing home residents into overlooking the abuse of their fellow patients due to fearing retaliation and not being fed, washed, or receiving proper care.

Negligence could involve failing to provide residents with basic life needs and essential medical care. If you suspect nursing home staff members are not fulfilling their obligations towards nursing home residents, speak up to stop the mistreatment. Tell the facility administrator what you have seen.

Common types of the most common forms of elder neglect include:

Bed sores are preventable but do occur when the resident is immobile. These wounds are caused by persistent pressure on specific bodily areas. However, caregivers can prevent bed sores with established skin care treatment.

When people sit or lie down for an extended time, continuous pressure on their body parts will restrict blood flow, leading to bed sores. If not properly treated, it degrades with life-threatening severity and could lead to wrongful death.

These are the stages of bed sores develop gradually and worsen:

• Stage 1: Warm to the touch, red, blue, or purple skin accompanies feelings of pain, burning, and itching.
• Stage 2: Skin damage and discoloration may appear, including open sores or blisters. Usually, sensory sensations are more intense.
• Stage 3: A deep, crater-like wound appears, revealing damage beneath the skin's surface.
• Stage 4: Excruciating pain and damage beneath the skin expose bones, muscles, and tendons at the injured location.

Don’t allow bed sore elder abuse to happen to your loved one. Nursing home residents should be closely monitored, and reports should be made by the facility to track any bed sore and its healing process.

Poor hygiene in nursing homes is frequently a sign of elder abuse and neglect.

Your loved one should always appear clean and cared for when you visit. Dirty hair or unwashed clothing are signs that the staff might have neglected their hygiene.

Additionally, caregivers should never leave residents who need assistance unattended for long periods. The staff should provide every resident with regular bathing, medical attention, and mobility assistance.

Any lack of cleanliness and essential grooming could indicate more severe problems of elder abuse and that your loved one and other residents are not receiving adequate care. An elderly nursing home resident is particularly susceptible to suffering from:

• Bed sores
• Infections
• Colds and flu
• Chronic diarrhea

Know what your loved one is entitled to by law, according to Ohio’s strict and transparent nursing home elder abuse laws:

• Safe environment: Caregivers in elders’ living environments must meet the standards of programs like Medicare and Medicaid, state laws, and the Department of Health. They have the right to be free from elder abuse, whether physical abuse, emotional abuse, or financial exploitation.
• Medical treatment: Patients have the right to medical treatment to know who is taking care of them and their specialty.
• Responses to reasonable requests: When patients make a request, they should receive a timely response and know their concerns are being heard.
• Fresh clothes and bedsheets: Residents’ clothes and bedsheets should be clean and changed regularly.

You want to research all nursing homes in the community to ensure that you choose the best facility for your loved one. The National Institute on Aging describes how to select a nursing home:

• Visit the Facilities: By visiting the nursing homes, you can see firsthand if they’re clean, how they treat their residents. Talk to patients' families to ask about their experience Keep a list of their favorite nursing homes and what they liked most about them before making your choice.
• Search the Facility Online: Conducting a thorough internet check on the potential nursing home facilities is extremely helpful. Do your due diligence to check each facility’s ranking online, check for other abuse reports, or if it offers its residents quality care by checking reviews or any problems like elder abuse by staff members or other residents. The information release on Medicare.gov can help you make the best decision.
• Carefully Read Your Contract: Before committing to relocate your loved one, thoroughly read the facility’s documentation, if necessary, have a lawyer check the details of the agreement.

Following these procedures may help prevent your loved one from receiving the best care possible in a long-term care facility. Visit their new home often because they could still become the victims of elder abuse and neglect.

Each nursing home abuse case is unique. Speaking with a lawyer from our affiliate law office will provide and opportunity to review your claim during your consultation. You can ask questions and discuss what has happened to your loved one in the nursing facility.

We can assist you and your family in understanding the kinds of damages that we might be able to recover. Damages in nursing home abuse cases could include:

• Medical care and related expenses, when physical injuries occur
• The cost of mental therapy and counseling
• Repayment of stolen money or other assets
• Damages for physical abuse and emotional suffering
• Transfer to another nursing facility of your choosing
• Loss of financial benefits
• Mental and emotional abuse
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation
• Burial and funeral costs in wrongful death cases

Seeking compensation through a personal injury claim can be very difficult without a team of nursing home abuse lawyers to navigate the law.

There are other advantages to working with an attorney, including:

• Protecting your rights: You and your family have the right to pursue a nursing home abuse or neglect case. Your lawyer will ensure that your claim meets the requirements according to state law.
• Proving your case: Evidence is paramount to establishing your nursing home abuse and neglect claim. Your attorney will work hard at gathering medical records, bills, expert testimony, and eyewitness accounts.
• Negotiating with insurers: An insurance adjuster’s job is to analyze whether or not a policy should cover the different elements of your claim. It is important to remember that the adjuster works for the insurance company, not the victim. Your lawyer will counter the insurance company offers and claim denials, so you get the compensation your family member deserves.
• Funding your lawsuit: Our lawyers will accept your case under a contingency fee arrangement, and will provide litigation funding needed to resolve your nursing home abuse claim. You will not pay your attorney an upfront retainer under this agreement. After winning your nursing home abuse case, they will recover their costs and attorney fees.

The affiliate Cincinnati nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC have represented many victims of negligent nursing homes who have suffered financial exploitation, elder neglect, and physical and sexual abuse.

Our team of dedicated nursing home abuse attorneys provides legal help to stop home neglect or abuse.

Nursing home neglect cases can help change laws and set precedence for resolving claims. Our lawyers win cases by accessing every possible resource to gather evidence, documentation, incident reports, and medical records to get the compensation your loved one deserves.

Our team of experienced home negligence attorneys is committed to aggressively fighting for your loved one's rights. Contact our elder abuse law firm today by calling (800) 926-7565 or use the contact form to schedule your no-obligation, free consultation.

All information you share with a lawyer within our law offices remains confidential under an attorney-client relationship. We provide immediate legal representation, advice, and counsel without upfront fees. All our legal services are paid after negotiating an acceptable out-of-court settlement or winning your case at trial.

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