Fort Lauderdale Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse lawyers have noticed a significant rise in the number of personal injury cases involving abuse and neglect in the Fort Lauderdale area, such as Broward County, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach.

If you suspect your loved one has been neglected or abused by the nursing facility, you must take immediate action.

Did your loved one suffer injury through mistreatment, neglect, or abuse while living in a nursing facility in Fort Lauderdale? If so, let the affiliate Florida personal injury attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, protect your family’s rights today.

Contact the Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse lawyers at (800)-926-7565 (toll-free phone number) to schedule a free consultation. Let our attorneys explain your legal options to file and resolve a compensation claim.

Below are some of the common forms of abuse that nursing home residents can suffer:

Physical Abuse

The signs of physical abuse are usually more apparent than those of emotional or financial exploitation. Some examples of physical abuse may be:

• Unexplained bruises may be caused by the kicks, slaps, or punches.
• Severe beatings
• Inappropriate use of restraints
• Force-feeding

Psychological Abuse

This kind of mistreatment doesn’t leave any visible damage but causes actual harm to the victim’s self-esteem and confidence. It can be:

• Humiliating the victim in front of other people by intimidating them
• Verbally assaulting the victim.
• Threatening the victim with violence

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse occurs when a resident experiences any form of unwanted sexual contact, such as:

• Inappropriate touching or fondling
• Non-consensual sexual intercourse or oral sex
• Forcing the victim to watch pornography

Nursing home sexual exploitation often leads to emotional trauma and causes various disorders that impact a resident’s physical and mental health.

Financial Abuse

Financial exploitation is the improper use of an elderly person’s money or assets, especially without their knowledge. Some examples are:

• Cashing an elderly person’s checks without permission
• Forging an elderly person’s signature on checks and loan documents
• Stealing their money or belongings

Did your loved one display any of these signs? If so, report what you know to the Fort Lauderdale nursing home.

Substandard Care in Nursing Homes

When an infirm, disabled, or elderly loved one must stay in a Fort Lauderdale nursing home, family members expect high-quality care. Vulnerable nursing home residents need help with most activities.

Unfortunately, many nursing homes provide substandard resident care that does more harm than good. Physical elder abuse, personal injury, and psychological harm are some of the outcomes of substandard care in Fort Lauderdale nursing homes.

Neglect

Neglect can occur as intentional or unintentional acts. Sometimes, neglect can cause immediate harm to the patient with ramifications that last a lifetime.

As a result, a nursing home resident can suffer a physical injury, emotional trauma, physical mistreatment, and various adverse or life-threatening health conditions.

Common signs of neglect include:

• Bedsores and skin infections: These widespread injuries can happen when the elderly, disabled, or sick patient remains immobile for too long. When patients are in a bed or chair and have trouble moving independently, the staff must readjust the resident’s body to shift the pressure and avoid skin tissue damage caused by restricted blood flow to the area.
• Severe weight loss from malnutrition or dehydration can develop with inadequate nutrition or when the patient cannot feed or drink without assistance.
• Lack of hygiene and unsanitary living conditions: Dirty clothes or bedsheets indicate that someone neglected the resident’s hygiene needs.

Understaffing

Nursing facility mistreatment and neglect often happen when nursing homes don’t have enough staff or undertrained personnel.

A nursing facility may not have enough staff to care for each resident.

In some facilities, nurses’ aides provide the care that should be given by registered nurses, despite regulations. Practices like this could result in a personal injury case.

When nursing homes are understaffed, their nurses and nurse aides become overworked and unable to complete their tasks. Many residents are subjected to a lack of assistance and the ongoing supervision they need, which can cause personal injury.

Some people who could be held responsible for Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse:

• Caregivers at nursing facilities in Fort Lauderdale (such as nurses, certified nursing assistants, and other staff.)
• The health care administration or others responsible for supervising staff at the care facility
• Independent contractors who maintain the equipment and necessary services (laundry, housekeeping, etc.) used at the nursing homes may also have legal obligations.

Lauderdale nursing home abuse and neglect victims or their families have the right to seek compensation. You can recover financial compensation after being a victim of nursing facility abuse or neglect, including:

• Abuse and neglect-related hospital expenses
• Future medical costs
• Pain and suffering
• Funeral and burial costs in wrongful death cases

Your nursing home abuse lawyer from our affiliate legal team might seek to obtain an award of “punitive damages” in Ft. Lauderdale if the actions of the defendant were egregious.

Here is what you need to do if you suspect abuse is occurring in your elderly loved one’s Fort Lauderdale nursing facility:

• Ensure the resident’s immediate safety and make sure their care needs are being met.
• Report the abuse to the nursing home administrator
• Call 911 or the local police to report the allegation of abuse
• Do not bathe the nursing home abuse victim or change or wash their clothing or bedding to preserve any physical evidence
• See the resources available in the Elder Abuse Guide for Law Enforcement
• Obtain medical attention for the resident and support from victim’s services programs.
• Ensure the resident has access to appropriate medical and psychological support.
• After securing your loved one’s safety, call a Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse lawyer to seek legal counsel.

You Need Someone Who Can Investigate

Nursing homes might not be transparent about any incidents of abuse or neglect. Additionally, you may be overwhelmed with the situation and need someone to act quickly on your behalf to gather evidence.

The nursing home’s possible obstruction to expose their abusive or negligent actions likely means you must investigate to understand what happened. A thorough nursing home lawyer will know how to conduct a professional investigation and gather evidence that you can use in a court of law.

To Help Value Your Damages And Understand The Florida Law

A skilled nursing home abuse lawyer will know how to create a solid case and fight for your legal rights in court.

When you speak with a lawyer, they can advise you on the damages you could be entitled to based on your specific case circumstances. In some instances, you might be able to recover punitive and non-economic damages.

A civil lawsuit can hold the facility liable (financially and legally) for abusing, neglecting, or mistreating an elderly resident. However, it is up to the filing party to prove the legal grounds for the lawsuit. Proving your case can be easier with assistance from an attorney who specializes in Florida law.

The nursing home abuse attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, have handled many nursing home abuse cases and mistreatment in nursing facilities throughout the Ft Lauderdale area, such as Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Miami Dade County, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Broward County,

Our reputable Fort Lauderdale lawyers fight aggressively to protect our clients' rights to hold those at fault legally responsible and financially accountable to the infirm, disabled, or elder abuse victim and family members.

Call a Fort Lauderdale nursing home abuse lawyer today at (800) 926-7565 or through the online contact form to arrange a free consultation with one of our attorneys for legal help. Our nursing home abuse lawyers will review your legal options and discuss what we can do for you to ensure maximum compensation.

The attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, have represented many nursing home residents within our practice areas who have been victims of physical, verbal, or sexual abuse, and financial exploitation.

Our nursing home abuse lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis, so you don't pay us unless we win your case.

Resources:

• NCBI: Older People Abuse in Nursing Homes
• HRW: Worry Over Neglect in Long-Term Care Facilities