Huntsville Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

With the senior citizen population in the United States rapidly growing, elder abuse and neglect incidents are also expected to increase. Nursing home abuse is a brutal reality in our Huntsville, AL communities and affects nursing home residents. When we place our families in an assisted facility in Huntsville, Alabama, we expect nursing home staff members to provide adequate care and a good quality of life.

Unfortunately, the nursing facilities entrusted with proper care for the infirm and elderly often fail to properly care for their residents at their weakest and most vulnerable moments. Our Huntsville nursing home lawyers in our Alabama department are ready to hear your case at a free consultation and help you fight the unjust situation your loved one is experiencing.

Do you have an elderly loved one residing in a Huntsville nursing home or long-term care facility in Alabama? You must recognize the warning signs of nursing home abuse and neglect. Once you know, acting quickly and fighting back is vital by contacting a nursing home abuse lawyer in Huntsville, Alabama.

The affiliate Alabama personal injury attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC provide legal help to many victims of gross negligence injured by those in charge of providing them with care.

Call our Huntsville nursing home abuse lawyers at (800) 926-7565 (toll-free phone number) today for immediate legal advice and schedule a free case evaluation. All confidential or sensitive information you share with our nursing home attorneys remains private through an attorney-client relationship.

Abuse in a nursing facility can present itself in many forms, which may overlap in some cases. An elderly person may be suffering from both emotional and physical harm. You need to know which of the many types of elder abuse your loved one is suffering from and report it.

Physical abuse is any harm, pain, or injury caused to your loved one by the actions of the abuser, which could be nursing home staff members responsible for health care, other patients, or even another person in your family.

• Hitting
• Pushing
• Dragging
• Misused restraints
• Broken bones
• Burns
• Sudden or unexplained bruises

A patient can suffer long-term and potentially permanent consequences from sexual abuse. Examples that can occur in a nursing facility include:

• Touching a patient sexually without their consent
• Exposing the elderly person to sexually explicit images, or videos
• Torn or stained clothing, as well as the presence of blood
• Forcing the senior patient to stay naked without a valid reason, such as bathing
• Unexplained STDs, infections, and bleeding
• Engaging in sexual violence against a patient
• Difficulty in walking, sleeping, or sitting

Emotional or psychological abuse is the most common form of care home abuse. Patients are in a highly vulnerable condition and are susceptible to suffer psychological abuse from the nursing home staff members or other seniors. It can be:

• Threats
• Shouting and screaming
• Bullying
• Causing embarrassment
• Name-calling

Neglect usually indicates an omission and lack of care toward your loved one. It can be when caregivers overlook your loved one’s needs by not providing proper health care or not paying attention to complaints of serious injuries.

Bed sores occur regularly in nursing homes throughout the United States, including in Huntsville, Alabama. However, it has been determined by the Federal Government that pressure ulcers should not happen in assisted-living facilities, especially since they are preventable. 

Many factors can contribute to the development of bed sores. Still, they are generally due to prolonged pressure on a particular area of the body, in a patient that has limited or no mobility and needs the help of a staff member to move, as well as extended exposure to moisture, such as urine or sweat.

Bed sores can be painful and have devastating outcomes for a patient’s health. Elderly people and infirm patients are especially prone to these life-threatening sores.

A patient’s body weight must be considered since malnutrition and dehydration can easily lead to pressure ulcers. Because bed sores can often be prevented with the proper care, their occurrence can signify nursing home neglect.

Poor hygiene is one of nursing facilities' most apparent warning signs of neglect. It can be an intentional or unintentional consequence of a professional’s actions. Examples of lack of appropriate hygiene that are often indicative of elder abuse and neglect include:

• Fecal, urine, and bodily odors
• Visible signs of dirt or other debris
• Unclean clothes and bed sheets
• Dirty or unclipped nails
• Eye infections or crusting of the eyes;
• Bad breath or other signs of poor dental hygiene
• Uncombed hair and unshaven face
• Filthy bedroom floor

If you notice your loved one has been neglected and their care is suffering, do not hesitate to call a nursing home lawyer in Alabama to know the extent of your rights.

When nursing home negligence occurs, it usually means that the staff members are not performing their duty to maintain patients' good health or maintain safe and clean premises.

It often occurs because of:

• A poor staff-to-patient ratio
• Poor training on health emergencies
• Not having a work experience background in a care home environment
• Not being trained on the specific policies of the nursing facility
• Lack of understanding of the rights of residents
• Lack of knowledge of nursing home procedures in place

Some patients are more vulnerable than others. Many of these residents cannot defend themselves, are too afraid to speak out, are needier, and more time-consuming are more likely to suffer a personal injury or nursing home abuse and neglect.

These residents most at risk are:

• Women who are in general perceived to be weaker than men
• Older residents who are considered more fragile and vulnerable
• People who have dementia, or Alzheimer’s
• Patients who are socially isolated from their families and friends
• Patients who have a disability
• People who have issues communicate

At a minimum, federal law states that a nursing home must protect and promote the rights of each resident. Alabama has to follow these standards.

Furthermore, patients of assisted facilities in Alabama certified by Medicare and Medicaid have certain rights under federal law (Nursing Home Reform Act).

In addition, your loved one’s rights as a nursing home resident include the right to:

• Be free from discrimination
• Be free from abuse and neglect
• Be free from restraints
• Get proper medical care
• Be treated with respect
• Have protections against involuntary transfer or discharge
• Participate in activities with other residents
• Spend time with family and visitors
• Form or participate in resident groups
• Manage their own money
• Get information on services and fees
• Get proper privacy, property, and living arrangements
• Make complaints

When medication errors happen, they can cause harm in many different ways. Medication errors can occur for several reasons and may result from medical malpractice or lack of appropriate staff.

Misreading or misinterpreting medication orders can result in giving the patient the wrong kind of medication, dosage, or time intervals.

Additionally, caretakers who do not follow medication preparation instructions correctly can make the medication ineffective, cause damage to organs, or even lead to a wrongful death scenario if the patient receives the wrong dosage.

Mixing up medications can lead to a nursing home resident taking the wrong medication and not receiving their prescribed drug, leading to various medical conditions.

Initiating a claim against a Huntsville nursing facility for abuse or neglect in Alabama requires proving that your loved one was harmed due to negligence.

The case must establish the following requirements:

• Duty of care: The Huntsville nursing home had a legal duty to provide care for your loved one and act reasonably.
• Negligence: The care home failed to act, which could be due to a lack of medical care or hiding the perpetrators of elder abuse.
• Causation: The nursing facility’s negligence caused your loved one harm, personal injury, and other damages.
• Damages: Your loved one experienced injuries due to the facility’s actions, medical malpractice, or neglect

When you contact one of our Huntsville nursing home lawyers, we make sure all the requirements are met and can be proven. Schedule a free consultation with one of our Huntsville, AL, attorneys if you suspect your loved one has suffered elder abuse, financial exploitation, or any care home abuse.

While nursing home abuse can happen for many reasons, care facilities have a legal duty to provide a safe space and an environment free from nursing home abuse and neglect of any type.

Often, a care home may be found liable to compensate the victim and their family for the nursing home abuse they suffered. A facility can be found liable if it fails to do the following:

• Failing to run a background check on staff before hiring: Nursing homes should investigate their prospective employees since they deal daily with fragile and vulnerable people. It is essential to check if the candidate has a history of nursing home negligence. Nursing homes should be able to identify people who have an abuse history before hiring them.
• Failure to supervise: Nursing homes must supervise their caretakers and take immediate steps to stop elder abuse. Since most signs of elder abuse are visible, proper supervision should be in place to prevent any sort of nursing home abuse that may be happening.
• Failure to train employees: Nursing home staff must be adequately prepared for the challenging job of caring for infirm and older people. When the nursing home fails to carry adequate training and puts unqualified people in charge, they can be found liable for injuries that nursing home residents may suffer.
• Failing to respond to complaints: The facility should investigate the complaint promptly and take immediate steps to stop the harm when nursing home residents or their family members complain of abuse.

Does the suffering, injury, or pain your loved one is experiencing appear to be caused by negligence or physical or emotional abuse at the nursing facility? Take immediate legal action for your loved one, and call our Huntsville nursing home abuse lawyers to schedule a free consultation.

Our practice areas include elder abuse and neglect, financial exploitation, medical malpractice, and patients experiencing nursing home negligence and abuse. Our affiliate attorneys at the Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, in our Alabama department, can assist you in understanding your rights and seeking compensation for your damages.

Our nursing home lawyers will also review criminal charges the responsible party may face regarding your injuries or your loved one's wrongful death under Alabama law. We will explain your civil rights and work tirelessly to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

Call us at (800) 926-7565 to arrange a free consultation with one of our nursing home abuse attorneys in our affiliate law offices. Our capable team of Huntsville, nursing home lawyers will review your situation, perform a free case evaluation, and discuss your legal options and what we can do to ensure maximum compensation.

Our nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers provide immediate legal representation, advice, and counsel without upfront fees. All our legal services are on a contingency fee basis and are paid after negotiating an acceptable out-of-court fair settlement or winning your case at trial.

• National Center on Elder Abuse
• Code of Federal Regulations - Quality of Care