Mesa Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

A significant part of Mesa’s population consists of elderly and disabled individuals, many of which reside in nursing homes. In these facilities, they receive the medical care and attention they need to thrive despite their conditions.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for all Mesa, AZ nursing homes.

Nursing home abuse is a continuously growing problem in the US, Mesa included. Many vulnerable patients suffer unnecessary injuries and trauma from the people entrusted with their health and safety.

Was your disabled or elderly loved one a victim of mistreatment in a nursing home or long-term care facility? If so, the affiliate Arizona personal injury attorneys at the law offices of Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, can help your family file a financial settlement claim against all those responsible for causing your loved one harm.

Contact our Mesa nursing home abuse lawyers at (800) 926-7565 to schedule a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information our clients share with our legal team will remain protected under an attorney-client relationship.

Nursing home abuse is the intentional or unintentional mistreatment of a resident, resulting in physical injury, mental trauma, or death. It can arise from carelessness, negligence, or maliciousness of nursing home employees, visitors, or other residents.

The different kinds of nursing facility abuse are:

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is the intentional use of physical force against a patient, including kicking, striking, shoving, and using physical restraints without medical reasons. Physical abuse often results in pain and injury, and sometimes even death.

Signs of Physical Abuse:

• Unexplained injuries (e.g., bruises, cuts, burns)
• Broken bones
• Signs of trauma (e.g., rocking back and forth, withdrawn behavior)
• Broken eyeglasses
• Strange or fearful behavior around specific people

Psychological Abuse

Mental or emotional abuse is the infliction of psychological harm on a patient. It involves the intentional use of verbal and non-verbal actions to manipulate, hurt, frighten a person; influence their thoughts and actions, or harm their well-being.

Psychological abuse includes but is not limited to verbal assault, confinement, intimidation, humiliation, and constant criticism.

Signs of Psychological Abuse:

• Changes in behavior or personality
• Strange behavior around specific people
• Being extremely withdrawn or non-communicative
• Mental health disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety)

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is using physical force or verbal threats to conduct unwanted sexual activity on another person. It also includes making sexual contact with a resident who cannot give consent (e.g., a mentally-challenged person).

Sexual abuse includes but is not limited to non-consensual touching, verbal sexual harassment, forced nudity, and rape.

Signs of Sexual Abuse:

• Unexplained bruises around the breasts or genitals
• Unexplained vaginal or anal bleeding
• Torn or bloody clothing
• Changes in behavior or personality
• Suddenly being reluctant to engage in physical affection
• Sudden onset of genital infections or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

Financial Abuse

Financial abuse or exploitation is illegally manipulating or controlling a resident’s resources. It includes forging checks, using credit cards without authorization, stealing valuables, and other forms of monetary fraud.

Signs of Financial Abuse:

• Unexplained transactions on bank accounts or credit cards
• The sudden disappearance of valuables
• Sudden changes in financial habits

Neglect

Neglect is the intentional (active) or unintentional (passive) failure to provide a patient’s basic needs, including food, water, proper hygiene, shelter, clothing, and medical care. Nursing home neglect often causes physical and emotional harm to residents, especially those entirely dependent on others for their needs.

Signs of Neglect:

• Untreated physical conditions (e.g., bed sores)
• Lack of personal hygiene
• Malnourishment and dehydration
• Improper clothing for the weather
• Worsening of existing health conditions
• Changes in behavior
• Unsanitary or unsafe living conditions

Most nursing home patients are not entirely safe from mistreatment, regardless of the quality of their facility. However, a resident has a higher risk of abuse if they are:

• Physically or mentally disabled
• A woman or child
• Not visited frequently by family
• Entirely dependent on others for their needs
• In an understaffed nursing facility

A nursing home or long-term care facility is more prone to abusive or neglectful behavior if the following issues are present:

• Understaffing
• Underqualified or poorly trained staff
• Underpaid staff
• Disgruntled employees
• Poor management
• Lack of resources (e.g., equipment, medical aids, space)

Signs of nursing home mistreatment may not always be obvious. Sometimes, abuse can manifest through strange behavior that may be mistaken for a mental disorder. That said, it is crucial to watch for red flags in your loved one’s attitude or personality while in a nursing facility.

If your loved one suddenly starts behaving strangely or showing other signs of abuse, investigate further. Ask your loved one about their experience in the home. Some perpetrators threaten their victims to keep them quiet, so taking your loved one to a place where they feel safe enough to talk may be necessary.

Elder abuse may also mimic the signs of dementia or other degenerative diseases, such as rocking back and forth, mood changes, aggression, and difficulty sleeping. If you are unsure if your loved one is a victim of elder abuse or exhibiting signs of dementia, consult a specialist.

Nursing home mistreatment leads to many adverse effects on victims and their families, including:

• Physical pain and injuries (such as broken bones)
• Emotional distress
• Disability
• Worsening of existing conditions
• Loss of quality of life
• Changes in family and societal ties
• Monetary losses
• Wrongful death

Nursing home residents and their families can hold abusive or neglectful parties accountable by filing a personal injury claim. Since nursing homes and long-term care facilities legally owe residents a standard duty of care, any harm resulting from carelessness, maliciousness, or negligence may be subject to a claim or lawsuit.

Liable Parties

Perpetrators of mistreatment against nursing home residents may include:

• Nursing home staff
• Visitors
• Other residents
• Nursing home administration

In some cases, multiple parties are held accountable for mistreating nursing home patients. A free consultation with one of our attorneys can help determine who should be held liable for your loved one’s suffering.

Evidence

Our skilled attorneys hold negligent nursing homes liable by collecting strong evidence of mistreatment, such as:

• Photos and videos of your loved one’s injuries
• Medical records, including psychological evaluations of your loved one
• Incident and police reports
• Video evidence of the mistreatment, if available (e.g., security camera footage)
• Witness accounts from staff members or other residents

A free case evaluation with one of our nursing home abuse lawyers can help you determine what forms of evidence you need to start collecting for your loved one’s case.

Damages

Filing a personal injury claim against your loved one’s nursing facility can help your family recover financial compensation for your economic and non-economic damages, including:

• Medical Bills: Compensation for the cost of treating your loved one’s injuries and trauma, including hospitalization, medication, therapy, surgery, and emergency transportation.
• Disability: If your loved one becomes disabled from the mistreatment, you could recover your losses for medical treatment, mobility aids, and rehabilitation therapy.
• Pain and Suffering: Legal recompense for your loved one’s physical pain and mental distress.
• Loss of Quality of Life: Payment for your loved one’s reduced independence, loss of enjoyment in daily life, decreased societal ties, etc.
• Wrongful Death: If your loved one dies from the abuse or neglect, you could recover the costs of the funeral and burial services, your family’s grief, your loved one’s medical treatment, etc.

Settlement values vary from case to case, depending on the type and extent of the damages. A free case evaluation with a nursing home abuse lawyer will help you estimate a fair settlement amount for your family’s damages.

The Role of Your Mesa Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Filing a claim without legal help may make it difficult to recover a fair settlement for your family’s losses. That said, hiring a legal professional to handle your individual case is often crucial to obtaining the amount you deserve.

A lawyer can help you:

• File a claim against the at-fault parties
• Gather evidence to strengthen your claim
• Negotiate settlement values
• File your case in court, if needed

Nursing Facility Abuse Litigation

Most nursing home abuse cases settle out of court. However, some become civil lawsuits when settlement negotiations are unsuccessful, or at-fault parties deny accountability for the mistreatment.

If this happens to your case, your nursing home abuse lawyer could take the case to a civil court. A judge or jury will then hear both sides of the story and determine a verdict. Both sides have a chance of winning or losing the case.

The Statute of Limitations in Arizona

Arizona residents have two years from when the injury or mistreatment was discovered to file a case. If injuries appear later, victims have one year from the date of discovery to file a case.

Apart from filing a claim or lawsuit, you can hold your loved one’s nursing facility accountable for their actions by reporting the abuse to proper authorities.

You can report known or suspected abuse to the Mesa Police Department or Arizona’s Adult Protective Services (APS). You can also find local ombudsman programs on the Area Agency on Aging Regional Service Directory to report elder abuse.

If Mesa authorities find evidence of egregiously malicious mistreatment in your loved one’s personal care facility. In that case, they could file criminal charges against the at-fault parties to seek justice for abused residents.

If you think that your loved one or another resident is in immediate danger, call 911. Remove your loved one from the premises, if possible, until you can talk to an attorney.

Every nursing home or long-term care facility resident has the right to be treated with respect and receive proper care. Unfortunately, not all nursing homes respect the rights of their vulnerable patients, leading to unnecessary pain and suffering.

Did your disabled or elderly loved one suffer mistreatment in a Mesa nursing facility? Did the injustice result in physical and mental harm? If so, the Mesa, AZ attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, can help you seek the justice and financial compensation your family deserves.

Contact our Mesa, AZ team today at (800) 926-7565 or through an online contact form for a free consultation. Our affiliate lawyers will review your case and walk you through the legal options you have. All sensitive information our clients share with our lawyers will remain confidential under an attorney-client relationship.

Our lawyers handle all accepted cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning our clients don’t pay for our services unless we win.

Look here for additional information on Arizona laws and nursing homes.

Resources:

• National Institute on Aging - About Older adults Abuse
• Arizona Department of Economic Security - Reporting Nursing Home Abuse