Mobile Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

As the country’s population ages, the number of senior citizens living in nursing facilities is expected to increase. The Mobile nursing home experienced abuse and neglect attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC, Alabama, have dealt with various cases involving sexual, psychological, and physical abuse and situations of neglect in long-term care facilities and nursing homes.

You must act if you suspect your elderly loved one has experienced nursing home abuse, neglect, or harm to their health. Contact the affiliate Alabama personal injury attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center LLC and get immediate assistance and a free case evaluation.

We help many victims of personal injury and gross negligence who have suffered from substandard care at the hands of those in charge of providing proper care. Contact our Mobile nursing home abuse lawyers at (800) 926-7565 (toll-free phone number) for free case consultation and immediate legal advice.

All confidential or sensitive information you share with our legal team remains private through an attorney-client relationship.

Physical abuse involves any kind of intentional acts of force, which may result in unexplained injuries, personal injury, use of restraints, slapping, punching, or any physical harm.

Sexual abuse is usually characterized by the engaging of physical or sexual conduct with a patient that is neither consensual nor wanted. Sexual abuse could range from sexual assault to unwanted touching. It is a common type of elder abuse.

Psychological abuse involves causing emotional harm to the patient, including name-calling, verbal insult, isolation from other residents, and intimidation.

Medical malpractice can happen from the lack of medical care in the facility or when nursing home staff fails to recognize common signs of a medical condition and treat it.

Medication errors involve giving patients the wrong medication, not following the proper dosage, giving the medicine at the incorrect intervals, or forgetting medication that will worsen the resident’s condition.

Nutritional neglect can happen for many reasons, but that is a form o neglect. It includes nutritional deficiencies, with insufficient fluids and food for residents who usually need help feeding and drinking.

Bed sores, also known as pressure ulcers, and pressure sores are widespread and can have horrendous results on your loved one’s health. They usually happen when a patient is left in the same position for one hour or longer because of mobility issues or if they remain unchanged and in soiled clothes and sheets, which is an undeniable sign of nursing home negligence.

Knowing what to look for in a nursing facility is vital when searching for the right place for your family member. Unfortunately, searching the Internet for a “nursing facility” is not an effective tool to discover if a place suits your loved one. Make sure you know the appropriate standards of care when visiting facilities.

Unfortunately, understaffing is an issue across the nursing facility industry. A lack of staffing reflects directly on the staff-to-patient ratio in nursing homes and how your family member will receive care.

An appropriate number of qualified staff ensures each nursing home resident receives proper medical care and attention when needed. While some patients are more independent, when they need help, they should quickly and easily get it from a knowledgeable caregiver.

Nursing homes can only operate to the best of their ability if they have the staff required to fulfill their duties and are supported by professionals who can work in a team environment. Staffing shortages create a stressful environment, with employees being overworked and unsupported. 

As soon a nursing home faces a staff shortage, standards of care immediately fall, and quality measures of care are forgotten because staff members are forced to start prioritizing particular needs over others. Over time, this neglect can lead to failure to provide basic needs, which can constitute care home abuse and neglect.

Nursing home staff can have a full line of employees and make you believe that will be enough to ensure your loved one will receive the appropriate care.

However, if the nursing home staff members are not adequately trained or do not have the experience in caring for people in their old age, they cannot perform all their job duties. Improper training ultimately impacts elderly residents and their quality of life, bringing several unfortunate consequences.

Undertrained staff problems could involve:

• Not having the required educational training
• Not having a work experience background in a nursing home environment
• Not knowing how to prevent elder abuse, physical or psychological harm
• Not being trained on the specific policies of the nursing home
• Inadequate training for particular disabilities, illnesses, and needs

Staff must be educated to provide appropriate care and medical attention to elderly people. A lack of support and maintenance for nursing home residents is considered nursing home neglect.

If the situation worsens and residents are deprived of basic needs, it may be considered nursing home abuse. You should contact the administration to ensure the staff knows how to care for an infirm, disabled, or elderly person.

The ratio between staff and patients relate to how many professionals are present and the kind of care they can provide. How many registered nurses and other medical professionals are on the team at any time can determine patient health outcomes.

Family members may think there will be more employees providing care and handling health needs than they do. It is crucial to ask for the number of administrative, secretarial, and custodial staff separately.

The number of necessary staff responding to residents and providing care varies during day and night shifts.

Moreover, the staff duties also matter because if a nurse’s only job is to write notes in the chart after the doctor rounds, they should not be counted in the caregiver ratio.

Some nursing homes are run better than others. In some facilities, standards slip, and neglect can quickly occur if nursing homes do not have the leadership, management, and supervision required to run a safe operation.

A continued lack of responsibility and leadership breeds an environment where neglect and abuse can continue without consequence.

Lack of personal hygiene is not only unpleasant, but it can also be dangerous. When proper hygiene is not performed, an elderly person may be at a greater risk of:

• Psychological and mental decline
• Infection
• Undiagnosed complications
• The nursing home staff member refuses to provide hygienic care for the resident to punish them, intimidate them, or embarrass them.
• Oral hygiene complications can lead to several other problems, such as difficulty chewing and therefore swallowing food;

These effects can lead to a worsening of a patient’s health condition, which is a form of nursing home abuse.

Family members must be vigilant for warning signs of abuse and neglect of their loved ones in nursing homes and act if they become suspicious of abuse. The following is recommended:

• Maintain good communication with elderly loved ones
• Good contact with a trusted caregiver
• Document any concerns they have
• If you suspect any physical marks were due to abuse, you should ask the senior and the caregiver for explanations of any injuries.

If you suspect elder abuse in a nursing home or other elder care facility in Alabama, you should act immediately to make that person safe.

Even seemingly minor physical ailments can be severe in an elderly person if not promptly and adequately treated. If it is an emergency, call 911 to summon the police. You should notify the nursing home administrator, the police, and the state authorities about the abuse or neglect.

You should also contact a lawyer with experience handling nursing home abuse and neglect cases. Holding the nursing home and the staff accountable for the negligence of a nursing home resident should be a priority after getting your loved one to a safe condition.

An Alabama abuse and neglect attorney can advise you about your legal rights, the help you are entitled to receive, and how you can protect your abused family member.

Our Alabama nursing home abuse lawyers with our law firm have extensive experience and access to every resource possible to provide the best legal help for your case. Our positive prior results speak for the quality of our legal services in the practice areas of nursing home abuse, neglect, personal injury, and medical malpractice.

The quality of legal services is paramount in nursing home abuse cases. Our team will gather evidence, documentation, incident reports, doctor's notes, nursing notes, intake/outtake records, and care plans to fight for your loved one’s rights.

Call our personal injury lawyers at (800) 926-7565 to arrange a free consultation with one of our award-winning Alabama nursing home abuse attorneys. A lawyer will review your legal options, explain possible criminal charges and punitive damages, and discuss what we can do for you to ensure your receive the maximum compensation you deserve.

All information you share with our nursing home abuse lawyers remains confidential. Our law firm provides 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.

Our legal services will be free if our Mobile nursing home abuse lawyers cannot secure compensation on your behalf.

• American Psychological Association - Senior Citizens Abuse
• HRW: Apprehension Over Neglect in Long-Term Care Facilities
• NCBI: Older People Abuse in Nursing Homes