Port St. Lucie Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Our Port St Lucie nursing home abuse lawyer has seen a substantial increase in cases involving nursing home neglect, mistreatment, and abuse throughout southeast Florida and in the following localities, but not limited to, St Lucie County, Palm Beach County, and Martin County.

While this significant increase is alarming, the numbers do not represent the many cases that have gone unreported by victims and family members, unsure or unwilling to document incidences of physical assault, sexual abuse, negligence, or mistreatment by caregivers at the facility.

Was your elderly loved one mistreated, abused, injured, or suffered a wrongful death while residing in a Port St. Lucie nursing home? Let the affiliate Florida personal injury attorneys at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC protect the rights of your family member.

Contact the Port St. Lucie nursing home abuse lawyers at (800-926-7565) today to schedule a free case consultation to discuss filing a claim for compensation to recover your damages.

Our Port St. Lucie nursing home lawyers can investigate your claim of abuse of vulnerable residents and build a solid case for financial compensation. Our Port St. Lucie law firm can offer various legal options to hold those at fault accountable for their unacceptable behavior.

The statute of limitations in Florida state regarding a nursing home abuse lawsuit is two years from the date of the last known occasion that the abuse took place.

It is vital to file your lawsuit as soon as possible, to prevent any loss of evidence and documents that can substantiate your claim.

The most common warning signs of abuse and neglect against an elderly nursing home resident involve:

• Unexplained bruising, abrasions, broken bones, or burns
• Unexpected withdrawal from routine daily tasks, including inattentiveness, a lack of alertness, self-neglect, unusual signs of depression or high anxiety
• Displaying behavior that belittles, threatens, or uses controlling power over the resident
• Development of bedsore that was not present before admission
• Dehydration or malnutrition from a lack of access to water or nutrition
• Overmedication as a possible chemical restraint
• Markings on arms or legs as an indication of physical restraint straps
• Multiple documented or undocumented falls without interventions for a change in the resident’s care plan to prevent additional falls from occurring

Abusive circumstances of residents in nursing facilities are often difficult to see. Signs the improper care of a resident’s personal hygiene is one of the first indicators of negligence. Preventable conditions that include infection spread or facility-acquired bedsores can also indicate that sub-standard care is being offered to the resident.

Serving as your loved one’s protector can be challenging. Often families will hire a skilled law firm specializing in nursing home abuse cases. The lawyer can work on your behalf by contacting authorities, using legal options, and taking proactive steps to stop the abuse immediately.

Contact our Port St. Lucie elder abuse lawyers for your free consultation today.

In Florida, nursing homes and assisted living facilities are regulated by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). AHCA is responsible for licensing and inspecting nursing homes in a timely manner and ensuring that all safety issues meet state and federal regulations.

If you have a complaint about Port St Lucie nursing homes, you can file a complaint with AHCA. You can also contact the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, a program run by the state of Florida to protect the rights of nursing home residents in long-term care facilities.

These regulators are essential in ensuring that nursing homes are held accountable. They investigate complaints from residents and their families and can help you take action to protect the residents’ rights.

There are many forms of abuse in nursing homes but the following are the main areas of abuse.

Physical

Physical abuse remains the most disturbing of all abuse. and can involve intentional acts of violence such as slapping, punching, kicking, and striking a resident with an item.

Physical abuse warning signs to watch for:

• Bruises, welts, or scars that cannot be explained
• Bedsores or other skin ailments
• Bones that are broken, sprains, or dislocations
• Strange injuries that are not agreeable with the explanation given

Emotional

Emotional abuse is more difficult to spot, and if you think your loved one is being emotionally traumatized, speed is of the essence to protect their wellbeing.

Signs of emotional abuse:

• Sudden or erratic changes in mood or behavior
• Isolation from friends and family
• Depression, anxiety, or agitation
• Unsanitary or unclean living conditions
• Physical neglect
• Emotional neglect

Types of emotional abuse include:

• Shouting
• Swearing
• Intimidation
• Degradation
• Being isolated from friends and family members
• Depression, anxiety, or agitation
• Unclean living conditions

Sexual

Sexual abuse can involve touching without permission, sexual assault, or rape and is traumatic for the victim, often suffering physical injuries. If you suspect your loved one is being sexually abused, please contact a law enforcement officer and an attorney immediately.

Signs of sexual abuse are:

• Bruises or scratches that can not be explained
• Genital sores
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Shying away from being touched

Financial

With financial abuse, the victim is left without any resources to secure help for themselves and are often under the control of the abuser.

Financial abuse signs include:

• Unaccounted bank account withdrawals
• Unaccounted loss of money or possessions
• Signing over assets without knowing what they are signing
• Bills that remain unpaid

Financial abuse types include:

• Theft of money or possessions of residents
• Manipulation, intimidation, physical and or verbal coercion to sign over assets or give power of attorney
• Failure to pay for the resident’s care

Healthcare Fraud

Abuse can be very costly for the victim and lead to increased healthcare costs for others

Types of healthcare fraud include:

• Billing of unprovided services
• Overcharging of medical care services rendered
• Falsifying resident's medical or healthcare records
• Providing unnecessary treatments

Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease is dementia where brain cells degenerate and die at an accelerated rate. People with dementia are more vulnerable to nursing home abuse, as the resident cannot always communicate their fears or experiences. 

Signs of Alzheimer's include memory loss, confusion, personality changes, and difficulty performing routine tasks. Progression of the disease may lead to more severe problems such as difficulty walking or swallowing and an inability to care for one's own needs.

Isolation From Social Interaction

Assisted living facilities and nursing home abuse's most significant risk factor remains the social isolation of residents from family and friends, leading to a large-scale social alienation.

In their isolated state from family and friends, they are more prone to financial and emotional abuse. Victims often feel ashamed or embarrassed of the abuse and are reluctant to mention or report the abuse.

Often, the abuse victims have a history of being abused, neglected, or mistreated either as a child or as an adult. Abuse victims have become accustomed to the abuse and see the treatment as expected, but it remains inexcusable in an assisted living facility.

Should you suspect a loved one is being abused, please do not hesitate to contact elder abuse attorneys and report the Port St Lucie nursing home abuse.

Nothing is as helpless as knowing a loved one is the victim of abuse in a Port St Lucie nursing home. Here are the first steps in reporting and stopping elder abuse:

• Contact the police of Lucie County
• File a complaint with the state licensing agency
• Contact Port St. Lucie nursing home abuse attorney
• Reach out to your local Area Agency on Aging
• Communicate with other families who have loved ones in the care facility
• Create or join a support group
• Advocate for change

The most important thing you can do if you suspect elder abuse is to voice your concerns. Once perpetrators of abuse have been identified and held accountable, it prevents further elder abuse and protects the vulnerable.

There is often a correlation between nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect, and although they are different in many ways, both are serious offenses. A resident whose medication is not correctly dispensed is as much in danger as a resident who is physically and emotionally abused.

Nursing home abuse happens when a caregiver intentionally harms or mistreats a resident.

Nursing home neglect occurs when caregivers and nursing home staff members fail to provide necessary care and services, offering substandard care, leading to serious health problems or death.

Many parties can be held responsible for nursing home abuse. Your Port St. Lucie nursing home abuse lawyer will help identify the responsible party in your situation. Generally, it can be any of the following:

• Nursing home staff members
• Owner of the care facility
• Administrator of the nursing home
• Licensee of the nursing home
• Nurse’s aide
• Physical therapist or other medical professional
• Company providing medical services to the nursing home
• Other residents
• Manufacturer of any equipment or product used in connection with the abuse
• State licensing agency.
• Federal government
• Visitors

Experienced Port St. Lucie nursing home abuse lawyers at Nursing Home Law Center, LLC have represented many individuals victimized by caregivers and other residents while residing in nursing facilities.

Contact our affiliate Port St. Lucie nursing home abuse lawyers today by calling (800) 926-7565 to schedule a no-obligation, free consultation. Anything you share will remain confidential or sensitive information as part of the attorney-client relationship.

Our law firm and nursing home abuse lawyers accept all wrongful death lawsuits, personal injury claims, and nursing home abuse cases on contingency from residents in White City, Port St Lucie, Lucie West, Fort Pierce, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, and PGA Village.

This means Port St Lucie lawyers require no upfront legal fees and provide you with immediate representation, advice, and counsel. Our fees are paid only from the award you receive from a successful lawsuit or after we negotiate your acceptable out-of-court settlement.

Look here for additional information on Florida laws on nursing homes.

Resources:

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