As our loved ones age and need increasingly skilled care, your only option may be to place them in a nursing home so that they receive the care that they need. When you contract with a nursing home to provide care for your loved one, you expect that they will be in a safe environment and free of physical harm.
If you discover that your loved one has suffered physical abuse, you and your family members may have a claim for compensation against the nursing home. A Kansas City physical abuse lawyer can offer advice about your legal rights in this situation.
All too often, profit margins drive nursing homes to maintain chronic understaffing, poorly trained and supervised employees, and inadequate screening of new hires. This atmosphere directly contributes to the incidence of physical violence in nursing homes. Call (800) 842-6336 to get more information about how Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can represent the legal interests of you and your family members through this challenging situation.
Nursing Homes and Physical Abuse
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 2015, there were 1.3 million people living in nursing homes in the United States. With the rapidly aging population, the nursing home population also is rising. Unfortunately, this vulnerable population is especially susceptible to abuse, including physical abuse.
Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services emphasizes that all nursing home residents have the right to be free of physical and mental abuse. Nonetheless, many cases may go unreported for many reasons. If your loved one falls victim to abuse by others while in a nursing home, you can work with a Kansas City physical abuse lawyer for information and guidance about your potential legal alternatives.
Nursing Homes and the Legal Duty of Care
When you contract with a nursing home to care for your loved ones, you expect that nursing home to protect them and keep them from physical harm and other forms of abuse or neglect. If a nursing home resident suffers abuse at the hands of people who enter the nursing home, you and your loved one may have a civil claim for compensation against the nursing home. In addition to nursing home staff, you may be able to seek compensation from residents and even others that visit the premises.
Generally, nursing homes and other employers are liable for the negligent, careless, or reckless behavior of their employees. For instance, if nursing home employees are chronically understaffed and overworked, overwhelming frustration may cause some employees to retaliate physically against residents. High turnover rates may lead a nursing home to ignore standard screening protocols in hiring employees.
Likewise, understaffing may cause a lack of training, supervision, or monitoring of employees, thus making physical abuse of residents to occur more easily. Whatever the cause, nursing homes are legally responsible when their employees directly inflict physical abuse on residents that causes them harm.
Similarly, nursing homes have a responsibility to protect residents from employees physically abusing them and other residents who may physically abuse them. Some residents may become abusive due to medication changes, dementia, psychological problems, and other medical issues.
Again, understaffing may limit the nursing home staff members’ ability to adequately monitor residents and protect them from harm. Neglectful staff members may leave abusive residents alone with their victims for extended periods without sufficiently checking on them and preventing any potential abuse. In this situation, nursing homes also may face liability or financial responsibility for the abuse that residents suffer at the hands of other residents.
For a free legal consultation with a Physical Abuse Lawyer serving Kansas, call (800) 794-0444
Deadlines for Filing Nursing Homes Claims
All states have time limits for filing different types of legal claims, including claims against nursing homes for physical abuse to residents. Statutes of limitations vary by state. Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo) §516.120 provides that injury victims and their families have five years from the date that their injuries occurred to file their legal claims. This statute of limitations applies not only to nursing home claims but to all personal injury lawsuits.
If the physical abuse leads to the death of your loved one, the timeframe for filing a wrongful death action against the nursing home and any other responsible parties is shorter than that for a personal injury claim. RSMo §537.100 states that the eligible surviving family members of the deceased individual must file a wrongful death claim within three years of the death of their loved one.
Although these timeframes may seem to give you ample time to bring your legal claim, cases can become more difficult to pursue as time goes on. Memories may fade, evidence may disappear, and witnesses may become unavailable. As a result, contacting legal counsel as quickly as possible following an incident of nursing home abuse may be beneficial to you.
Kansas Physical Abuse Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
Get Legal Help with Your Claim Today
Discovering that your loved one has suffered physical abuse while living in a nursing home can be shocking and overwhelming. Fortunately, injured residents and their families have options to pursue nursing homes for failing to protect them. A Kansas City physical abuse lawyer can help you with your legal rights after an incidence of nursing home abuse.
Contingency fee agreements, like Pintas & Mullins Law Firm’s offer, allows clients in nursing home abuse claims to secure the legal services necessary to pursue their claims. In contingent fee arrangements, you pay for legal services through the compensation that you receive from the other party to your claim, as opposed to paying these fees upfront.
Call (800) 842-6336 to get more information about how you can pursue your nursing home abuse claim.
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