When you placed your elderly loved one into the hands of a care facility, you expected them to receive the best quality of care possible. However, upon discovering indicators of neglect, such as soiled clothing or other signs of poor hygiene, you may have concerns about your loved one’s quality of life. You may wonder what your options are and where to go from there.
When you call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, a San Diego soiled clothes or other signs of poor hygiene lawyer can investigate your circumstances and determine whether your loved one has suffered neglect. Our law firm understands the measures that go into building a successful nursing home case. Whether you are just beginning to seek legal representation or need help with an existing claim, our team can help you. We do not shy away from even the toughest of cases.
To learn more about your legal options, dial (800) 842-6336 to get started. Your first case review is free, and there is no obligation.
Nursing Homes’ Responsibilities and Roles
Most nursing home facilities strive to provide the best quality of life for seniors. Many people place their elderly parents or spouse into a nursing home because they cannot provide the specialized care their loved ones need. In your situation, your loved one may have Alzheimer’s disease or another type of condition that requires around-the-clock care. Yet, despite these impairments, they still have legal rights under the law.
The Federal Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 sets guidelines for how nursing homes must treat their residents.
Under the act, nursing home residents have:
- The right to live without fear of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment
- The right to visit freely with their loved ones
- The right to communicate their needs without fear of retribution
- The right to make changes to their care plan or know about changes to their care plan
- The right to privacy and safe living conditions
These guidelines map out the minimum standards of care. When a nursing home fails to uphold these standards, they may open themselves up to liability when an elderly resident faces mistreatment.
At Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, we will investigate your loved one’s living conditions to determine how the nursing home failed to uphold their standard of care. When you call us today, we want to hear about your loved one’s life, their nursing home, and what makes you suspect abuse or neglect. You can call us today to get started. Your first case evaluation is free.
Forms of Neglect and Maltreatment
After discovering that their loved one faced neglect in their nursing home, some claimants do not initiate legal action because they feel that their mistreatment was not intentional. Intentionality has no bearing on your civil case.
In addition to soiled clothes, other signs of mistreatment may include:
- Unexplained hair or weight loss
- The development of unexpected health conditions
- Mood swings
- Bedsores
- Unpleasant odors
- Cuts, scratches, and bruises
- Apprehension around a certain caregiver
Residents may not speak up about their living conditions for a variety of reasons. However, you should always act on your suspicions. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm to discuss your situation.
For a free legal consultation with a San Diego Soiled Clothes or Other Signs of Poor Hygiene Lawyer serving San Diego, call (800) 842-6336
Building a Nursing Home Neglect Case
When you contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, a lawyer from our team will start setting the groundwork for your case.
Some of the tasks they will perform include:
- Gathering your loved one’s medical records
- Talking to your loved one or other eyewitnesses (if possible)
- Speaking with consultants regarding your loved one’s care
- Reviewing any photographic evidence of neglect
- Calculating the cost of your damages
- Negotiating with the nursing home’s insurance company
- Taking your case to trial, if necessary
Your lawyer may provide other services than those listed here.
Proving Negligence in a San Diego Nursing Home Case
To promote a successful resolution to your nursing home case, your lawyer will need to build your case in accordance with the guidelines set by the American Bar Association (ABA).
Your San Diego soiled clothes or other signs of poor hygiene lawyer must prove:
- Duty of care. All nursing homes have a civil obligation to provide the best quality of care to their residents.
- Breach of duty of care. Your lawyer must show that the nursing home’s staff failed to properly care for your loved one by allowing them to live in poor conditions.
- Causation. Your lawyer must show that because of the nursing home’s inability to properly care for their residents, your loved one resided in poor living conditions.
- Damages. You must have financial losses for your case to succeed. For instance, if your loved one developed a health condition (such as bedsores) due to their unsanitary living conditions, they may have medical bills. That fact would satisfy this element of negligence.
When filing a personal injury lawsuit against a nursing home facility, your attorney must abide by the state’s statute of limitations. While most personal injury cases do not go to court, if you need to file a lawsuit to recover compensation, you must do so within California’s Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) §335.1.
You typically have two years to file a lawsuit for compensation in the state of California. Yet, some aspects of your case may grant you additional time to act. The statute of limitations in your case may change based on when you discovered instances of neglect.
You can call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today to learn more.
San Diego San Diego Soiled Clothes or Other Signs of Poor Hygiene Lawyer Near Me (800) 842-6336
Recoverable Damages in a Nursing Home Neglect Case
Your San Diego soiled clothes or other signs of poor hygiene lawyer will identify what forms of compensation you can recover.
Some types of recoverable expenses include:
- Health care costs
- Pain and suffering
- A refund for the time your loved one spent in the nursing home
- The cost of transferring to a new care facility
- Loss of consortium
This is not a complete list.
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Connect with Pintas & Mullins Law Firm Today
At Pintas & Mullins Law Firm, we stand ready to guide your case to completion. A San Diego soiled clothes or other signs of poor hygiene lawyer will fight for both compensation and justice.
Call today for a free case review at (800) 842-6336.
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