We may be able to help your loved one recover compensation after suffering abuse at a Tampa memory care facility.
If your loved one suffered from abuse at their memory care facility, it is not your fault. The fault lies with the care home that failed to protect your family member. Let a Tampa memory care facility abuse lawyer from Pintas & Mullins Law Firm help you hold those who are to blame responsible.
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm has more than 50 years of combined experience helping victims of long-term care facility abuse. We have helped our clients recover millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements. We can help you with your case, too.
Your Loved One Deserves Compensation for Their Injuries and Suffering
When you place your loved one in a care home, you trust the staff to meet their needs while treating them with dignity and compassion. Abuse is a clear violation of that duty. Your loved one deserves compensation for what they have endured, as well as awards to cover the costs associated with their physical and mental harm.
Our Tampa memory care facility lawyers can help you seek compensation for your family member’s losses, including:
- Medical care
- Surgeries
- Hospitalizations
- Medications
- Physical therapy
- Physical pain
- Emotional suffering
- Mental anguish
We can also help you seek reimbursement for fees paid to the memory care facility and funds to help your loved one’s relocation.
If your loved one died because of injuries and illnesses caused by abuse or neglect, we can help you seek compensation for their wrongful death. This includes awards for their end-of-life medical care, burial costs, and funeral expenses. You may also be entitled to awards for your suffering caused by their loss.
Recognizing the Signs of Memory Care Facility Abuse
According to Clinical Interventions in Aging, long-term care residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are at a greater risk for abuse. Dementia causes difficulty with memory, reasoning, and thinking skills. These conditions can make residents a target for abuse while at the same time making it harder for them to report what is happening.
If your loved one has unexplained cuts, bruises, scratches, burns, other injuries, they may be experiencing physical abuse. Frequent and unexplained falls and other accidents are other warning signs. If your family member has wounds or bruises around the genitals or breasts, sexual abuse may be occurring.
Not all abuse is physical. Psychological abuse may not leave signs on the body, but it can result in trauma and physical decline. This type of abuse manifests as threats, name-calling, humiliation, and social and emotional isolation. Signs of emotional abuse include changes in behavior, such as acting withdrawn, depressed, or aggressive. Your loved one may show fear of specific caregivers.
Neglect is a Form of Abuse
Neglect is the failure to meet a resident’s basic care needs. Intentional neglect is deliberately abusive. Unintentional neglect can occur when the facility does not provide enough staff or properly train the staff in dementia and Alzheimer’s patient care.
When staff members do not give residents food, water, medical care, and mobility and hygiene assistance, they may suffer from:
- Falls
- Hip fractures
- Broken bones
- Pressure ulcers
- Malnutrition
- Dehydration
- Medication errors
- Illnesses
- Infections
- Hygiene-related diseases, such as skin conditions, oral health problems, or parasites
Memory Care Facilities Must Meet Legally Mandated Standards of Care
Many people living with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia need assistance with meals, medications, and daily tasks. They may also require supervision or a secure environment to keep them safe. Memory care facilities offer services tailored to the specific needs of these residents.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), any facility in Florida that advertises special services for memory care must provide 24-hour staffing. A staff member must be on duty and awake at all hours. In facilities with fewer than 17 residents, there must be overnight monitoring systems in place.
Memory care facility staff must receive additional training in ethical issues, family issues, and communicating with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. The facility must offer cognitively impaired residents activities and a physical environment that promotes residents’ safety and well-being.
Florida’s Resident Bill of Rights
Florida Statutes §429.28 is the state’s resident bill of rights for those living in assisted care communities. The statute guarantees:
- Freedom from abuse and neglect
- The right to privacy, personal dignity, and respectful treatment
- Access to health care
- The right to services, activities, and community interaction
- The right to a safe and decent living environment
If you believe your loved one’s memory care facility violated their rights or subjected them to harm, reach out to our team. Our Tampa memory care facility abuse lawyers can help you take steps to protect your loved one and seek justice on their behalf.
Because abuse is a crime, you can file a complaint with your local law enforcement agency. Any criminal proceedings that arise from your report are separate from civil actions you may pursue.
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm Can Help You With an Insurance Claim or Lawsuit
Many Alzheimer’s and dementia patients cannot speak up for themselves. Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can help you be your loved one’s voice. We can help you prove your loved one’s caregivers subjected them to abuse or neglect.
We will build your case using:
- Medical records
- Medical bills
- Injury and accident reports
- Eyewitness testimony
- Facility logs and care records
- Expert testimony
- Surveillance video and photographs
- Staffing records
We can help you start seeking compensation with an insurance claim. We will not let the facility or its insurance providers compel you into accepting less than your loved one deserves. A Tampa memory care facility abuse lawyer will fight for you and your loved one throughout the claims process. If necessary, we can help you with a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
Our Team is Standing by to Take Your Call
Contact our legal team as soon as you can. Dealing with the abuse of a loved one is difficult, but we are here to help you fight for compensation. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 842-6336 for a free consultation.
Call or text (800) 842-6336 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
