Your senior parent deserves the best in their golden years, but many nursing homes accidentally neglect patients. Even if no one meant to hurt your loved one, however, your loved one deserves restitution. If you would like to know more about how to fight a negligent nursing home, contact the skilled Greenville nursing home abuse attorneys with Smith Jordan Law.
Requirements for proving negligence
Nursing homes must properly care for residents, which is why you trust them to care for your loved one. If the elderly parent is bedridden and can’t do anything for themselves (feed, bathe, go to the bathroom, etc.), you’ll need a long-term facility with sufficient staff and proper equipment. You may have a case if the care is substandard and your loved one suffers an injury or other loss.
You likely have a case against the nursing home if you can prove four elements: a duty of care existed between the nursing home and your loved one, the nursing home breached that duty, the breach directly caused your loved one’s injury, and your loved one suffered real damages as a result.
Considerations
The breach must cause some kind of harm to your loved one: physical or emotional. For example, if your loved one was not properly cared for and developed severe bed sores, you may have a claim for damages. If your loved one was not properly monitored and developed a severe medical condition like Sepsis (infection), Broken Bones, etc., you may also have a case.
If a prospective client suspects abuse or neglect we will request records from the skilled nursing facility as well as the hospital. We get the records from the hospital where they were admitted and treated. We get the facility records, review them, and may also have them reviewed by a medical professional.
I tell everyone to take pictures of anything they think is a problem. Later if you have a bad bed sore, for example, you’ve got images and you don’t have to try and explain how bad it looked. You can just show the pictures. Images can be unbelievably helpful.
Challenges to proving negligence
Proving negligence can be simple or hard. If your loved one has a lot of physical symptoms, especially repeated injuries (multiple breaks, multiple bedsores, etc.), it may be easier to prove.
Unfortunately, many residents of nursing homes aren’t able to tell anyone what’s happening. This can be especially problematic if the neglect causes emotional symptoms instead of physical symptoms. Instead, you’ll need to rely heavily on how your loved one has changed and how nursing home neglect may be involved.
Don’t go it alone – our skilled nursing home abuse attorneys are ready to help. Call (864) 343-2222 to schedule your free consultation.
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