New Albany, IN Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Few people in New Albany are as at high of a risk of abuse as nursing home residents. Individuals in these facilities rely on others for their daily care and deserve compensation if they are denied it in any way.

Our team has many decades of experience holding nursing homes and employees liable in legal claims and knows proven strategies to succeed in yours. Nursing home residents might be physically abused by staff or other residents, while others suffer emotional abuse. Either form can be extremely damaging, and the perpetrator should pay for it. Other times, nursing homes and staff neglect their duties, leaving residents to fend for themselves. Our team will gather and comb through the evidence to determine the extent of your or your loved one’s abuse. In addition to your claim, we can help file a formal complaint with the state, which will also investigate the abuse.

Call Wruck Paupore today at (219) 322-1166 for a free case review with our nursing home abuse attorneys.

How to Handle a Nursing Home Abuse Case in New Albany, IN

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse is much more prevalent than some people realize. While there are good nursing homes in New Albany, some institutions and employees do not provide the level of care that you or your loved one deserves. If you or a family member has been abused or even suspect it, you should contact our nursing home abuse attorneys immediately to get justice. Many forms of nursing home harm can be criminally charged, but that is no guarantee that the perpetrators will be prosecuted. Regardless, we can help you pursue financial compensation in a civil claim for the economic and emotional damages caused.

One of the most important things is to document the case as much as possible. We can help do this by filing a complaint form with the Indiana Department of Health, a state government agency with the authority to investigate these claims. We can also file a complaint with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman to have a second office investigating your claim. Of course, our team will also conduct our own investigation so that no valuable evidence or witnesses are overlooked.

Our attorneys will also determine the statute of limitations for filing your claim. Under I.C. § 34-11-2-4(a)(1), the limitations period for filing a personal injury claim, which includes nursing home abuse, is just two years. The time begins to run when the abuse occurs, but determining the exact time can be challenging since there might be multiple incidents of abuse. However, only the last occurrence of abuse should mark the beginning of the limitations period.

Some nursing home residents do not remember the abuse until later because of a legal disability that affects their memory or cognitive functioning. As this is very possible, the limitations period can be paused until the disability is removed under § 34-11-6-1. Once an abuse victim understands their rights, they will have two years to file their claim.

Common Types of Nursing Home Abuse You Can File a Claim for in New Albany, IN

The tragic fact is that nursing home abuse takes many forms. Those working and living inside often commit it, but with the internet, abuse can also come from outside. Some nursing home employees, as well as online scammers, see residents as easy targets for financial abuse. Other forms of abuse can be more difficult to detect, like emotional harm and neglect. Even physical and sexual abuse can be hard to identify since many victims feel shame and might conceal the abuse. The following will help you spot the most common signs of nursing home abuse:

Financial Abuse

Financial abuse is one of the most common forms that harms New Albany residents. Scammers seem to come up with a new scheme every day. They often target nursing home residents because security is not tight in a home, and some residents do not have family checking in. If your loved one told you about a strange phone call or email recently asking for personal and financial information, we can help stop the abuse before it worsens.

Financial abuse can also be committed by staff or other residents within the home. Some employees and residents threaten victims with their bank account numbers, while others might use their access to a resident’s records to obtain this information. Our team can review financial records to identify where unauthorized transactions occurred.

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is also all too common in nursing homes. It is an insidious form of abuse because it is often difficult to identify. Personality changes are typical when someone is being emotionally abused. An abused resident might have been known to be happy and outgoing, but now they are depressed and withdrawn. A resident might not even know they are the victim of emotional abuse until feeling these altered psychological states. We will review your abuser’s conduct to determine if emotional abuse was involved.

Neglect

You can also sue if the nursing home does not take its responsibilities seriously and does nothing to care for a resident. Neglect takes many forms in nursing homes, including underfeeding residents, not providing medications, and leaving spaces uncleaned. Residents often complain about these conditions, but it is time to get legal help if nothing is done. Further, neglect does not need to be intentional for a nursing home to be held liable.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse can be the most damaging type of nursing home abuse. However, the physical abuse need not be substantial to be illegal. Grabbing, pulling, or pushing residents to make them comply or bully them is enough to file a claim for abuse. Victims might be scared or ashamed to report this abuse. If you notice unexplained bruising, scratching, or other signs of physical harm, contact our team immediately so that we can investigate.

Call Our Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys in New Albany, IN Today for Help with Your Claim

Call Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166 to have our nursing home abuse lawyers review your case free of charge.