Westfield, IN Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Being abused as a nursing home resident is incredibly violating, but it often enables victims to seek compensation through claims in Westfield.

Abuse in nursing homes might happen because of bad hiring practices. Administrations might fail to properly background check applicants or take their histories seriously, giving them access to residents whom they abuse or mistreat. Staff should take all reports of abuse seriously, and failure to do so could perpetuate it longer. Being understaffed could increase the risk of abuse happening, as could isolating residents from friends and family, intentionally or not. All forms of abuse have consequences for victims, often physical and psychological consequences. Our lawyers can help victims seek compensation for these harms by filing claims against liable nursing home facilities and quantifying their damages.

For a free and confidential case assessment from Wruck Paupore’s nursing home abuse lawyers, call (219) 322-1166.

How Nursing Home Abuse Happens in Westfield, IN

There are many reasons why nursing home abuse happens, such as facilities having poor hiring practices, failing to listen to residents who report abuse, having bad staff-to-resident ratios, and isolating residents from their friends or family outside the facility. When nursing home abuse does happen, it is typically the facility’s fault, making it liable for the victim’s damages.

Bad Hiring Practices

The risk of nursing home abuse happening could increase the worse a facility’s hiring practices are. For example, nursing homes should background check applicants to ensure they do not have a history of abuse or behavior that would make them unqualified for the position. Working at a nursing home requires many skills, including patience. Failing to ensure an applicant can care for residents as required could lead to abuse for which the nursing home is liable. Even if an individual staff member abuses a resident, the facility itself could share financial responsibility for the damages. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the victim’s abuse, our lawyers may closely investigate the facility’s hiring practices to determine if it considered its residents’ best interests during such processes.

Failure to Take Reports of Abuse Seriously

Abuse in nursing homes could happen or continue when the administration does not take reports from residents seriously. Reporting abuse, particularly sexual or physical abuse, can be exceptionally difficult for residents, and nursing homes should facilitate this reporting, making it as simple as possible. Refusing to accept reports of abuse or investigate them further could enable it to continue, worsening victims’ damages. In these situations, nursing homes could be liable for punitive damages for gross negligence in Indiana.

If your loved one reported the abuse to the nursing home previously, but the administration did nothing to address it, tell our nursing home abuse lawyers. We can request information from the nursing home about the victim’s report and the facility’s failure to investigate it, which could speak to its breach of duty of care.

Poor Staff-to-Patient Ratio

Abuse might be more likely when nursing homes are understaffed and have poor staff-to-patient ratios. Staffing issues could make nursing homes less likely to take reports of abuse seriously, as doing so would require them to fire the abusive staff member, worsening the staff-to-patient ratio. This could also create an environment where there is less oversight to deter abusive staff members from harming residents, whether physically or psychologically.

Isolating Residents from Friends and Family

Staff members who abuse residents in nursing homes might intentionally isolate them from their family and friends, limiting or monitoring their communications with others outside of the facility. This can make it harder for victims to report abuse to their loved ones, especially if they live far away and cannot make frequent visits. Your loved one becoming suddenly withdrawn could indicate they are being abused, especially if their medical conditions have worsened or they have unexplainable injuries. If they report abuse to you, take the appropriate steps to document it, such as informing the facility. Then, take your loved one for medical evaluation to document potential injuries and consider removing them from the facility’s care for their own protection and comfort.

The Consequences of Nursing Home Abuse for Victims in Westfield, IN

The consequences of abuse for victims are innumerable, including physical injuries and psychological damages. Victims may seek compensation for these losses, which our lawyers can help quantify before filing their claims.

Physical Injuries

Nursing home abuse might cause serious physical harm to victims, regardless of the specific kind of abuse taking place. For example, both physical and sexual abuse leads to injuries like fractures, contusions, and others that might be harder for seniors to recover from. Neglect can also have physical consequences for victims, who might develop bedsores and medical conditions due to poor hygiene. Victims denied their wheelchairs or walkers might fall, sustaining devastating injuries in the process, like broken bones, head injuries, or back injuries.

It is important that victims get immediate medical attention to corroborate their injuries and the abuse as soon as possible, and our lawyers can also obtain victims’ records from the nursing home medical staff to compare them to, especially if victims have suffered long-term abuse as residents.

Psychological Damage

Nursing home abuse often has intense psychological consequences for victims. Whether denied access to basic hygienic needs, sexually abused, financially preyed upon, or physically assaulted, victims may suffer emotional distress. Quantifying non-economic damages can be challenging, but our lawyers may enlist mental health experts to offer statements about the anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms associated with experiencing abuse. Underestimating non-economic damages could lead to victims accepting lowball settlement offers. To prevent this, our lawyers can carefully review all proposals to ensure victims only agree to terms that benefit them and cover their losses.

Call Our Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys in Westfield, IN Today

Get a free case review from Wruck Paupore’s nursing home abuse lawyers by calling (219) 322-1166.