Elder Care Abuse Lawyer Phoenix, AZ

Nursing home abuse and neglect is all too common across the country. There are millions of senior patients living in nursing homes nationwide, and while they are incredibly vulnerable, abuse still runs rampant.

This is why attorneys are here to help. Senior patients are our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends, and their rights deserve to be protected. Here we have created an introductory guide to nursing home law in hopes of educating you and your family.

Nursing Home Obligations

Under the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law, there are specific requirements a nursing home must abide by in order to serve patients. They include:

• Hiring a sufficient number of staff compared to the number of patients in the facility
• Developing and enact comprehensive care plans for each resident
• Assessing and aiding in the specific needs of each resident
• Promoting each resident’s quality of life
• Keep and track accurate medical and care records of each resident
• Ensuring the faculty is clean, liveable, and supervised at all times

If a nursing home doesn’t follow these regulations, they are subject to a nursing home lawsuit, especially if the resident’s health and well-being are put at risk.

Nursing Home Resident Rights

As a patient and a resident of a nursing home, you have the right to:

• Be treated with respect and dignity
• The ability to communicate freely
• Feel safe at all times
• Privacy
• Make decisions about your own care, a.k.a have a say in your treatment
• Be free from abuse and neglect of all kinds

Common Examples of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Nursing home neglect is an umbrella term, and can be subjective depending on your specific case. However, there are certain examples of neglect that our law firm has come across time and time again, such as:

• Bedsores, the most common form of nursing home injury
• Falls and the resulting bone breaks and fractures
• Lack of care, whether it is not following their care plan, not giving the correct dosage of medication, or not following basic hygiene practices
• Verbal abuse
• Sexual assault
• Malnutrition. One component of a resident’s care plan includes a balanced diet and adequate hydration, along with any specific dietary requests
• Infection
• Wrongful death, including a death that cannot be explained

Symptoms of Nursing Home Neglect

It can be hard to figure out if your loved one has been treated properly in a nursing home. Some warning signs of nursing home neglect and abuse could be:

• Symptoms of being heavily medicated such as increased drowsiness and lack of appetite
• Extreme fear of another resident or medical care professional
• Frequent sickness
• Sudden and unexplained behavioral changes
• Rapid loss of weight
• Unexplained injuries
• Seclusion

Above anything else, if things just don’t seem right at the nursing home, speak up! Trust your intuition when it comes to your loved one’s care, and use our lawyers to help protect their rights.

Nursing home law can be complex to the unfamiliar. If you have any questions and are interested in learning more about how working with an elder care abuse lawyer Phoenix, AZ offers can help you, please call today.

Contact Rispoli Law, PLLC for their insight into personal injury claims and nursing home law.