Having suspicions of, or discovering that your loved one has been subjected to abuse in a nursing home facility can be devastating. These trusted health care professionals had a responsibility to care for your family member when they were otherwise unable to care for themselves. They failed in doing so.
Fortunately, you and the family member who has been neglected can pursue legal action against the individual and entity responsible for failing to care for the victim. However, before you get started on your case, you may be wondering whether retaining legal representation is necessary, or if you should just go it alone.
Below, we go into greater detail about why it is important to seek assistance with your claim from a qualified attorney so you can ensure that your loved one obtains compensation for their injuries and damages.
For claims of this nature to be successful, we must establish fault. Many victim’s families take a leap and sue the nursing home immediately, and though they may certainly have contributed to the neglect, there are also other negligent parties who should also named as liable in your claim.
Anyone who was directly or indirectly responsible for the care of your family member can be found at-fault. Nurses who were supposed to bathe, feed, provide medications to, and otherwise care for your loved one, as well as anyone else involved in their medical care, can be held liable.
Then, once those parties are established, you include the nursing home itself, which facilitated or failed to prevent the neglect from happening in the first place.
As you can imagine, figuring out who was involved in your elderly relative’s care can be difficult, but when you have an attorney building your case, they’ll be able to gain access to information that you might not be able to obtain on your own.
It is also important to work with a lawyer as you pursue your claim so that your relative is able to obtain maximum compensation for their suffering. You might know that they should recover costs of moving them to a new nursing home facility, medical expenses, costs of mental health counseling, and more, but you may not be aware of other losses that can be obtained.
Everything from pain and suffering, mental anguish, lost quality of life, loss of companionship and love, and other non-economic damages can all be taken into consideration when determining what an injury claim is worth, and your lawyer will ensure that no loss goes unaccounted for in your case.
To learn more about working with a nursing home abuse lawyer at Mahoney & Mahoney, LLC, you can come in for a complimentary consultation. Schedule yours by filling out the quick contact form we have provided at the bottom of this page or by giving our office a call at 815-656-4600.