Elder Abuse / Nursing Home Litigation

The increasing number of “baby boomers” becoming senior citizens has increased the demand for assisted living facilities. With modern advances in medicine, we are living longer and more active lives. If your loved ones are in an assisted living facility, it is probably because you associate nursing homes with care and attentiveness. Certainly neglect and abuse are not what you expect. Unfortunately, nursing home negligence is a serious problem in the United States, affecting our most vulnerable citizens. Many of the residents who reside in assisted living facilities are unable to communicate instances of abuse or neglect because of physical or mental disabilities, or simply because they have no one to tell. Elder abuse in an assisted living setting takes many forms and can include:

• Inadequate food or water
• Bed sores
• Verbal abuse
• Over medication or under medication
• Inadequate hygienic care
• Using physical restraints unnecessarily
• Undue influence over property and wills
• Stealing money or property
• Physical/mental/sexual abuse
• Telemarketing and insurance scams
• Financial fraud

Responsibility of The Assisted Living Facility

Assisted living facilities are supposed to provide our parents, grandparents, husbands or wives with appropriate care and keep them safe from harm or the threat of harm, yet almost a third of the nursing homes nationwide were cited for abuse violations during a two–year period. In order to protect its aging population, many states have enacted a series of elder abuse laws designed to protect and empower the elderly. They also establish ways to report abuse and create obligations for some health care professionals to contact authorities if they become suspicious of elder abuse. Families can help. It is important that some documentation of the abuse or neglect is made. Taking pictures is a helpful way to document physical injuries or unhealthy living conditions. If there has been physical abuse, you should contact the police immediately. If there is financial abuse, keep track of all records/correspondence and make notes of phone conversations.

When dealing with elder abuse issues, you want competent attorneys working for you who can navigate through the legal, medical and financial issues. At Doyle Law, we are committed to the advocacy of our senior’s rights. We are experienced in financial abuse and assisted living abuse/neglect matters and have litigated numerous cases on behalf of our clients. Doyle Law has the expertise to handle these cases efficiently and competently. If you or an elderly relative has been a victim of elder abuse, please contact us for expert representation.