When a loved one needs extended care, it is essential to find a nursing home you can trust. Unfortunately, sometimes that trust is violated. Elmm Law Group finds this unacceptable. If your loved one was injured or taken advantage of in their nursing home, speak with a Phoenix nursing home abuse lawyer to hold the perpetrators accountable and pursue justice. Call now to schedule a free consultation with our dedicated personal injury attorney.
Nursing home residents are often vulnerable to neglect and financial, physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological abuse. Some examples of abuse are:
It can be easy to miss signs of nursing home abuse. When visiting or speaking with loved ones in a nursing home, pay attention to their demeanor and hygiene, inspect the cleanliness of their room, and be aware of any physical changes or injuries they may have. It is especially important to note how comfortable residents are—or are not—with staff members. If you even suspect nursing home abuse or neglect, speak to our Phoenix-based attorney as soon as possible.
Various parties could be liable for nursing home abuse, even if they were not directly involved. Staff, other residents, or visitors could be criminally charged or personally sued for the specific kind of abuse perpetrated, such as physical assault or fraudulent schemes and artifices (i.e., intentionally committing fraud for a benefit). Arizona Revised Statutes § 46-454 also mandates that caregivers in nursing homes report abuse. Failing to do so is grounds for a lawsuit or even criminal charges.
According to A.R.S. § 46-455, if the nursing home is part of a chain or conglomerate, the parent company may also be liable for allowing neglect or abuse. Allowing could mean either knowing of abuse or neglect but failing to intervene, or not instituting the proper training and safeguards to prevent abuse or neglect from happening.
A successful negligence suit requires establishing that the at-fault party knew (actual knowledge) or should have known (constructive knowledge) that their conduct was or could have been harmful. Liable parties will likely deny having actual knowledge of harm, and witnesses who could establish otherwise may not want to testify. Proving constructive knowledge requires a large amount of evidence. Regardless, our experienced lawyer, Gordi Mikalacki, could use her skills to overcome these obstacles and succeed in a Phoenix elder abuse claim.
While monetary damages never truly make up for abuse or neglect, victims must be compensated. Nursing home abuse victims could pursue damages for:
Nursing home abuse victims could also obtain punitive damages, which punish defendants for egregious conduct and deter similar behavior in the future. Pursuing punitive damages can be a powerful tool to promote improved conditions not only in the defendant’s nursing home but also in other facilities.
Under A.R.S. § 46-455, injured individuals or their families have two years from the discovery of the nursing home abuse or neglect to bring a lawsuit in Phoenix. Therefore, it is important to speak with a lawyer as soon as possible so there is ample time to prepare a strong case.
If your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in their nursing home, call today to book a free consultation with a Phoenix nursing home abuse lawyer at Elmm Law Group. We fight to help our clients get justice and hold abusers accountable.
Given our firm specializes in and exclusively handles personal injury cases, we’re able to provide one-on-one Client-Attorney contact to ensure our clients feel heard. Also, we don’t get paid unless you do! Our team can provide multilingual services in English, Spanish, and Serbo-Croatian.
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