Greenwood, IN Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Taking care of an older and possibly unwell family member can be a full-time job that many cannot afford to do alone. A nursing home should be a major help, but they can also be abusive and dangerous environments.

Physical, emotional, and medical abuse are unfortunately commonplace. It can be hard to determine whether your loved one has been abused. Look for signs of abuse like new injuries, physical changes, personality changes, or an overall decline in health. If you suspect your loved one has been or is being abused, call the police immediately. Next, call our legal team. We can help you report the incident to government agencies who can investigate. We can also begin preparing a lawsuit. The costs of medical treatment and the intense pain and emotional suffering from the abuse should be compensated. Evidence might come from medical records, witnesses, security camera footage, and almost anything else. Individual employees might be directly responsible for the abuse, but we should also include the nursing home in your case and hold them accountable.

Call Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166 and get a free, confidential case evaluation from our nursing home abuse lawyers.

Some Common Examples of Nursing Home Abuse in Greenwood, IN

Nursing home abuse can be complicated. Sometimes, the abuse involves physical injuries to your loved one that might or might not be reported and treated by a doctor. Other times, the abuse is not physical but verbal and emotional. Even medical abuse is possible, with nursing home staff tampering with or withholding medication from the people who need it.

Physical Abuse

We sometimes assume that physical abuse is the easiest form of abuse to spot, but this is not always the case. Abusers are often careful to cover up evidence of physical abuse. Victims are often harmed in ways that can be covered up by clothing or explained by bogus stories. For example, many victims of nursing home abuse are injured on their upper arms, legs, or torsos, as clothes usually cover these areas. If injuries are visible, abusers might claim the victim fell or did something else to hurt themselves accidentally.

Remember, it is often easy for abusers to hide physical abuse. Nursing home residents tend to be physically fragile; seemingly random bumps and bruises are expected.

Perhaps one of the most upsetting parts of physical abuse is that many injuries are never reported or treated. As a result, abuse victims suffer for longer, and their injuries might heal incorrectly, leading to medical complications and pain. If this is the case, our nursing home abuse lawyers can use evidence of old, untreated injuries to establish how long the abuse has been going on.

Emotional or Verbal Abuse

Another common example of nursing home abuse is emotional abuse. Part of what makes abusers so despicable is that they seem to derive enjoyment from making others suffer. They often yell and scream at their victims for minor issues or for no reason at all. For example, maybe a nursing home resident spills a drink. They might be verbally accosted for making a minor mistake to the point of tears and emotional turmoil.

Humiliation is common in these kinds of cases. Many people residing in nursing homes have trouble with incontinence and mobility, and they might rely on nursing home staff to take them to the restroom or help them clean up after accidents. Abusers often seize these opportunities to infantilize and humiliate their victims. When victims live with this kind of emotional and verbal abuse day in and day out, it quickly wears them down.

Medical Abuse

As mentioned before, people living in nursing homes are often in poor health, and they rely on nursing home staff and caregivers for daily assistance and medical attention. This leaves them open to medical abuse from nursing home employees. For example, if your loved one needs daily medication, an abuser might tamper with their meds, change dosages, or withhold medicine, causing your loved one’s health to decline.

Similarly, abusers often neglect their victims’ daily needs. For example, they might refuse to help their victim to the bathroom, forcing them to hold it in for long periods of time, leading to medical complications over time. Another possibility is that abusers withhold food, water, or access to regular hygiene.

How to Spot Abuse in a Nursing Home in Greenwood, IN

We discussed above how abuse is sometimes hard to spot. Physical injuries might be covered or healed before they can be identified. Many abuse victims are in poor health and might be unable to speak up about the abuse on their own. They might refuse to speak up out of fear. Below are a few tell-tale signs of abuse that you should be on the lookout for.

Be wary of any significant changes in weight in your loved one in a nursing home. Significant weight gain or loss might indicate changes in medicine or a worsening health condition. For example, if someone is changing or withholding your loved one’s medication, their weight might go up or down as a result. Withholding food also tends to lead to noticeable weight loss. Many abuse victims find themselves despondent, and they lose any interest in food.

You should also monitor your loved one’s overall health and physical and mental condition. Abuse often leads to many changes in a person, often in a bad way. Deteriorating health might be a sign of abuse. Get your loved one to a doctor if you believe they are deteriorating. If the doctor cannot explain the sudden changes, you might want to consider the possibility of abuse.

Injuries are always a big red flag in abuse cases, but not all injuries are indicators of abuse. Sometimes, accidents happen. If you notice injuries, talk to your loved one and those caring for them at the nursing home. If these injuries cannot be explained, or you believe you are being lied to, call the police and contact a lawyer.

Abuse victims often suffer emotionally and psychologically. Personality changes are common when nursing home residents are abused. If your loved one suddenly becomes depressed, angry, sad, or fearful, you should have them evaluated by a doctor for abuse.

What to Do if You Believe Your Loved One is Being Abused in a Nursing Home in Greenwood, IN

If you believe your loved one has suffered abuse in their nursing home, the very first thing you should do is call the police and report the abuse. If you are with your loved one in the nursing home when you make this call, stay with them until the police arrive.

After the police have been contacted and an investigation is underway, remove your loved one from the home if necessary. You might not know right away who is responsible for the abuse, and it might be best to simply remove your loved one from the nursing home to prevent further harm. Alternatively, you can and should demand that the person or people responsible for the abuse be fired or placed on leave if you cannot afford to move your loved one.

Our nursing home abuse attorneys can help you report the abuse to the proper authorities. For example, we can file a complaint with the Indiana Department of Health. Doing so creates an official record of your complaint and may initiate an investigation of the nursing home facility.

Finally, call a lawyer as soon as you can. Learning that your loved one was abused can be difficult to accept, and a lawyer can guide you through all your legal options to protect your loved one and get justice and fair compensation.

Damages You Might Claim in a Greenwood, IN Nursing Home Abuse Case

Our legal team can assist you in calculating the damages your loved one can claim in a lawsuit against their abuser and the nursing home. After discovering the abuse, you must get your loved one to a doctor. They might have numerous injuries that need treating. They might also have old injuries that were never properly cared for. This can make for very high medical bills, which should be claimed as part of your damages.

Abuse victims often suffer deep emotional and psychological injuries. In many cases, nursing home abuse victims cannot leave the nursing home of their own accord. As such, they are stuck with their abusers until someone comes to their rescue. This can leave abuse victims with lasting emotional scars. It is not uncommon for abuse victims to experience PTSD symptoms.

Where to Find Evidence for Your Nursing Home Abuse Case in Greenwood, IN

We need strong evidence to back up your loved one’s claims of abuse. One possible source of evidence is security camera footage. Nursing homes often have security cameras monitoring various aspects of the premises, but they might not see everything. Cameras are usually not in private rooms, which is where abuse often occurs.

In the neighboring state of Illinois, a law was passed that allows nursing home residents to set up their own security cameras in their private rooms. The Authorized Electronic Monitoring in Long-Term Facilities Act allows nursing home residents to have cameras in their own rooms if they notify the nursing home and have consent from any roommates. While this law might not yet exist in Indiana, placing a camera in your loved one’s room might still be a good idea.

Medical records are extremely important in proving abuse. Even when abuse is not directly physical, it may lead to medical complications and a decline in your loved one’s health. A thorough physical evaluation from a doctor is of the utmost importance after abuse is discovered.

We should also demand to see records maintained by the nursing home. Employees often must clock in and out of work so we can tell who was working when your loved one was abused. We can also look at how the nursing home administrators divide duties and if any particular person was assigned to care for your loved one.

We can also look for potential witnesses who can testify in court. Perhaps other nursing home residents witnessed the abuse but were too afraid to speak up. Maybe other nursing home employees knew about the abuse but feared losing their jobs if they intervened. These people might make for very important witnesses.

Determining Who is Responsible for Nursing Home Abuse in Greenwood, IN

In many cases, abuse in nursing homes comes from one or a few staff members. However, this does not mean that the nursing home and its administrators cannot be held accountable. Our team can help you file a case against the abusers in addition to the nursing home that employed them.

Identifying the abusers can be difficult. Before we file a civil lawsuit for damages, we might need to wait until the police and Department of Health conduct investigations. The police might even arrest the abusers, and they might face criminal prosecution. In that case, your civil action might be placed on hold until criminal proceedings are done.

The entire nursing home might also be liable. For example, the nursing home might have allowed or even encouraged abusive rules that harmed residents. It is also possible that the nursing home did not condone the abuse but knew of it and did nothing to stop it. These are massive violations that must be rectified.

How Long You Have to File a Claim for Nursing Home Abuse in Greenwood, IN

The statute of limitations in Indiana for injury claims falls under I.C. § 34-11-2-4. According to this law, you have two years to file a lawsuit. Otherwise, you might lose the right to bring the cause of action at all.

The deadline begins to run from the most recent instance of abuse. If your loved one experienced abuse over a longer period of time, we should calculate your deadline based on the last time we know your loved one was abused. Some victims have had to live with abuse for several years before someone intervenes. The statute of limitations begins on the most recent date of abuse.

Exact dates can be hard to determine, especially if the nursing home and its employees are not forthcoming with details. As such, it is always best to contact an attorney and begin your case as soon as possible.

Contact Our Greenwood, IN Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys to Help Your Loved One

Call Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166 and get a free, confidential case evaluation from our nursing home abuse lawyers.