Carmel, IN Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

When a senior is abused in a nursing home, the facility responsible for taking care of them can be held responsible in Carmel.

There are many signs of nursing home abuse that families of seniors can look for in their loved ones in Carmel. These include physical injuries, worsened health, financial difficulties, and depression, among others. Remove your loved one from the facility’s care if abuse is suspected, report the abuse to the necessary agencies, and allow our attorneys to investigate the situation. During our investigation, we might learn that a victim’s rights as a nursing home resident were violated. Violations of a nursing home resident’s rights include restricting a resident’s access to family and friends, inhibiting them from being part of their medical care, and any form of abuse, including physical, sexual, financial, or emotional abuse.

To have our Carmel, IN nursing home abuse lawyers review your case for free, call Wruck Paupore today at (765) 885-6269.

Signs of Nursing Home Abuse in Carmel, IN

Abuse in nursing home facilities can take many forms and might not always be clear to those closest to nursing home residents in Carmel. Common signs of abuse or neglect of seniors include visible injuries, health issues, financial problems, and depression.

Physical Injuries

Physical abuse is a common type of abuse experienced by nursing home residents in Carmel. Physical abuse might lead to injuries such as bruises, broken bones, fractures, or burns. Neglect might lead to bed sores or infections due to poor hygiene. If you notice physical injuries to a nursing home resident close to you and the facility cannot provide proper insight into the cause, your loved one might be a victim of nursing home abuse.

Worsened Health

Certain types of abuse common in nursing homes, like physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse, can cause a victim’s health to decline. Fear, isolation, and depression can cause worsened medical conditions for seniors already dealing with illnesses. A steep decline in health or happiness might be due to abuse and should be investigated.

Financial Difficulties

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for nursing home residents to be victims of financial abuse in Carmel. Nursing home staff members might convince a senior to give them their banking information or valuables, like jewelry. A sudden loss of money or personal belongings might be an indicator of financial abuse.

Depression

Abuse of any kind can have a negative effect on a victim’s quality of life. A nursing home resident experiencing abuse might become withdrawn, isolated, and depressed. They might lose interest in engaging with their community and might avoid reaching out to loved ones or fellow residents out of fear or concern that they will be penalized by an abuser.

What to Do About Nursing Home Abuse in Carmel, IN

If you believe that a senior close to you is a victim of abuse while a resident of a nursing home, you should remove them from the facility right away and begin an investigation into negligence.

Once you recognize signs of abuse in a senior close to you, it is best to remove them from the facility whose negligence is causing harm to them. This is important for the victim’s safety and the success of your eventual case. If the victim stays at the facility after the abuse is unveiled, it might undermine their claim. It is also important to report possible abuse to the nursing home facility and identify which specific staff members are involved in the abuse. It might also be prudent to report the abuse to law enforcement officials in Carmel.

Once you have taken the proper steps to ensure the victim’s safety, our nursing home abuse lawyers can begin investigating your case. This might include speaking to other residents to learn whether or not they witnessed abuse or negligence firsthand. Medical records documenting a victim’s physical injuries due to abuse will also be necessary to a case, meaning victims should seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Because nursing home facilities are unlikely to accept responsibility for the abuse of a resident, it is important to pursue a case quickly in Carmel. When a case is prolonged, it might have a lower chance of success.

Nursing Home Neglect in Carmel, IN

Nursing home neglect is somewhat similar to abuse, but there are crucial differences you should be aware of. While abuse tends to be more active and intentional, neglect is often less obvious and sometimes unintentional. Even so, neglect can have the same harmful effects on nursing home residents.

In many cases, neglect does not involve nursing home employees doing something to harm residents. Instead, neglect stems from a failure to do something that should be done. A common example of neglect involves medication. Many nursing home residents are not in good health and require daily medications to remain healthy. Your loved one might be the victim of neglect if the nursing home staff fails to administer medicine regularly.

In some cases, victims of neglect go for days or longer before receiving their much-needed medicine. This does not always mean that the nursing home was trying to harm residents, and their failures might be due to inexperienced employees or administrative oversights. Even so, they should be held responsible.

Another example involves general care for nursing home residents. It is normal for residents to experience injuries and illnesses. The problem is that nursing homes sometimes do not provide adequate care for these ordinary ailments. Remember, nursing home residents tend to be more medically vulnerable. Without proper care, they might not recover from the common flu, and their condition might deteriorate until it becomes extremely serious.

Neglect might involve a failure to care directly for nursing home residents. Instead, neglect might stem from a lack of maintenance of nursing home facilities. If the nursing home is unclean or otherwise unsafe, residents might be injured or fall ill.

How Nursing Home Neglect is Different from Nursing Home Abuse in Carmel, IN

Nursing home abuse and neglect are often lumped together, but they occur in very different ways. While abuse tends to be more active and purposeful, neglect might be indirect and harder to spot. As discussed above, abuse may be purposefully harmful, but neglect often involves failures to act or harmful omissions.

When determining who is responsible for abuse in a nursing home, we often look to those who had direct interactions with the victim. For example, a nurse might have injured your loved one by purposefully twisting their arm because they become frustrated. Doctors, nurses, and other staff members at the nursing home are common culprits in abuse cases.

When figuring out who is responsible for neglect, the situation is trickier for several reasons. First, neglect tends to be harder to spot, at least right away. As such, neglect tends to go on for weeks, months, or even longer before someone realizes something is wrong. Second, since neglect can last so long, multiple people are often involved, whether they realize it or not.

For example, if your loved one suffered because they were not given their medication every day as they needed it, numerous doctors, nurses, orderlies, and staff members might be involved. In such cases, it is often wise to name the nursing home itself as a defendant in addition to individual people.

Laws Protecting Nursing Home Residents in Carmel, IN

The rights of residents of nursing homes in Carmel are outlined in both Indiana law and federal law. These rights protect residents from certain wrongs and enable them to seek compensation should their rights be violated due to abuse in Carmel.

According to 410 Ind. Admin. Code 16.2-3.1-3, residents of nursing homes have certain rights throughout Indiana, including Carmel. This includes the right to speak and interact with those within a facility and outside of it. Abuse involving the isolation of a resident or the prohibition of contacting loved ones to report abuse would violate their rights.

Residents also have the right to be informed about their medical care and the medical professionals or staff members involved in that care. For example, if a certain staff member abuses a resident, that resident can request that the staff member no longer treat them without providing a reason.

Furthermore, residents in Carmel have the right to raise concerns with nursing home facilities and report abuse or neglect without fear of retaliation or discrimination.

Many additional rights are given to nursing home residents in Carmel, including the right to privacy and self-determination. Federal laws, like the Nursing Home Reform Act, provide other rights for residents and rules for nursing homes. Should any of a nursing home resident’s rights be violated by a staff member or the facility they reside in, they may have a case.

Evaluating Damages in Carmel, IN Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Cases

The damages that nursing home abuse victims can claim may be incredibly high. In a lot of abuse cases, victims experienced pain, injuries, abuse, and neglect for long periods of time. It is important to get an accurate history of the abuse and neglect so we can account for all the injuries your loved one has experienced, including those you might not yet be aware of.

Economic damages include injuries and losses that cost your loved one money. One of the most significant claims for economic damages is related to medical costs. Physical injuries are common in neglect and abuse claims, and your loved one might have been treated by doctors many times before you realized their injuries were the result of abusive nursing home employees. You can claim the cost of past medical care, current medical care for new injuries, and future medical care if your loved one requires ongoing medical attention.

Family members often incur significant costs when trying to remove their loved one from an abusive nursing home. Often, families agree to place their loved ones in nursing homes because they are unable to provide the care their family member needs. When the family member must be suddenly removed from the nursing home for safety reasons, families often incur significant expenses by placing them in other, more costly homes or paying for private at-home care.

Non-economic damages are often rooted in painful emotional experiences and psychological damage. While these things often do not cost money, they can still take a huge toll on the victim’s life. These damages may be quite high in nursing home abuse cases. Not only is abuse a very psychologically traumatizing experience, but nursing home residents are often unable to escape the abuse. They must wait until friends or family members realize the abuse and come to their rescue, which sometimes takes a long time.

Finding the Right Evidence for Your Carmel, IN Nursing Home Abuse Case

Evidence in nursing home abuse and neglect cases typically comes from the nursing home itself. Not only are your loved one’s medical records likely tied up in the nursing home, but things like security camera videos and even witnesses are probably connected with the nursing home. While the defendants should be sharing relevant evidence with us through the discovery process, we are prepared to file motions with the court to compel the defendants to disclose evidence they might withhold.

As mentioned, security cameras are a great source of evidence. They sometimes record the abuse or neglect on video for the jury to see. Even if acts of abuse or neglect are not recorded, security cameras might show us who ordinarily interacted with your loved one and who might have played a role in their abuse. While we might get some relevant footage, it is normal for footage to be deleted, and some might be lost to us.

Many families take a proactive approach and place cameras in their loved ones’ rooms when initially placing them in a nursing home. In the nearby state of Illinois, residents are permitted to do this under the Illinois Authorized Electronic Monitoring in Long-Term Care Facilities Act. Many abuse victims have gotten justice using such evidence.

Witnesses may also be extremely important. First, we should speak to other nursing home residents and their families. Your loved one might not be the only one experiencing neglect and abuse. Second, we should speak to current and former employees. Sometimes, other employees are aware of the abuse or neglect and are eager to help put a stop to it.

We also need testimony from the victim, your loved one. If possible, your loved one may testify about everything they went through and the injuries they endured. Such testimony can be very persuasive and compelling. However, it is not unusual for victims to be hesitant to testify, as they do not want to relive the abuse and trauma. While victim testimony is important, we can work with your loved one so they only have to testify if necessary.

Call Our Carmel, IN Attorneys About Your Nursing Home Abuse Case Today

For a free case assessment from our nursing home abuse lawyers, call Wruck Paupore at (765) 885-6269.