Home » Goshen, IN Personal Injury Lawyer » Goshen Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Any form of abuse is harmful, but abuse within a nursing home is especially egregious. Nursing home residents rely on the administration and staff to care for them and should be held liable if they fail in their duties.

You have a few options if you or someone you love is being abused to put a stop to it. Our attorneys can explain the advantages and drawbacks of each course of action and how to get damages in a lawsuit. We can help you organize your information and evidence to file a report with the Indiana Department of Health and Adult Protective Services. They are empowered to investigate nursing home abuse and can get evidence we can use in your legal claim. However, their investigative resources are limited, so it is best to have our team investigate the case. We know what evidence to use in a lawsuit and can prepare it before the statute of limitations passes.

For a free case review from our nursing home abuse lawyers, call Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166.

What You Can Do if You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse in Goshen, IN

Nursing home abuse is a serious problem, but it can be difficult for individuals to know when is the right time to report it. They might have suspicions or have been told but do not have evidence, so they feel reluctant to report it. Fortunately, our nursing home abuse lawyers can explore a few options to help a loved one or yourself, even if you only have a good-faith suspicion that abuse is occurring in the nursing home. One option is going to the nursing home administration, but it is usually better to report it to an agency that is not associated with the home. Better yet, contact our team, and we can help you report the abuse to the proper authorities and file a lawsuit for damages.

Report it to the Nursing Home

The first place you might report the abuse is the nursing home administration. However, this will depend on your trust in the management and the home’s reputation. Nursing homes that take their responsibilities seriously will want to put a stop to the abuse as soon as it is reported. They might even be willing to cooperate with an investigation and provide evidence so they are also not held responsible in a legal claim. For instance, nursing homes will have surveillance footage, business records, staff information, and other evidence. If they cooperate, we can get that evidence without invoking a legal rule or getting a court order.

However, some nursing homes would rather not be at the center of a controversy and will hide the abuse rather than address it. Nursing home management will likely be aware that they can be sued over the abuse and will want to limit their exposure to potential punishment and a lawsuit. If you are going to report suspected abuse to the nursing home administration, be sure to do so in writing, such as an email, so you have a record of everything said by both sides. Also, describe the evidence substantiating your claims so they take the report seriously. If they do nothing or try to cover the abuse up, we can use your emails as evidence in a legal claim.

Report it to the Police

Of course, you want the abuse to stop as soon as possible, especially if the danger is imminent, so reporting it to law enforcement is worth considering. Most forms of abuse are crimes, so if the police reasonably suspect that a crime is occurring, they can start an investigation. For instance, physical and sexual abuse are, unfortunately, common forms of nursing home abuse, but they also constitute the crime of assault. If the police decide not to investigate, they might still be able to put you in contact with a state agency that can help. If they do, our lawyers can conduct our own investigation along with theirs to build your case.

Report it to the State Government

A few government agencies in Indiana are tasked with overseeing nursing homes and the welfare of vulnerable individuals that you can report abuse to. First, you can report the abuse to the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH), which is the agency that directly oversees and accredits nursing homes.

You can file your complaint online or over the phone during normal business hours. You will need to provide your information, the name of the abused resident if different, the nursing home and staff in question, the date and approximate time of the abuse, and a description of your claims. If you are worried about your identity being exposed, IDOH will not release your name at any point in the process, as all complaints are confidential. You should receive a response within seven to 10 business days regarding whether they will initiate an investigation. Contact our team immediately if it has been longer than 10 business days since making your complaint.

You can also report the abuse to Adult Protective Services (APS), which investigates cases of neglect, abuse, and exploitation of vulnerable adults in the state. Indiana is actually a “mandatory report” state, meaning that every person has a legal duty to report suspected cases of abuse. The reporting requirements are much the same as those for the IDOH, and APS reports are also confidential.

File a Lawsuit

While the above agencies are there to help, they have limited resources and are often overstretched. To ensure that something is being done about the abuse, contact our lawyers to file a lawsuit. You do not have an unlimited amount of time to sue, so do not hesitate to start your case. According to I.C. § 34-11-2-4(a)(1), abuse victims only have two years to file a lawsuit. If the claim is filed after the deadline, victims will have no chance to recover compensation for their damages.