Nursing Home Neglect is Against the Law
Nursing home abuse is morally reprehensible and against the law. However, it is still a prevalent problem. What would motivate nursing home facilities to break the law? Profit. Nursing homes run like a business – they will act in a way which maximizes profits at the expense of their patients’ health and safety.
To achieve higher profits, they will often hire people who are unfit for their positions, inadequately train them, or fail to run background checks on them (thereby exposing patients to potentially dangerous individuals). In addition, nursing homes will hire only the bare minimum necessary for the nursing home to function, resulting in nursing home employees caring for more patients and having more responsibility than they can handle.
The result can be devastating. Elders in nursing home facilities require 24 hour care and often suffer from an illness or disability. Many require numerous daily medications just to function at a minimal level. Forgetting to administer proper medication or over-medicating a patient can result in severe illness or even death. Abuse – physical, sexual, verbal, etc. – can also permanently affect a patient’s health and compromises his or her safety.
What makes matters worse is that many patients are unable to report instances of abuse or neglect. Nursing home patients are often unable to effectively communicate. Those who do report abuse may not be believed, or don’t report it for fear of retaliation.
So what can you do if your elderly loved one has been abused or neglected in a nursing home facility? Find an experienced elder abuse attorney to handle your case. Lawsuits against nursing home facilities are numerous and often involve multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts.
York Law Firm specializes in nursing home abuse cases and we have obtained our clients millions for their wrongful treatment. What makes us so successful is our desire to fight injustice and protect the rights of the “little guy.” We will fight against the system responsible for injuring your loved one.
If you have any questions or concerns about the care your loved one is receiving in a nursing home or residential care facility, please contact Wendy York at York Law Firm to get more information at 916-643-2200 or contact us online. York Law Firm helps nursing home residents and their families to stop elder neglect and to hold nursing homes accountable.