Making the decision to entrust the care of a loved one to an assisted living or nursing home facility is a difficult and emotional experience. This choice is often made with the best intentions for your family member in mind. The hope is that these facilities will provide appropriate medical care, social engagement and assistance with daily tasks. When they don’t, it may be necessary to enlist the services of experienced nursing home abuse attorneys that can help ensure your loved ones get justice for the treatment provided by their caregivers.
Sadly, as the cost of healthcare becomes more expensive there are cuts in budget, substandard staffing, and overcrowding that can lead to errors in the care provided and result in the abuse and neglect of those under the facilities supervision.
Our nursing home negligence attorneys proudly represent injured victims and their families in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and throughout the United States.
Loved ones residing in nursing homes can be the victim of negligence/neglect and/or abuse. If a person sustain injuries and/or dies as a result of a nursing home’s negligence or abuse, then a legal claim for monetary compensation can be pursued by the resident, the resident’s power of attorney and/or the resident’s surviving family members (where the resident died from the injuries. )
Negligence is where there is a failure to provide a resident with the kind of care that a reasonable facility/healthcare provider would under the same, or similar, circumstances. Neglect is a form of negligence where a failure to act, or indifference, harms the resident. Nursing home negligence can include: failing to turn and re-position the resident, failing to to provide the proper nutrition and hydration, failing to implement proper fall precautions, or administering the wrong medication.
Abuse is where there is an intent to harm a resident, and direct action is taken to inflict that harm. Abuse, as defined by the federal government in 42 CFR § 488.301 is “the willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish.” Nursing home abuse can include mental, emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse.
In Maryland, nursing homes are monitored by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Nursing homes must abide by strict regulations that are laid out in the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR). The most noteworthy stipulation states that there be a set of policies and procedures in place that will prevent abuse and neglect (negligence) of facility residents. A failure to have these policies in place or to abide by them is grounds for a lawsuit against the facility.
The signs of negligence, neglect or abuse can be subtle. If you or someone you love is in a nursing home, rehabilitation facility, or assisted living facility and has suffered unexplained injuries, bed sores, or frequent falls, please contact us for a free consultation today.
If you suspect negligence, neglect or abuse:
- Take pictures of the conditions you are concerned about and the injuries you witness.
- Document what you can by writing down who you speak with and about what. Keep copies of emails and any other letters that you write or receive about the problems.
- Speak with the supervisor or manager about what you have seen and request immediate action to resolve the issue.
- Contact the Office of Health and Care Quality to report your concerns.
- If you believe you,or your loved one, has been the victim of neglect or abuse, promptly contact the nursing home neglect attorneys at Hirsch & Cosca to advise you on proper next steps.
- Decubitus ulcers (bed sores) or gangrene
- Sepsis
- Poor hygiene and unsanitary conditions
- Malnutrition or dehydration
- Broken bones (commonly in places such as the hips and limbs)
- Burns
- Emotional abuse (insults, threats, or isolation)
- Sexual abuse
- Over or under medicated
- Death
At Hirsch & Cosca, we make it our mission to ensure your family members are safe. Our attorney’s will investigate your case and will work tirelessly to uncover the cause of your loved one’s injuries and support your family during the subsequent legal process.
If you are worried that a loved one or elderly friend who is staying at a nursing home in Maryland or the Washington D.C. area is suffering from nursing home negligence, neglect or nursing home abuse it is likely that other residents are also experiencing that same abuse or neglect.
Don’t let a your relative or friend continue to suffer, speak with one of our experienced nursing home negligence attorneys who can advise on the proper legal recourse.
We know nursing home resident’s rights and we will fight for them.
Call our Maryland Nursing Home Negligence attorneys today for a free consultation.