FAQs

About Nursing Home Negligence

Q:   How prevalent is nursing home abuse and neglect?

A:   More than 1.5 million elderly and disabled Americans reside in more than 16,000 nursing homes across this country. Despite the fact that by law, these nursing homes must take steps to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident, too many of these residents are the victims of neglect or abuse by these facilities and/or their employees. A 1998 study by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) concluded that more than half of the suspicious deaths studied in California nursing homes were likely due to neglect, including malnutrition and dehydration. The study further found that nearly 1 in 3 California nursing homes had been cited by state inspectors for serious or potentially life-threatening care problems. The GAO report noted that these same problems could likely be found across the nation.

Regulatory oversight of the nation's nursing homes is imperfect and incomplete, at best. So, it is reasonable to assume that many violations posing threats to the health and safety of the residents go unreported. Nursing home inspectors are overworked and too few in number. Therefore, family members with loved ones who are residents of nursing homes must never take the resident's care for granted and assume adequate protections are in place. The nursing home resident's only protection may be the family member's diligence in reporting any perceived problems.

Additional information and articles about the prevalence of nursing home abuse and neglect may be found on the HLF website. The site also contains databases allowing you to research deficiency reports at specific nursing homes in Georgia and across the country.

For important information about your claim and our disclaimer, click here.

Q:   What are the causes of nursing home abuse and neglect?

A:   Average nursing home spending per resident has decreased in recent years, suggesting an attempt by many nursing homes to squeeze as much profit as possible from the bottom line. One consequence of this nationwide effort to increase nursing home profits is increased staffing problems. Too many nursing homes simply are not willing to hire sufficient numbers of qualified staff to appropriately care for their residents. Poorly qualified, untrained, unsupervised, and/or overworked staff are simply not capable of addressing the demanding daily needs of nursing home residents.

Additional information and articles about the causes of nursing home abuse and neglect, including understaffing, may be found on the HLF website. The site also contains databases allowing you to research deficiency reports at specific nursing homes in Georgia and across the country.

For important information about your claim and our disclaimer, click here.

Q:   What are the various types of neglect and abuse?

A:   Nursing home abuse and/or neglect can take many forms, all of which are too numerous to list. For example, there is virtually no other explanation for bedsores than neglect. Examples of abuse and/or neglect include:

This list only includes common examples of abuse and neglect and is not exhaustive.

You may review governmental inspections to see if any of these deficiencies were found at specific nursing homes in Georgia and across the country on the HLF website. You may also file a complaint of abuse with the appropriate authorities in your state with links located on the HLF website.

For important information about your claim and our disclaimer, click here.

Q:   How can one recognize the signs that abuse or neglect may be occurring?

A:   Recognizing neglect and abuse in a nursing home facility is much more difficult than in some other health care contexts because the nursing home abuse/neglect victims are often incapable of communicating the nature and occurrence of their abuse or neglect because of their physical and/or mental infirmities. However, any one or more of the following could evidence nursing home abuse or neglect and warrants investigation:

This list only includes common examples of abuse and neglect and is not exhaustive.

You may review governmental inspections to see if any of these deficiencies were found at specific nursing homes in Georgia and across the country on the H&N website. You may also file a complaint of abuse with the appropriate authorities in your state with links located on the H&N website.

For important information about your claim and our disclaimer, click here.

Q:   What can I do if I suspect nursing home abuse or neglect?

A:   If the matter cannot be resolved to your satisfaction by bringing it to the attention of the nursing home administrator and/or the director of nurses at the nursing home, you may seek the assistance of the government along with private attorneys.

You may file a complaint with the governmental authorities in your state charged with investigating elder abuse and/or neglect. In Georgia, that authority lies with the Department of Human Resources (DHR). In other states, it may lie with the Attorney General. Also, many states, including Georgia, have an Office of the Ombudsmen, an independent agency that investigates nursing home treatment and deficiencies. However, the Ombudsmen usually do not have the authority to enforce regulations or punish nursing homes for deficient care.

You may file a complaint of abuse with the appropriate authorities in your state with links located on the HLF website.

You may also contact an attorney. Private attorneys can bring civil actions against nursing homes and their agents who are responsible for neglect and/or abuse in order to recover damages for medical bills, pain and suffering, and mental anguish, and file actions for wrongful death. Under certain circumstances, one may also seek punitive damages in a civil lawsuit in effort to deter such grossly negligent and/or fraudulent conduct in the future.

If you believe that you have a claim, it is important that you contact an attorney to determine what statutes of limitation applies to your particular claim and the facts involved. Please contact us to schedule an appointment to discuss your claim.

For important information about your claim and our disclaimer, click here.

Q:   How long does one have to bring a nursing home abuse or neglect claim?

A:   “Statutes of limitation” govern the length of time one has to file a lawsuit or be forever barred from pursuing such claim. Many factors bear upon when the applicable statute of limitations period expires including the age of the plaintiff, the type of personal injury claim, the particular facts giving rise to the injury, and others. One must make absolute certain that they are aware of when their statute of limitations period expires, or risk jeopardizing their legal rights. An experienced personal injury lawyer can assist you in determining what statute of limitations period applies.

A potential claimant seeking the advice should promptly contact a qualified attorney. In certain cases, there may also be other deadlines that may also impact the case. For example, claims against government entities may require that the entity or entities be put on “notice” much earlier than the statute of limitations period. Furthermore, proper review of a nursing home claim almost always requires ordering and reviewing nursing home records. Given that expert and legal analysis must be done prior to filing a lawsuit, waiting until the statute of limitations period is nearing its end may not allow the attorney and his experts enough time to complete their review.

There are other benefits to securing obtaining counsel early. Memories of the event or events in question tend to fade in witnesses, potential witnesses may later be unavailable because they have moved, become incapacitated, etc.

For important information about your claim and our disclaimer, click here.

Q:   What is the first step?

A:   If you suspect that you or a loved one is the victim of nursing home abuse and/or neglect, please contact HLF as soon as possible. We will be happy to schedule a free consultation to meet with you and discuss your case. If you do not contact us, please contact another attorney about your claim without delay.

For important information about your claim and our disclaimer, click here.

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Disclaimer: Nothing in this Web site is intended to serve as legal advice. You should not act or fail to act upon a claim based upon any information contained on this Web site.

Every case is different, having different circumstances and different facts. No lawyer can tell you how much you will recover, if anything, in any legal action. There are numerous risks involved in all litigation, including the risk of losing the case. What statute of limitation applies to your individual claim depends upon many factors, including the type of claim and the jurisdiction in which it should be filed.

If you believe you have a claim or have legal questions, you should consult with Huddleston Law Firm or another lawyer about your case immediately. No one at Huddleston Law Firm will take any action on your behalf until and unless you enter a written agreement for legal representation. Contacting the firm by phone, in person or by email does not establish or bind you to an agreement for legal representation by Huddleston Law Firm.