Nevada Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys
Seniors represent one of the most vulnerable segments of Nevada’s population—especially those who reside in nursing homes. Often, individuals in nursing homes require a high standard of care to maintain their quality of life. Residents may need significant medical care as well as help with things as simple as basic hygiene tasks. If you have a loved one who has experienced neglect in a nursing home, don’t hesitate to speak with one of our Las Vegas Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers today.
What Constitutes Neglect in a Nevada Nursing Home?
In a nursing home, all residents should expect and receive a high standard of care. This may include assistance with meal preparation, medical care, assistance recovering from injuries, or help with toileting and hygiene practices. In a neglectful nursing home, staff members do not take care of those important needs.
Patients who suffer from neglect may deal with the following:
- Increased injuries in a patient who has a higher fall risk
- Bedsores
- Malnutrition
- Dehydration
- Increased infection rates
- More frequent illnesses
Victims suffering from negligence in a nursing home may become withdrawn or fail to respond to overtures from loved ones. Unfortunately, nursing home negligence can also increase the likelihood of death in many patients: without care to maintain a high quality of life, those patients may suffer from increased mortality rates from even common illnesses and injuries, or patients may even die due to improper nutrition or dehydration.
In some cases, nursing homes that fail to take proper precautions with regards to their residents, resulting in COVID-19 infections or other disease clusters in the nursing home, may face multiple claims of negligence. Contact an nursing home abuse attorney if you have any questions about potential negligence suffered by a loved one in a nursing home.
Common Compensation for Nevada Nursing Home Negligence
Your loved one pays the nursing home to provide a high standard of care. Not only that, but also nursing homes bear a high duty of care to their patients. Following instances of nursing home negligence, your loved one may have the right to seek compensation from the nursing home.
Typically, such claims include:
- Medical expenses related to the negligence. A patient who suffers malnutrition or dehydration due to neglect in a nursing home may need careful care before returning to normal health. A patient who does not receive appropriate care for an illness or injury likewise may need time and increased treatment to return as close as possible to normal health. A senior who experiences injuries in a fall due to nursing home negligence, on the other hand, may require acute medical care. All expenses related to medical care due to negligence can factor into a Nevada nursing home negligence claim.
- The cost of moving your loved one. When your loved one suffers negligence in a nursing home, you may no longer trust that nursing home. Even with substantial reform or identification of a negligent staff member, your loved one may no longer feel comfortable in that specific environment. In some cases, your loved one may need more acute care, often in a different nursing home setting. You can include the cost of that move and any increased cost of care as part of a Nevada nursing home negligence claim following nursing home negligence.
- Pain and suffering. Patients suffering from negligence often suffer from depression alongside the physical symptoms associated with negligence. As part of your Nevada nursing home negligence claim, you can include your loved one’s pain and suffering.
If your loved one dies due to negligence in a nursing home, including preventable exposure to COVID-19 or another disease cluster, you may also have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim. Contact an experienced Nevada nursing home negligence attorney for more information about the compensation that your family should expect following that death.
The Liable Party in Nevada Nursing Home Negligence Claims
To establish your right to a nursing home negligence claim, you may need to locate the liable party. Most often, the nursing home bears liability for any negligence that takes place within its walls.
However, some other parties may also share in the liability, including:
- A staffing company that provides nurses to the nursing home. Like the nursing home itself, the staffing company must carefully vet staff members to ensure that they will provide the high standard of care needed by many senior residents. If the staffing company fails to provide high-quality staff members or allows a staff member previously convicted of negligence to continue working in a patient care environment, the staffing company may share liability.
- Doctors. Doctors who work directly with a nursing home owe their patients a high duty of care. Doctors should always report abuse or neglect and take action when needed. Not only that, but also doctors must ensure that their senior patients receive the care and treatment they need for injuries and illnesses. When doctors fail to provide that care, they may share liability for any negative effects that the patient suffers due to that negligence.
Nevada Nursing Home Insurance Companies
Many nursing homes and the doctors that work in them carry insurance designed to protect the nursing home or doctor if a patient suffers injuries due to negligence. You may need to deal with that insurance company directly to recover compensation for a loved one who suffered negligence in a Nevada nursing home.
Often, insurance companies will reach out to offer a settlement before you even have a chance to begin investigating your Nevada nursing home negligence claim. This offer may include what the insurance company considers minimum compensation for your loved one. Contact an experienced Nevada nursing home negligence attorney before accepting any settlement offer, as it may minimize the compensation your loved one can ultimately receive.
Las Vegas Nursing Home Negligence FAQ
If your elderly loved one suffered abuse or neglect in a nursing home in Las Vegas, you may find yourself with more questions than answers. Does your loved one have a legal right to pursue compensation after suffering neglect at the hands of nursing home attendants? What should you do if you suspect negligence on the part of the nursing home staff?
Read some answers to our most frequently asked questions below, and don’t hesitate to contact Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC’s experienced Las Vegas nursing home attorneys for answers to more specific questions regarding suspected neglect of your loved one at no cost to you.
1. How much compensation does my loved one deserve after suffering negligence in a Las Vegas nursing home?
Nursing home residents have a right to expect reasonable care from the nursing home staff, regardless of any medical conditions the resident might suffer from or any other extenuating circumstances. If your loved one suffers neglect in a nursing home, he or she may have the right to compensation.
Usually, people who file personal injury claims against nursing homes include the cost of their loved one’s medical care related to the neglect as well as compensation for their loved one’s pain and suffering. You may also include any costs associated with moving your loved one to a new facility, if your loved one can no longer live in their current environment. Contact an experienced nursing home attorney to better understand what your loved one should expect following an incident of negligence in a Las Vegas nursing home.
2. What should I do if I suspect the staff at my loved one’s Las Vegas nursing home of neglect?
Any time that you suspect abuse or negligence in a nursing home, contact an experienced nursing home attorney to learn more about what steps you should take. An attorney can advise you about how to collect evidence and what to look for to help prove or disprove negligence. An attorney may also access past records of abuse or neglect in the nursing home, which can help establish precedence and give you a better idea of what your loved one might have faced.
3. If my loved one contracts COVID-19 or another disease in a Las Vegas nursing home, does he or she have the right to file a nursing home claim?
In some cases, you may have the right to file a legal claim on behalf of a loved one who contracted COVID-19 in a nursing home setting. Contact an attorney if you believe that the nursing home did not take adequate precautions, including isolating infected residents and keeping infected staff members out of the nursing home until they meet federal guidelines for return.
Keep in mind, however, that nursing homes may make up as many as 40 percent of COVID-19 deaths across the United States. Even a nursing home that takes every precaution may still have COVID-19 cases. Contact us to learn more about whether you have grounds for a nursing home claim.
4. What constitutes neglect in a Las Vegas nursing home setting?
A senior in a nursing home expects a reasonable standard of care. That includes quality medical treatment, as well as food, water, and help with basic hygienic tasks. Many family members of nursing home residents first notice signs of neglect due to weight loss, dehydration, or consistent body odor. Loved ones might also notice bed sores or physical signs of negligence, including lack of treatment for medical conditions. Some nursing home residents may have symptoms of illnesses or conditions that they previously controlled by medication, but no longer can control appropriately due to medical neglect.
Any time you believe that your loved one is not receiving the standard of care expected in a nursing home, investigate appropriately and, if needed, contact an attorney. Often, seniors will stay quiet about neglect, or even try to hide signs of it out of embarrassment. By identifying signs of neglect, you could spare your loved one further suffering.
5. Who bears liability for Las Vegas nursing home neglect?
The nursing home bears primary responsibility for ensuring that each resident receives the high standard of care deserved by some of the most vulnerable members of the population. However, other entities may share liability for neglect.
A doctor who neglects a patient, for example, may share liability for any injuries or medical complications that come from that neglect. A nursing home may also use an outside staffing agency to provide care for the residents. The staffing agency may share liability when its employees neglect nursing home patients.
6. How often does Las Vegas nursing home neglect occur?
Unfortunately, nursing home neglect occurs all too frequently. Caregiver burnout often comes on without warning. Many caregivers struggle to provide the high standard of care these residents deserve. The risk of burnout increases in understaffed nursing homes, where the staff may struggle to keep up with the needs and demands of the patient population. All too often, seniors stay silent about that neglect, allowing it to continue.
That does not, however, make nursing home neglect right. If you notice a senior loved one suffering from neglect in a nursing home, take action quickly, not only to help your loved one gain compensation, but also to ensure that no one else suffers neglect.
7. Do I need an attorney to handle a Las Vegas nursing home negligence claim?
Yes. A Nevada Nursing home neglect and abuse attorneys like ours can provide many benefits as you file a nursing home negligence claim. First and foremost, an attorney can help collect valuable evidence that will allow you to prove neglect. Often, nursing homes will try to cover up the neglect, and they may even try to intimidate residents into silence. If the facilities do not cover it up, they may try to convince you to take a settlement offer soon after you uncover the neglect. That offer may not reflect the true value of your loved one’s nursing home negligence claim.
By working with an experienced nursing home attorney, you will get a much better idea of how much compensation your loved one should seek. A Nevada nursing home abuse attorney can also help make the entire claim process much less stressful for you and your loved one, including by dealing with the nursing home or insurance company for you when necessary.
Did Your Loved One Suffer Neglect in a Nevada Nursing Home?
If you have a loved one who suffered neglect in a Nevada nursing home, your loved one deserves a nursing home abuse attorney who will fight for justice.Contact Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC, today at (702) 382-9797 for a free consultation.
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