Placing your loved one into the care of a nursing home is one of the most difficult decisions a family can face. You may not see your relative as often, and you cannot be sure that they are receiving adequate care.
If a nursing home has violated your trust by neglecting or intentionally harming your loved one, a skilled personal injury attorney could help you file a claim. Our Pittsburgh nursing home abuse lawyers could help you and your loved one achieve justice and obtain the compensation you need.
How Does Nursing Home Neglect Occur?
In many cases, nursing home residents suffer injuries due to understaffing and inadequately trained employees. When long-term care facilities try to cut corners by hiring fewer staff members, there are not enough qualified workers to monitor residents. The few employees working at a nursing home are often overworked and undertrained.
Advanced age or health conditions make nursing home residents especially susceptible to accidents such as falls when they are not supervised. Certain residents with memory-loss may even wander off the premises and suffer an injury. In addition to lack of supervision, residents may suffer due to negligent acts such as:
- Failure to assist in personal hygiene
- Failure to provide timely meals
- Medication errors
Because residents have many specific needs, it is easy to see how understaffing can lead to serious injury and even wrongful death. If your loved one was harmed due to nursing home neglect, a lawyer in Pittsburgh could help you pursue a legal claim.
Deliberate Abuse of a Pittsburgh Nursing Home Resident
Though it may seem unfathomable, sometimes nursing home employees intentionally take advantage of their residents. A staff member might physically, verbally, or sexually abuse a resident. Alternatively, an employee may financially abuse a resident by manipulating them into transferring assets or changing their will. An attorney could help you investigate a case of potential nursing home abuse.
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect
It can be difficult to notice nursing home neglect or abuse, especially if you are unable to visit your loved one regularly. Some of the common signs of neglect or abuse include:
- Bedsores
- Extreme weight loss
- Sudden changes in personality or behavior, such as unexplained sadness, fear, or anxiety towards certain employees
- Evidence of excessive or unnecessary restraints, such as bruising or cuts on the wrists
- Unexplained cuts, burns, or bruises
- Marks on the skin that indicate pinching or scratching
- Broken bones
- Sudden restrictions in visits
- Foul odors in the facility
- Lying in urine or feces
If you believe your loved one is being neglected or abused in a nursing home, you should consider moving them to a new facility as soon as possible. After ensuring they are safe, reach out to a local nursing home abuse attorney to discuss your legal options. Our attorneys could work diligently to find proof of negligence and hold the responsible parties accountable.
Obtaining Compensation for Injured Residents and Their Families
Our firm has had a particular focus on cases involving mistreatment and malpractice toward our most vulnerable citizens in nursing homes. Bordas & Bordas obtained a landmark $50 million verdict in Meredith v. Health Care Retirement Corp. of America, which remains one of the largest wrongful death verdicts, if not the largest, ever returned in the state of West Virginia.
Bordas & Bordas has also obtained other substantial verdicts and seven-figure settlements in cases of egregious nursing home malpractice or abuse. Cases such as Medina v. Heartland of Clarksburg; Trout v. Brightwood Property Inc.; McCracken v. Cameron Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, L.L.C.; and Thakur v. HCR Manor Care are all examples of Bordas & Bordas’ aggressive pursuit of large corporate owners of nursing homes that provide inadequate care for their patients, with tragic results. By working with our qualified attorneys, you could obtain substantial compensation in your nursing home abuse case.
Let a Pittsburgh Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Help Your Family
If your loved one has suffered injuries at the hands of a nursing home employee, reach out to our firm today. A seasoned Pittsburgh nursing home abuse lawyer could help you hold the responsible parties accountable through a lawsuit or settlement. Schedule a free consultation to meet with a lawyer from Bordas & Bordas to discuss your case.