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Baton Rouge Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Attorneys
Baton Rouge attorneys fighting for Louisiana seniors in nursing homes
There are many nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities in and near Baton Rouge. These facilities provide for their resident’s daily meals, medical care, and personal attention. Nursing homes and similar facilities are required to comply with federal and Louisiana laws that regulate the quality of care that must be provided. These institutions must also comply with common best practices for nursing homes, such as creating and implementing written safeguards. At Garcia & Artigliere, our Baton Rouge elder abuse and neglect lawyers have more than 150 combined years of fighting for seniors and disabled people. Two of our most recent recoveries include working with the US Department of Justice to obtain $46 million and $45 million against a skilled nursing management company and various nursing facilities. We’re ready to fight for your loved one - call us today to assert your rights.
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How can our Baton Rouge nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers help?
- What does nursing home abuse or neglect mean?
- What signs indicate my relative is being abused or neglected in a Baton Rouge nursing home?
- What rights do Baton Rouge nursing home residents have?
- Who is liable when a Baton Rouge nursing home resident is abused or neglected?
- How does Garcia & Artigliere fight nursing home abuse and neglect victims in Louisiana?
- Do you have a Baton Rouge nursing home abuse and neglect attorney near me?
What does nursing home abuse or neglect mean?
A nursing home can be found liable for abuse if the harm it causes is intentional, or if the abuse occurred due to neglect. A nursing home can also be found liable if they cause harm due to any type of unreasonable care.
The types of abuse claims we handle include:
- Physical abuse. Physical abuse involves any type of force or any type of harm to any part of the body. Examples include punching, slapping, hitting, using chemical restraints, and using physical restraints. Denying medications, food, or other critical services are also forms of physical abuse.
- Sexual abuse. Sexual abuse involves nonconsensual sexual acts and the forced watching of sexual acts. Promises of better care in return for sex are also a form of sexual abuse. Sexual abusers may include the owners, workers, and residents of the nursing home.
- Emotional abuse. Emotional abuse involves yelling, intimidation, and other types of psychological pressures to control or punish a nursing home resident. Seniors with cognitive impairments are common targets of emotional abuse.
- Nursing home neglect in Baton Rouge occurs when the facility fails to provide competent care. Nursing homes must take proactive steps to ensure none of their residents fall, suffer from medication mistakes, develop bedsores, lack nutrition or hydration, lack proper hygiene, wander, or elope from the property. It’s inexcusable to abandon a resident. Intentional neglect is considered a form of abuse.
One other kind of abuse is financial abuse which involves taking advantage of a resident’s poor health for financial gain.
Nursing home medication negligence
Most seniors take drugs for their heart. Many take drugs for diabetes and other disorders. People with a disability also need their medications. Nursing homes need to ensure that residents receive the proper drugs at the proper time in the correct amounts – and in the proper manner (by injection or oral).
The US National Institute for Health (NIH) defines a medication error as:
...any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use.
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Baton Rouge nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers work with physicians, including ER doctors and pharmacists, to show that nursing home medication errors are preventable. Baton Rouge nursing homes should:
- Have care plans for each resident that specify what medical conditions each resident has, what drugs he/she needs to take, and which doctors and family members to call if there are health emergencies. All possible complications should be reviewed.
- Record when each nursing home resident takes the prescribed drugs, and when refills are necessary.
- Provide quick and quality medical care if there are any adverse reactions to any drug.
- List the likely side effects of any drug.
- Review the risks of taking each medication with other drugs.
Delayed or denied treatment of stroke negligence
Baton Rouge nursing homes need to understand the signs a resident is having an ischemic or hemorrhaging stroke. One priority medication for patients suffering from an ischemic stroke is tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) which can save a resident’s life if the drug is taken within three hours from the time stroke symptoms start. tPA breaks up blood clots that prevent blood from reaching the brain. Prompt medical treatments can also help save the lives of anyone who is having hemorrhaging (bleeding in the brain) strokes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that almost 200,000 people who have strokes die every year.
What signs indicate my relative is being abused or neglected in a Baton Rouge nursing home?
Common signs of abuse or neglect at Baton Rouge nursing homes include:
- Signs that a resident fell
- Malnutrition/dehydration
- Bedsores/pressure ulcers
- Broken hips, legs, arms, and other body parts
- Bowel and bladder malfunction
- Scabies
- Untreated infections
- Bleeding and bruises
- Poor hygiene
- Being afraid
- Nonparticipation in social activities
- Little communication with family and friends
- Signs that medication schedules aren’t current
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Poor medical care
- Not staying in the premises
- Resident abandonment
- Self-neglect
The wrongful death of a Baton Rouge nursing home resident
Nearly 64% of staff members of nursing homes admit to some form of senior abuse or neglect in the previous year according to Brigham Young University data.
What rights do Baton Rouge nursing home residents have?
Nursing homes must respect the rights of nursing home residents in Louisiana based on the following laws:
- The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987
- Medicaid and Medicaid regulations.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI)
- Louisiana laws
These rights include the right to:
- Participate in decisions about medical care
- File grievances
- Be treated with respect
- File complaints
- Participate in social activities
- Be free from the use of chemical or physical restraints
- Spend time with relatives and friends
- Privacy
- Speak with a lawyer
- Control their finances
- Obtain social services
- Leave the nursing home under an adult’s supervision
- Be free from abuse
Our Baton Rouge nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers explain your loved one’s rights and fight to honor and enforce those rights.
Who is liable when a Baton Rouge nursing home resident is abused or neglected?
Garcia & Artigliere has had numerous successes for residents of nursing homes. In addition to the $46 and $45 million recoveries discussed above, our impressive record of results includes a $6.1 million settlement relating to understaffing in California nursing homes.
The responsible defendants in elder abuse and neglect claims may include:
- The Baton Rouge nursing home
- The nursing home owners, operators, and managers
- The employees of the nursing home if they abused a resident
- Doctors, nurses, and other medical care professionals who make medical mistakes
- Any other responsible parties such as contractors
We seek the following compensation for Baton Rouge nursing home and abuse victims:
- Medical expenses (current and future). These bills include emergency care, hospital care, rehabilitation therapy, psychological counseling, and other medical costs
- Physical pain and emotional suffering
- Inability to use a body part
- Inability to enjoy life
- Any scarring or disfigurement
- Punitive damages if the abuse or neglect was willful
At Garcia & Artigliere, we also file wrongful death claims on behalf of family members if a loved one died due to abuse or neglect.
How does Garcia & Artigliere fight nursing home abuse and neglect victims in Louisiana?
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Baton Rouge nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers are respected by former clients, insurance companies, and defense lawyers for our strong record of results. Some of the many steps we take to protect your loved one include:
- Showing that a nursing home violated federal or state laws
- Showing that a nursing home failed to implement well-known best practices for nursing homes
- Investigating any prior complaints or violations
- Questioning everyone who has knowledge about the abuse or neglect
- Examining the nursing home’s written policies and procedures
- Working with the police, the Louisiana Ombudsman Program, and local adult protective services
- Reviewing your loved one’s medical condition and prognosis
Please call us now. The faster you call, the faster we can help your loved one recover.
Do you have a Baton Rouge nursing home abuse and neglect attorney near me?
Garcia & Artigliere represents residents of Baton Rouge nursing homes. We meet with seniors and disabled residents at their nursing homes, at the homes of family members, at our New Orleans office, and at other mutual locations. We also conduct consultations by phone and through video.
We understand how traumatic nursing home injuries and illnesses are. We understand the unique challenges involved in representing seniors and people with disabilities. We’re skilled at demanding full compensation.
Speak with an admired Baton Rouge nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer at Garcia & Artigliere today
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Baton Rouge elder care and disability attorneys have obtained $3 billion in settlements and verdicts for clients. We are experienced trial lawyers. We work with the nursing home resident, his or her family, nursing home professionals, and physicians to show why nursing homes should be liable, and what damages should be awarded.
To schedule a free consultation, call us or fill out our contact form today. We represent nursing home victims across Louisiana including in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and New Orleans. We also represent nursing home residents nationwide. We represent victims on a contingency fee basis.
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