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Louisiana Elder Neglect Lawyers
Caring representation from our Louisiana elder neglect attorneys when living facilities and private caretakers neglect seniors
Long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, and adult daycare facilities all provide different levels and types of personal and medical care. The common thread is that every type of caretaker facility is required to ensure that the medical care, social care, nutrition, housing, and clothing they provide meet the daily needs of each resident or patient. Caretakers who work for the elderly need to understand, anticipate, and respond to the regular challenges and emergencies that seniors are likely to face. At Garcia & Artigliere, our Louisiana elder neglect lawyers have obtained more than $3 billion in recoveries for seniors and others who suffer harm due to abuse or neglect because caretakers fail in their most important duty – to protect your loved one.
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What are the different types of Louisiana elder care neglect?
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Louisiana negligent elder care attorneys have been fighting for seniors for more than a combined 150 years. We’re skilled at showing the negligence of caretakers is harming your loved one. We handle all types of elder care neglect claims including neglect that affects a senior’s:
- Daily living needs. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines these essential requirements as including shelter, food, clothing, hygiene, and medical care. Seniors who live in assisted living facilities should have rooms that are designed for safety and are regularly cleaned. The staff should review each resident/patient’s physical and emotional challenges and requirements. Healthcare professionals should review the senior’s medical challenges. Neglect of a senior’s daily living needs can cause bedsores, infections, dehydration and malnutrition, depression, anxiety, and many other physical and emotional injuries.
- Likelihood of falling. Most seniors struggle with their balance due to brittle bones, lack of exercise, physical ailments, and other causes. Long-term care facilities, senior daycare centers, and the homes of seniors should be examined regularly for risks of falling. The floors should be clear and dry. Railings should be stable. Caretakers should be sure not to let a senior wander, elope, or be abandoned.
- Medical care. Nursing homes, in-home caretakers, and other caretakers may be negligent if they fail to:
- Administer medications at the correct times in the proper dosages.
- Record, update, and provide medical care to the senior
- Use chemical restraints to control a resident or patient against the medical advice of the senior’s doctors
- Examine the resident/patient for signs of physical or emotional discomfort, including bedsores, infections, scabies, stroke, and other medical conditions
Elder caretaker neglect is generally categorized as follows:
- Physical abuse neglect. Louisiana elder care neglect may occur when caretakers cause, fail to take preventive measures, or fail to respond to any type of physical abuse, including bruises, cuts, fractures, and the use of physical or chemical restraints.
- Sexual abuse. Group facilities and agencies that provide in-home services should conduct background checks on employees. Caretakers should also have protocols in place to prevent sexual abuse, respond to sexual abuse, and monitor the staff, other residents, and anyone who has access to a caretaker facility or the senior’s home.
- Emotional neglect. Overnight elder care facilities, daycare centers, and in-home aides should all ensure that the seniors in their care are connected to family and friends. In group settings, seniors should be engaged in common activities such as eating and communicating with other seniors. Assisted living facilities should ensure that seniors aren’t isolated. The staff should be rotated and monitored to ensure other staff members aren’t a cause of any emotional abuse.
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Louisiana elder neglect attorneys are skilled at showing that caretakers are liable for negligence if the following conditions apply:
- A caretaker owed a duty of care to an elderly person (generally anyone 60 or older)
- The caretaker breached that duty of care by failing to act in according with standard caretaker practices (for each type of caretaker such as a nursing home), failing to honor the senior’s rights, and in other unreasonable and unsafe ways
- The breach of duty caused the senior physical or emotional harm
It is not necessary in negligence claims to show that the caretaker or anyone else acted intentionally.
Common types of Louisiana elder care neglect include:
- Not having an individual care plan. Every senior has some physical or emotional challenges. It’s just the nature of getting older. Most seniors who are in any type of assisted living facility are in the facility because they need help functioning. Caretakers should have plans that address each senior’s physical, emotional, and medical needs so that family can be contacted quickly and every staff member who works with a resident/patient understands how to best help the senior.
- Not having written policies and procedures. Caretakers should have group plans for everyone in their care in addition to individual plans. These policies should address the common needs of all seniors; the rights of the residents; how to prevent, monitor, and respond to abuse or neglect, and how staff members can best help the people in their care.
- Long-term facilities of every type need to have enough qualified staff members for each Louisiana senior so each senior receives the attention and care he/she deserves. Caretakers who place company profit over proper staffing levels can be held liable in a Louisiana elder care neglect claim if seniors suffer harm.
- Failure to conduct background checks. Group caretakers and caretaker agencies should conduct background checks of all new hires to review their credentials, licenses, training, experience – and whether the applicant has been the subject of any complaints or disciplinary actions.
- Improper staff training and monitoring. Taking care of seniors, especially seniors with physical or cognitive disabilities, requires a unique set of skills and temperament. Nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other caretakers need to ensure their employees and contractors have the proper credentials and training, and that there is continuing training once a staff member is employed. Staff members need to understand how to prevent bedsores, ensure the senior is getting the necessary nutrition, recognize stroke symptoms, and tend to many other senior difficulties – especially dementia and Alzheimer's.
Caretakers need to have reporting systems in place to monitor, report, and discipline staff members who are failing the seniors in their care.
How do you fight for seniors who suffer Louisiana elder neglect?
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Louisiana elder abuse lawyers begin fighting by explaining to family and friends that depending on the type and severity of the neglect, they might need to contact the police or local senior protective services agencies. They should also help their loved one file a complaint with the Louisiana Long-Term Care Ombudsman if the senior is in a long-term care facility or nursing home. The state or local ombudsman should investigate and work to try to resolve the complaint.
We strongly recommend that you contact our experienced Louisiana elder care neglect lawyers. Our lawyers. Our team will explain what rights the senior has and review the type of neglect that occurred and who is responsible. Our Louisiana elder care neglect lawyers will file claims against the caretakers and any other responsible parties.
The claims will demand compensation for your loved one’s medical expenses, physical pain and emotional suffering, loss of quality of life, and loss of function. If the neglect was especially egregious such as failing to respond to complaints of sexual abuse, we’ll seek punitive damages.
If your loved one died due to Louisiana elder care neglect, our attorneys will file a wrongful death action on behalf of the senior’s family.
Civil personal injury and wrongful death claims do more than help compensate the senior or the senior’s family. They help to ensure the neglectful conduct stops so your loved one and other residents/patients are protected too.
Do you have a Louisiana elder neglect lawyer near me?
Garcia & Artigliere represents victims of elder neglect throughout Louisiana. Our New Orleans office is located at 400 Poydras Street, Suite 2045. Our team represents clients in many other states too. We’re dedicated senior abuse lawyers nationwide. We’ll explain the senior’s rights and fight to obtain the full compensation your loved one deserves.
Contact us now. Talk with an experienced Louisiana neglect lawyer at Garcia & Artigliere today
At Garcia & Artigliere, our Louisiana elder neglect lawyers understand the policies and procedures senior care facilities and private caretakers should take to prevent neglect from happening - and how they should respond when neglect does occur. Our experience includes helping seniors explain what happened to them and how their injuries are affecting them. We also work with the senior’s physicians and therapists. To fight for your loved one’s rights, call or complete our contact form now to schedule a free, confidential consultation. We proudly serve Louisiana – along with California, Arizona, and Kentucky. There are no upfront costs. We represent neglected seniors on a contingency fee basis
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