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Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Attorneys
Advocating for the elderly and vulnerable seniors since 1993
When your loved one resides in a nursing home or assisted living facility, you want to ensure that they are cared for and protected. Seniors are among the most vulnerable populations, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and compassion. When facilities fail in their duty, Garcia & Artigliere is here to hold them accountable and seek justice for you.
Get the help you need, where you need it. Our nursing home abuse & neglect lawyers serve families throughout the U.S. from our offices in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New Orleans.
Don’t wait to get an award-winning legal team on your side. Call or contact Garcia & Artigliere today if you or your loved one was the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect. We are ready to fight for you. The consultation is free and confidential.
How can we help?
- What constitutes nursing home abuse or neglect?
- What are common signs of nursing home abuse or neglect?
- What rights do nursing home residents have under the law?
- Who is liable for abuse and neglect in a nursing home?
- What should I do if I suspect my loved one is being abused or neglected?
- Do you have a nursing home abuse attorney near me?
What constitutes nursing home abuse or neglect?
Nursing home abuse comes in many forms and is tragically common. The Administration for Community Living (ACL), which houses the Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs, provides five (5) classifications for nursing home abuse and neglect: physical, sexual, and psychological abuse; financial exploitation; and gross neglect. Per their definitions:
| Category | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Abuse | The intentional use of physical force that results in acute or chronic illness, bodily injury, physical pain, functional impairment, distress, or death. | Includes hitting, slapping, and pinching, kicking, etc. and/or controlling behavior through corporal punishment. |
| Sexual Abuse | Forced and/or unwanted sexual interaction (touching and non-touching acts) of any kind. | Includes, but not limited to unwanted or inappropriate touching, sexual coercion, sexually explicit photographing, and sexual harassment. |
| Psychological Abuse | The infliction of anguish, pain, or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts. This includes but is not limited to verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, and harassment. | Includes, but is not limited to: oral, written or gestured language that willfully includes disparaging and derogatory terms used against residents regardless of their ability to comprehend; humiliation; bullying; harassment; threats of punishment or deprivation; and involuntary seclusion, which is the separation of a resident from other residents or from his/her room against the resident’s will. It also includes abuse that is facilitated or caused by the taking or using photographs or recordings in any manner that would demean or humiliate a resident; posting these photos on social media networks, or sending these photos through multimedia messages. |
| Financial Exploitation | The illegal or improper use of an individual’s funds, property, or assets for another person’s profit or advantage. | Includes, but is not limited to, depriving a resident of rightful access to, information about, or use of personal benefits, resources, personal needs allowance, belongings, or assets. |
| Gross Neglect | Failure to protect a resident from harm or the failure to meet needs for essential medical care, nutrition, hydration, hygiene, clothing, basic activities of daily living or shelter, which results in a serious risk of compromised health and/or safety, relative to age, health status, and cultural norms. |
If a nursing home doctor, staff member, volunteer, or administrator – or even another resident or visitor – engages in these types of behaviors, you can file a claim or lawsuit against the nursing home and any other applicable parties. Garcia & Artigliere can help. We handle all manner of nursing home abuse and neglect cases, including wrongful death claims.
Medication mistakes and negligence in nursing homes
According to data published in the National Library of Medicine’s StatPearls, “7,000 to 9,000 people die as a result of a medication error. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of other patients experience but often do not report an adverse reaction or other medication complications” every year in America. Medical oversight can result in giving the patient wrong medication, a combination of medications, or the wrong dosage. Medical inconsistencies can also be the result of misread medical script, the wrong prescription all together, allergic reactions to the medication they were prescribed, or incorrect charting of the medication by the staff.
When you pay a nursing home for the care of your loved one, you expect a high level of care. Nursing home facilities are expected to follow state and federal guidelines. When an elderly resident of a nursing home or a dependent adult receives medical care that falls below the accepted standard of care and suffers serious injuries and fatalities, it is considered negligence.
The following are examples of medical negligence at nursing homes:
- Failure to provide an examination, evaluation, or treatment
- Failure to provide a test an elderly person might need
- Delay of necessary treatment
- Providing the wrong treatment
- Failure to follow up on the medical condition
- A misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis
- Performing unnecessary surgery
- Prescribing unnecessary or wrong medication
According to the National Council on Aging, “approximately one in 10 Americans aged 60+ have experienced some form of elder abuse. Some estimates range as high as five million elders who are abused each year. One study estimated that only one in 24 cases of abuse are reported to authorities.”
Delayed or denied treatment for stroke
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 2021, “1 in 6 deaths from cardiovascular disease was due to stroke,” and that approximately 795,000 people have strokes every year. Nearly a quarter of them have had strokes before.
Ischemic stroke, which accounts for 87% of all annual strokes, occurs when blood is blocked from reaching the brain. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is a blood clot “busting” drug that, when administered within three (3) hours of the stroke, can help victims “recover fully or have less disability than patients who do not receive the drug. Patients treated with tPA are also less likely to need long-term care in a nursing home,” per the CDC.
A delay in this treatment can have dire effects on a stroke victim. Garcia & Artigliere can help you and your loved one seek justice for delayed or mistreatment of stroke.
Get the help you need, where you need it. Our stroke negligence lawyers serve families throughout the U.S. from our offices in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Louisville, Lexington and New Orleans.
What are common signs of nursing home abuse or neglect?
The signs of nursing home abuse and neglect are varied. Your loved one, for example, may exhibit changes in personality, suddenly expressing fear or becoming withdrawn. Other folks may have bursts of anger. Among the more common signs of abuse and neglect in your loved one are:
- Bedsores
- Malnutrition and dehydration
- Poor hygiene
- Unexplained physical bruising
- Discomfort or pain while urinating or defecating
- Sudden fear of staff or other residents
- Bowel and bladder injuries
- Untreated infections
- Broken bones /fractures
- Fatal injuries
Signs that the nursing home or facility is being abusive or neglectful include:
- Unsanitary living conditions
- Scabies or bed bugs
- Unsafe floor plans
- Easy access to medications
- Wandering/eloping residents
- Multiple residents who have experienced falls
- Residents being restrained physically or chemically
- Clogged or dirty feeding tubes/breathing tubes
- Medication errors, including dosing errors and denial of appropriate treatment
Any of these signs can indicate elder abuse. If your loved one suffers from dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or any cognitive disabilities, they may be unable to articulate what is happening to them. Our nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys can help.
Data compiled by Brigham Young University “across nine studies conducted in 2019 [found that] 64.2% of staff admitted to some form of elder abuse in the past year. Similarly, in a national survey of nursing home staff, 40% admitted to psychologically abusing their patients.”
What rights do nursing home residents have under the law?
Nursing home residents are guaranteed certain rights under state and federal laws. Though state laws vary, the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 enshrined certain rights under federal law. Any facility which participates in Medicare and Medicaid must provide certain services, such as “periodic assessments for each resident; a comprehensive care plan for each resident; nursing services; social services; rehabilitation services; pharmaceutical services; dietary services; and, if the facility has more than 120 beds, the services of a full-time social worker.”
It also established a Residents’ “Bill of Rights” for residents, which include the right to privacy, the right to be free from abuse or neglect, and the right to communicate, among others. You can learn more about the rights of nursing home residents here.
If a facility violates any of these rights, you have legal options. Our elder abuse lawyers have successfully represented individuals and families in lawsuits and claims against nursing homes, assisted living facilities, rehabilitation centers, and other residential treatment centers who failed in their duty to their residents.
Who is liable for abuse and neglect in a nursing home?
An act of abuse or neglect is rarely an isolated event. Often, systemic policy failures create an environment for abuse and neglect to flourish. Understaffing, failure to conduct background checks, cutting corners to save money (or committing acts of fraud against residents or the federal government) – any and all of these can lead to the abuse and neglect of your loved ones. Garcia & Artigliere can help you hold any liable parties accountable for this gross negligence and abuse, including:
- Owners and operators of the facility
- Administrators
- Staff
- Medical personnel
- Volunteers
- Third-party vendors, such as drivers or operators of off-site facilities and events
No matter who harmed your loved one, our lawyers can help.
What should I do if I suspect my loved one is being abused or neglected?
If you think your loved one is being abused or neglected in a nursing home or other residential senior facility, you must act fast. You may only have a short amount of time to file a claim or lawsuit, depending on where your loved one lives. Here are a few immediate steps you can take:
- Take pictures of your loved one, the facility, and their room. Document everything you see that appears unsafe.
- Call your Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
- Call Garcia & Artigliere. Our nursing home and elder abuse attorneys have decades of experience helping vulnerable seniors – and billions of dollars in recoveries on their behalf.
Do you have a nursing home abuse and neglect attorney near me?
Garcia & Artigliere represents clients throughout the country, so we are always close by when you need us the most.
Nationally recognized advocates for victims of nursing home neglect and abuse
You don’t have to face this alone. The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys of Garcia & Artigliere are here to help. To schedule a free, confidential consultation with us, please call or contact our offices in California, Louisiana, or Arizona today. Serving clients throughout the country.
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