West Palm Beach Nursing Home Abuse and Elderly Neglect Attorney

This West Palm Beach Nursing Home Abuse and Elderly Neglect Attorney Fights for the Rights of Older People

Older people who have been abused and/or neglected turn to this West Palm Beach Nursing Home Abuse and Elderly Neglect Lawyer for help obtaining compensation. Abuse and neglect unfortunately happen in nursing homes all of the time. When it does, victims can pursue personal injury cases in order to obtain compensation for their harm/injuries.

Injuries sustained from nursing home abuse and/or neglect may include:

• Lacerations
• bruising and hematomas
• bleeding
• hair loss
• infection
• decubitus ulcers or bedsores
• IV infiltration which can cause infection or amputation
• Fractures
• Lacerations
• heart attacks
• strokes
• pulmonary embolism
• septic shock.

Nursing home abuse and/or neglect may even lead to death. If this has occurred to your loved one, then you may be able to pursue a wrongful death case on behalf of your loved on. In order to pursue a wrongful death case, you will need to set-up an Estate for your loved one. The proceeds from the case will run through that Estate. Eventually, any money from the estate will go to the survivors of your loved ones – sometimes referred to as the “beneficiaries of the Estate.”

There are all types of nursing home abuse. One type comes in the form of restraining patients. Nurses in nursing homes may grow tired of their patients. These patients can get overwhelmed and some patients may be challenging. As a result, nurses may restrain patients in their beds or other places in order to make their jobs easier. Such restraints can come in the form of physical restrains (e.g., tying patients to their beds) or other forms of restraints. For example, nurses may give patients extra drugs or prescription medications in order to sedate them and keep them in their beds.

Physical abuse (i.e., assault and battery) and psychological abuse also unfortunately occurs in nursing homes frequently. Patients may be sexually assaulted and raped as well. Many elderly patients may not be able to report such abuse, and nursing home employees often take advantage of that fact.

Finally, nursing home patients may be taken advantage of financially. If their mental deterioration makes them not able to take care of their own finances, nursing home employees may step in and begin to mismanage their funds – even stealing from them.

Should you or a loved one be abused or neglected anyplace in Florida (including Broward County, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Miami-Miami), call Mr. Quackenbush at 954-448-7288. This West Palm Beach Nursing Home Abuse and Elderly Neglect Law Firm can help to get you the compensation you deserve. Mr. Quackenbush will talk to you about your case without charging you.

This West Palm Beach Nursing Home Abuse and Elderly Neglect Attorney Empathizes with Older People

Elderly neglect can cause injuries and harm just like nursing home abuse. Neglect can come in many forms as well. For example, elderly people who are left in their beds for long stretches of time may develop bed sores, which can be severely debilitating.

Other names for bed sores include:

• pressure sores
• pressure ulcers
• decubitus ulcers.

Bed sores are caused by consistent pressure on a certain area of the body. Such pressure can lead to the development of such bedsores and other symptoms. “Bony” areas may be more susceptible to such pressure and the development of consequent bedsores.

A person with bedsores must be treated immediately. Not treating a bed sore can make it worse and can lead to catastrophic situations, including even death.

Occasionally, a nursing home patient will be placed in an isolated area by him or herself. This can be a form of punishment for bad behavior. However, such isolation can also lead to severe mental, emotional, and psychological injuries.

Some nursing home patients require extra attention and care. This might be because they are “fall risks,” for example. Some patients have a propensity to fall for various reasons (e.g., due to medication use or vertigo). These patients should be constantly monitored and attended to. If they aren’t, they may fall and badly injure themselves. If the nursing home staff doesn’t monitor one of these patients and the patient falls and hurts him or herself as a result, then the nursing home will be responsible.

Dehydration and malnutrition are also conditions that frequently occur in nursing homes. They occur when a patient isn’t given adequate food or water. They can result in catastrophic consequences, including even death.

Pharmacy mis-fills also frequently occur in nursing homes. This may in part be due to the fact that nursing homes are such hectic places, and there are typically many patients being cared for in them. Patients’ medications may easily be mixed up. Or a patient may be given the wrong dosage of medication. Such errors/mistakes can lead to all sorts of health problems for the victim. If this occurred to you or your loved one, you may be able to pursue a personal injury case against the nursing home where the error/mistake was made.

This Palm Beach County Nursing Abuse and Elderly Neglect Law Firm can be Reached at 954-448-7288

Negligence frequently occurs in nursing homes because they aren’t properly staffed. Nursing homes should have proper nurse-to-patient ratios. That is, there shouldn’t be too many patients per nurse in a nursing home. If there is, then nurses may become overwhelmed and serious errors can occur.

If you were injured in a nursing home, then Mr. Quackenbush will likely attempt to get information on this ratio at the nursing home. If the ratio appears to be improper, then Mr. Quackenbush will likely use it in court to argue that the nursing home was negligent.

Nurses and nursing assistants provide most of the treatment/care in nursing homes. They are expected to treat/care up to the “standard of care” of a reasonable nurse or nursing assistant. This means that, if the nurse/nursing assistant that treated you or your loved one did something that another reasonable nurse would not have done (or if the nurse that treated you or your loved one didn’t do something that another reasonable nurse would have done), then the nurse or nursing assistant will be liable for any negative consequences.

If you or your loved one are a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, you should report such abuse or neglect to the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. You should also contact the police.

You should also take pictures of any physical injuries. Those injuries will hopefully get better. However, if you later pursue a case, you will want to be able to use evidence of what those injuries looked like at their worst.

Should you or a loved one be hurt in a nursing home, you should also attempt to obtain any surveillance videos at the nursing home. Nursing homes frequently carry such footage. It is important for the nursing homes to carry in case of any accidents. Such footage may reveal the incident where you or your loved one was injured.

Nevertheless, you should attempt to obtain the tape as quickly as possible. This is because such tapes are frequently on “loops.” This means that the footage will tape over itself every three days, every thirty days, etc. Once the video tapes over itself, it will be too late to retrieve the original footage.

Mr. Quackenbush will likely send a “preservation letter” to the nursing home if you hire him. In this letter, Mr. Quackenbush will instruct the nursing home to hold onto the video and not edit it in any way. Should the nursing home do this, it can be punished by the judge in a later court case.

This South Florida Nursing Home Abuse and Elderly Neglect Law Firm Offers Advice to Clients

Should you or a loved one be hurt due to nursing home abuse or elderly neglect in Palm Beach County (including Belle Glade, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Jupiter, Lake Worth, Lantana, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Springs, Riviera Beach, Royal Palm Beach and Wellington), contact Mr. Quackenbush at 954-448-7288. He will discuss your case for free.