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What you can do if you suspect
abuse or negligence?
If you suspect that a loved one is
being abused by their care-givers in a nursing home or assisted living
facility, take the following steps:
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Visit frequently. Vary your visits to different times
of the day and evening to assess the care provided during all times of
the day, night, weekends, and holidays.
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Talk to nurses and aides about your concerns.
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Talk to the Director of Nurses, Social Worker and
Administrator.
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Talk to the doctor.
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Call the ombudsman. Most states have a long term care
ombudsman program. Their success rate and true commitment to quality
care depend on each ombudsman program. In general, ombudsmen can help
you get a new mattress for your family member, make the nursing home pay
for lost or stolen items, and other types of simple problems; however,
they may not be able to tackle serious problems involving lack of care.
There are some aggressive ombudsman offices, but they are at the mercy
of the state health department bureaucracy. It is best to use this
office for non-life threatening situations.
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Call your state survey agency. In each state there is
a division of the State Department of Health that deals with oversight
of nursing homes and enforcement of nursing home regulations. This
agency conducts yearly surveys of each nursing home and also
investigates complaints filed by family members. Find out who the state
licensing agency is from your nursing home. They are required to provide
this information to you when your place a resident in the nursing home.
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If you believe the nursing home resident is a victim
of any form of abuse or neglect by the nursing home, you can and should
file a complaint with state Licensing and Certification; they are
required to investigate your complaint. The Licensing and Certification
division of each state may substantiate your complaint; if they do so,
the agency has the authority to issue a citation against the facility,
impose a fine, and require corrective action.
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You can file a complaint with Licensing and
Certification, and they must investigate the complaint. Licensing and
Certification can either substantiate or unsubstantiate your complaint.
If the complaint is substantiated, this agency can issue a citation and
impose a fine and require corrective action.
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Make sure to have good independent documentation of
your charges, such as doctor or hospital records, that show the true
nature of the problem.
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Many family members are concerned that if they make a
complaint and their relative is still in the nursing home, the facility
may try and retaliate on the relative. Since you cannot be at the
nursing home twenty four hours a day, this could be a real concern,
especially if your relative is unable to communicate well and tell you
about any retaliation. Some family members wait until they move their
relative out of the facility to file a complaint. Of course, you can
always file a complaint if your relative dies, especially if you think
that the lack of care or abuse was a factor in the death.
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State Civil Litigation-One of your remedies is to
take private legal action against the nursing home in state court. Each
state has a different set of laws, but the most common suits are for
abuse and neglect or wrongful death. Some states also have unfair
business practice laws that allow any individual to sue, but usually
without much compensation. If your state has an effective unfair
business practice law, your attorney may use it along with a neglect and
abuse or wrongful death case to get remedial action. If you suspect a
loved one may be in danger in a nursing home, call an experienced
attorney. It won=t cost you anything to discuss your concerns, and you
may decide that moving forward with a claim of abuse or neglect is your
best option. Don=t let your loved one suffer at the hands of an
unethical nursing home.
If you notice any one of these signs of
nursing home abuse or neglect, you need to
Find an experienced nursing home negligence attorney to start a prompt
investigation to find out if your loved one is being mistreated. They=ll
do everything they can to hold the facility accountable for the harm
they=ve caused and work hard to make sure it never happens again.
If you have any reason you believe that
you that your or a love one has been injured or neglected in a nursing
home or assisted living facility call
800-437-2571 anytime for a free no obligation consultation with
one of our attorneys experienced in handling nursing home abuse cases or
use our convenient Free Case Evaluation
submission form.
Find an
experiened Nursing Home Abuse attorney in your area
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