Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Lawyers

If you think someone is in urgent danger, call 911 or your local authorities to get help right away. If the individual is not in an emergency situation, your nursing home abuse attorney can help you investigate and report the event, then legally remove the individual from the situation or resolve the issue within the facility.

Nursing home abuse and neglect is unfortunately more common than you may want to think. According to the World Health Organization between 2017 and 2018, 1 in 6 adults aged 60 or older suffered some type of abuse while in a community setting, like a nursing home. This statistic is most likely higher as nursing home abuse, and elder abuse in general, goes greatly underreported.

Unfortunately, yes, there are several risk factors that may increase the odds of being abused or neglected in a nursing home on long-term care facility:

• Patients who are seen as more time-consuming or needier—overstaffed or unqualified health care workers may be unable to meet the resident’s additional needs
• Patients suffering from cognitive illness, like Alzheimers or dementia
• Patients who have a history of mental illness
• Patients who have communication barriers
• Patients who have physical disabilities
• Patients who are women

If a caregiver is intentionally harming a patient, that is nursing home abuse. Abuse often involves denying a patient’s needs such as: food, water, and medical treatment. It can also include physical and financial harm.
Nursing home neglect is unintentional failures by the caregiver, such as ignoring calls for assistance or failing to maintain the patient’s hygiene.
Learn more about the common signs of abuse and neglect in a nursing home

Nursing home and hospice facilities should provide patients with the attention, care, and medical treatment they deserve. Unfortunately, malpractice may still occur. Causes include:

• Failure to hire and train qualified medical professionals
• Negligence of the duties promised to the residents and their families
• Failure to adequately staff the facility to handle the needs of its residents
• Attempts to cut corners on care and support in order to make more money
• Failure to properly screen potential employees and provide a safe living environment

Although it is horrifying to consider, too many facilities throughout Wisconsin do not keep up with residents’ medical, emotional and personal needs. Nursing home and long-term care facilities’ shortfalls cause residents to suffer illness or unnecessary pain and suffering.

The four most common types of abuse in nursing homes include preventative falls, choking, medication errors, malnutrition and dehydration.

Facilities often describe injuries as unavoidable, or the victim’s fault. In some cases, proper supervision and care planning may prevent harm. Our attorneys review whether the facility assessed the resident’s risks and followed the proper safety steps. If they failed to meet accepted standards of care, your family may have the right to seek compensation.

If the resident is unable to file a claim themselves due to physical or cognitive limitations, a person with the Power of Attorney may act on their behalf. If the resident has passed away, the personal representative of their estate or close family members may have the right to file a claim.