If your family is struggling in the wake of nursing home abuse in Salt Lake City, UT, seek legal help immediately. You deserve to hold the abuser and all responsible parties accountable. An experienced Salt Lake City nursing home abuse lawyer at Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers can help you maximize the amount of money you receive.
Our lawyers have over 100 years of combined experience under our belts. We’ve successfully recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts.
Contact our law firm in Salt Lake City, Utah today at (801) 851-1202 to learn more about how we can help today. We offer free case reviews, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
How Can Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers Help With a Nursing Home Abuse Claim in Salt Lake City?
It’s devastating to learn that a loved one has been abused. After all, it was difficult enough to put your loved one in a nursing home in the first place.
For decades, injured clients and their families have trusted Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers to help them pursue justice. Now, we’re here to help you hold the abusive caretaker and the nursing home responsible.
Our Salt Lake City personal injury attorneys don’t back down from a fight. We know how hard nursing homes fight to sweep allegations of abuse under the rug. We’re passionate about holding neglectful and abusive parties accountable.
You can expect us to:
- Carefully investigate and locate evidence
- Determine who is responsible for your losses
- Keep you informed at every turn
- Calculate the value of your damages
- Handle the paperwork and communications
- Negotiate skillfully for the maximum compensation possible
- Fiercely advocate for your rights in court if necessary
All cases are different. Our Salt Lake City personal injury lawyers are here to help in any way we can. Call us today to get started.
Is Nursing Home Abuse a Common Problem?
Nursing home abuse is all too common. Unfortunately, many cases of nursing home abuse go unreported. Victims are often afraid and ashamed. Some suffer from memory-related illnesses that prevent them from understanding what’s happened or whether they’ve reported the abuse.
Shockingly, in a series of studies, over 64% of nursing home staff members admitted that they had committed some kind of abuse in the past year. Roughly one in every six older Americans in community settings experience some type of abuse.
What Qualifies as Nursing Home Abuse?
In the most general terms, nursing home abuse occurs when a caregiver mistreats a resident. The abuse can be intentional or the result of negligence.
Nursing home abuse can occur in several different ways, including:
Physical Abuse
Any conduct that causes physical injury qualifies as physical abuse. That can include outright hitting, kicking, or punching a patient. It can also involve the improper use of restraints or using excessive force that causes physical injury.
Neglect
Nursing home residents can suffer dramatically when their needs are neglected. Failure to provide proper assistance, food, water, medications, and supervision can all constitute neglect. After all, many people enter nursing homes because they’re unable to safely care for themselves.
Neglect can be active or passive. Sometimes patients are neglected because the nursing home simply doesn’t have the staff necessary to provide adequate care. In other cases, caregivers actively ignore residents’ needs. Both forms of nursing home neglect are unacceptable.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional and psychological abuse is the most commonly reported form of nursing home abuse. Threats, harassment, belittling, name-calling, and other types of verbal abuse can be extremely harmful. Emotional abuse can dramatically impact a victim’s sense of safety and well-being.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse is unfortunately common in assisted living facilities. The perpetrator may be a caregiver or another resident. Any type of unwanted sexual contact, harassment, or communication constitutes abuse.
Financial Exploitation
Nursing homes and caregivers are often in a prime position to take advantage of vulnerable nursing home residents. Financial abuse can involve using a resident’s credit cards, identity theft, coercing them to change a will or beneficiary designation, and outright theft of personal property.
What Are Some Signs of Nursing Home Abuse?
Families may suspect their loved one is being abused in a nursing home setting. It can often be tough to know for sure. Elderly or ill residents may have difficulty reporting the abuse on their own.
If you notice any of the following signs of abuse, it’s important to take action to protect your loved one:
- Frequent or unexplained injuries, including broken bones or bruising
- Bed sores
- Changes in hygiene
- Personality changes
- Fear of speaking around a caregiver
- Caregivers who refuse to leave you alone with your loved one
- Unexplained financial transactions
- Regressive behaviors, including self-hugging, rocking, thumb-sucking
- Sudden weight loss
You should pay close attention if you notice any significant unexplained changes. You can report suspected nursing home abuse to Adult Protective Services in Salt Lake City. You can either call or report the abuse online.
How Much is My Salt Lake City Nursing Home Abuse Case Worth?
In our experience, pursuing compensation is the best way to prevent future instances of nursing home abuse.
That said, your case value will vary depending on:
- The nature of the harm your loved one has suffered
- The nature of the at-fault party’s actions
- How long the nursing home abuse persisted
- The mental impact of the abuse
- The costs your family has incurred due to the abuse
Our lawyers are here to discuss your case value in a free case review. In our initial meeting, we can give you an estimate based on your story and our past experience.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Nursing Home Abuse Victims in Salt Lake City?
Many types of economic and non-economic damages may be available under Utah personal injury laws.
Our attorneys regularly pursue compensation for:
- Medical expenses incurred because of the abuse
- Relocation costs
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Mental health counseling
- Property damage and restitution
- Lost wages when family members are forced to miss work and care for the victim
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Depression
- Fear
- Humiliation
- Diminished quality of life
- Scarring
- Reduced life expectancy
Hiring an experienced nursing home abuse attorney can be extremely valuable. Our lawyers can help you identify your damages and prove your case. Contact our law offices today to get started.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Utah?
Our team operates entirely on a contingency fee basis. There are no up-front fees necessary to hire us. Instead, we take our attorneys’ fees as a percentage of your compensation award.
Nursing Home Abuse Can Leave Victims Struggling With Life-Changing Losses
Examples of some tangible consequences of nursing home abuse include:
- Broken bones
- Concussions
- Serious infections
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal bleeding
- Organ damage
- Adverse drug interactions
- Burns
- Paralysis
- Catastrophic injuries
- Wrongful death of a loved one
The mental suffering experienced by victims of nursing home abuse cannot be overlooked. Many residents struggle with severe depression, shame, and humiliation. Our attorneys know that emotional trauma can be just as damaging as physical injuries–and you can count on us to fight for every dollar.
Why Does Nursing Home Abuse Occur in Salt Lake City?
Nursing home abuse often occurs because of:
- Understaffing
- Failure to conduct background checks or negligent hiring
- Failure to properly supervise caregivers
- Inadequate training
- Unqualified caregivers
There’s never an excuse for nursing home abuse. If the facility is not capable of providing a safe environment, it should not be operating. Our lawyers are prepared to hold the nursing home responsible regardless of why the abuse occurred.
What Do I Have to Prove to Win a Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit in Utah?
Nursing home residents in Utah have rights. Those rights include the right to be free from physical and emotional abuse. All residents are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. When a nursing home or its staff violate those rights, we are here to hold them accountable.
Different parties may ultimately be liable, including:
- The caregiver who committed abuse
- The nursing facility
- Management companies hired to provide oversight
- Doctors and nurses who practice within the facility
- Government agencies responsible for licensing and inspection
Nursing home abuse is an intentional tort. The perpetrator can be liable for their own intentional wrongdoing. Third parties, such as the nursing home, can also be responsible based on their own negligence.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Filing a Nursing Home Abuse Claim in Utah?
The statute of limitations in Utah generally gives you four years to file a personal injury lawsuit. The four-year clock typically starts on the date you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the abuse. However, there are exceptions and you could have as little as one year to file suit.
An experienced Utah personal injury lawyer can ensure you don’t miss important deadlines.
Contact a Leading Salt Lake City Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer for a Free Consultation
If you’re worried about a loved one or have discovered that abuse is occurring, don’t hesitate to call Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers. An experienced Salt Lake City nursing home abuse lawyer can help you get the evidence to prove your case. Your consultation is free, so reach out today.
