Associated Press (AP) News reported in April 2020 that nearly 50 “long-term care facilities,” a category which includes nursing homes, were centers for significant coronavirus outbreaks. Due to a lack of candor, it is not clear to what extent nursing home residents may have been affected by poor health practices inside of nursing homes, as U.S. News & World Report suggests. Coronavirus shortcomings could be an indication that many nursing homes in Louisiana, including those in Rayne, may not always serve their residents’ best interests—intentionally or not.
If your loved one lives or lived in a nursing home and you suspect that they may have been mistreated even once, a Rayne nursing home abuse lawyer could help you pursue compensation on their behalf. Call our team at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers today at (337) 777-7777 for a free case review.
Louisiana’s Growing Nursing Home Population May Be at Risk
According to the Association of American Retired Persons (AARP), the elderly population of the state was projected to grow by as much as 80% between 2007 and 2030. This sort of growth:
- May put significant strain on nursing home staff and administrators
- Could lead to staffers being spread thin, frustrated with the number of residents they need to care for, or derelict in their duties
- May put your loved one at a greater risk of being mistreated in their nursing home
While the quality of Rayne nursing homes may vary on a case-by-case basis, some general facts about nursing homes may not make you hopeful that your loved one is receiving the quality of care that they deserve. Some of the frightening facts about nursing homes, in general, include that:
- Understaffing is a chronic problem throughout the majority of nursing homes in the United States, according to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
- Approximately 36% of nursing home staff members admitted to witnessing
at least one act of physical abuse by another staff member in the preceding year, according to a survey by the World Health Organization (WHO).
- Ten percent of reporting staff members said they had engaged in some form of elder abuse not just ever, but in the previous year, per the WHO.
- Several types of elder abuse may be underreported, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, including physical abuse, neglect by caregivers, psychological abuse, and financial exploitation.
These facts underscore how important it is for you to regularly monitor your loved one, to be alert to any changes in their demeanor or physical state that could indicate they are being mistreated, and to take action if you have suspicions of mistreatment. Elder abuse takes many forms, and each can be extremely harmful to your loved one.
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How to Spot the Signs of Elder Abuse
You may be generally or intimately familiar with your loved one who lives in a nursing home, including their:
- General personality, and what is characteristic versus uncharacteristic for them
- Their physical appearance when they are being well cared for
- Their likes and dislikes
It is important to remind yourself of these baselines as you monitor their safety and health in a nursing home setting. You may want to be generally in tune with:
- Changes in their personality that you view as negative, or at least not positive
- Changes in their physical appearance that could indicate abuse
- A withdrawal by your loved one from activities that they typically enjoy
If you see these changes, then you may need to investigate further to find out if they are symptoms of abuse or another type of mistreatment. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), some of the types of mistreatment that your loved one could suffer include:
- Being taken advantage of or exploited financially
- Being sexually abused or physically abused
- Being emotionally or psychologically abused
- Being neglected
The NCEA lists in-depth symptoms for each of these specific forms of mistreatment, but considering that you may have many responsibilities of your own, you may want to pay attention to your loved one’s overall mental and physical state, and be persistent in asking them about suspicions of mistreatment that you harbor.
If you develop a belief that your loved one has been mistreated in some way, a Rayne nursing home abuse lawyer may help you seek justice. Call our team at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers today at (337) 777-7777 for a free consultation.
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The Elderly Deserve Defense
Too often the elderly in society are cast aside, but your elderly loved one deserves a defense from those who have mistreated them. Part of defending your loved one’s health, honor, and rights may be seeking justice in civil court for any losses that they have sustained while in a nursing home.
A nursing home abuse lawyer may be able to help you pursue the financial justice that your loved one may be entitled to. A lawyer could assist your loved one by:
- Explaining to the court, or in written documents, the story of mistreatment that befell your loved one
- Collecting and exhibiting the evidence of your loved one’s mistreatment
- Documenting the losses your loved one has suffered because of mistreatment in their nursing home
- Displaying the trauma that your loved one has suffered, and the effects of that trauma, as part of their lawsuit
- Calculating the awards that your loved one should be entitled to and arguing for those awards in settlement negotiations or at trial
- Defending your loved one’s rights throughout the legal process
Generally, the sign of victory in a civil lawsuit may be financial awards, also referred to as damages. Some of the awards that your loved one may receive include compensation for:
- The cost they paid to live at the nursing home in question
- Medical costs related to mistreatment
- Pain and suffering caused by mistreatment
They may be entitled to additional types of compensation depending on the circumstances of their abuse and resulting losses.
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Call Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers Today
Our goal is to obtain the settlement or judgement to which you are entitled. Call our team at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers today at (337) 777-7777 to discuss how a Rayne nursing home abuse lawyer may facilitate your lawsuit.
Get The HelpYou Need(337) 777-7777To Schedule a FREE CONSULTATION
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