It is frustrating to hear about, but some of our elder loved ones suffer from abuse in their special care centers. If this is the case for your family, hiring a New Bedford MA nursing home abuse attorney may be your best option. Read on…
With new medical technology making its way into our lives, humans are beginning to live longer and more productive lives. In fact, the average age of a citizen in the United States is continuing to rise year after year, thanks to this new medical technology. As your loved ones get older, the thought of putting them in a nursing home begins to cross your mind. This thought crosses your mind because you or your family may not have the means to take care of them anymore. You put them in a nursing home because you want them to have the best care. But sometimes, nursing home abuse comes to the forefront of the conversation, and if this is the case for you and your family, then contacting a New Bedford MA nursing home abuse attorney may be the best option for you and your family.
The Tough Decision – Putting a Loved One in a Nursing Home
There is no doubt that putting your loved one into a nursing home is not the easiest of decisions to make, especially if you have been personally taking care of your loved one for a very long time. It is hard because you will have to begin trusting that the nursing facility and the staff at the facility of providing your loved one with the love and care that they need as they get older.
While a majority of nursing homes provide great care that goes above and beyond all expectations. But in some cases, there has been evidence of nursing home abuse and neglect. If you are an individual in the state of Massachusetts that has experienced the horror of nursing neglect or abuse, then you should consider contacting a New Bedford MA nursing home abuse attorney. These attorneys will help you in handling your claim and will fully investigate those who are responsible for the abusive treatment of your loved one.
New Bedford MA Nursing Home Abuse Attorney – Three Types of Claims
In most cases, a legal claim against a nursing home will fall into three categories. These categories are:
- Nursing home abuse of a loved one.
- Nursing home neglect of a loved one.
- Or medical malpractice inside a nursing home.
When it comes to the legal aspect of nursing home abuse, the federal government of the United States actually provides a very specific definition. According to 42 CFR 488.301, abuse is defined as:
“The willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish.”
Under this definition, nursing home abuse can include anything from mental abuse to sexual abuse.
The Difference between Neglect and Abuse
There is a fundamental difference between neglect and abuse in the nursing home. When someone refers to nursing home abuse, they mean that your loved one had a direct action taken against them with the intention of causing some sort of physical or mental harm. When someone refers to neglect in a nursing home, they are referring to the inaction or indifference of a nursing home employee or staff member.
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
In the state of Massachusetts, all nursing homes are under the watchful eye of The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This department enforces the Code of Massachusetts Regulations, a set of very strict regulations that all licensed nursing homes must follow.
Medical Malpractice in a Nursing Home
When it comes to caring for your loved ones in a nursing home, physicians and doctors play a very, very important role. Those in a nursing home require constant supervision and care 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Because of this constant need for supervision and care, sometimes the nursing home staff may be substandard, as there may be too few physicians or nurses on duty. This can result in your loved one not getting the proper care or treatment. These types of situations constantly lead to medical errors or medical malpractice in the nursing home.
Setting up a Consultation
When you decide to hire a New Bedford MA nursing home abuse attorney, you will start off by setting up a consultation session with them. During this consultation, you will sit down to discuss every detail of your claim. In some cases, they may be able to inform you which course of action you should take without you even having to spend one penny out of your pocket. If the attorney feels that you have a viable case, then they will agree to represent you and your claim for their normal fee. Once they have decided which course of action they would like to take, you can then decide if you would like for them to represent you or not. You should make sure that you take everything into consideration before you make your decision.
Contacting a New Bedford MA Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
If you feel as though a loved one inside of a nursing facility is not being treated correctly, or is being abused or neglected in any way by the medical staff, it may possibly mean that other residents are being neglected as well. For this reason, you should not waste any time in contacting a New Bedford MA nursing home abuse attorney with experience in guiding you along this scary journey.
If you are worried about a loved one or a friend who is staying at a nursing home in the New Bedford, Massachusetts area and may be experiencing nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect, or medical malpractice in the nursing home, please call The Kevin P Landry Law Offices as soon as possible. When you call, you will get a free, no-obligation consultation that will help the office assess the overall claim and situation. Contact us anytime by e-mail, or give us a call, toll-free, at (800)-200-7752.
