Placing a loved one in an assisted living facility can be an emotional decision. However, it’s one that can benefit them in many ways, allowing them to receive the care and attention they need in a community where they can maintain a high quality of life.
At least, that’s how it should be.
When a Maryland nursing home doesn’t take care of its residents, or there’s abuse, the results can be devastating, with an abusive or neglectful environment potentially putting their lives at stake. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as two-thirds of nursing homes and elder-care staff have admitted to committing some form of elder abuse in the past year.
If your loved one has experienced abuse at an assisted care facility in Maryland, a Baltimore nursing home abuse lawyer can help you make a personal injury claim. With our attorneys at your side, you can rest assured that your loved one’s rights will be protected.
At Belsky & Horowitz, LLC., we’ll fight to get fair compensation for what they’ve endured, and we won’t settle for anything less than what your loved one deserves, taking their personal injury or wrongful death case to court if necessary. So, if you’re concerned about your elderly loved one’s welfare, contact us for a free consultation.
What Rights Do Nursing Home Residents Have in Maryland?
When choosing a home in which to place your loved one, you may wonder about state and federal regulations. According to the Maryland Department of Health, every long-term care facility resident has certain rights.
All Maryland nursing home residents have the right to:
- Reside in a facility that provides reasonable accommodations to their needs and preferences
- Receive treatment, medical care, and services that promote a high quality of life
- A dignified existence with access to communication with people and services both inside and outside their facility
- Be free from coercion, discrimination, and any type of abuse
- Choose a physician and pharmacy
- Participate in and be fully informed about their care and treatment and possible changes to it
- Consent to allow or refuse treatment
- Access records within 24 hours
- Privacy
- Consent to allow or deny visitors
- Voice grievances without fear of reprimand
- Share a room with a spouse
- Participate in social, religious, and community activity
If you believe your loved one’s nursing home violated any of these rights, you have the right to take legal action on their behalf.
What Are the Common Types of Nursing Home Abuse?
Abusive treatment can take many forms. Some of the abuse happens from malicious intentions, but it can also occur when there aren’t enough nursing home staff members. Not having enough staff can mean that those who are there are overworked and can’t get to every resident to attend to all of their needs.
While this is no excuse for abuse or neglect to occur, it does mean that some residences aren’t run as well as others due to staffing issues.
The different types of elder abuse that may occur in Maryland nursing facilities include:
Physical Abuse
When nursing home staff members use force on an elderly person that causes pain, bodily harm, or impairment, that constitutes physical abuse against a resident. Common types of physical abuse residents endure include:
- Beating
- Shoving
- Biting
- Slapping
- Kicking
- Burning
- Using physical or chemical restraints
- Force-feeding
Emotional or Psychological Abuse
Using verbal or nonverbal means to inflict pain, anguish, or distress is emotional abuse. Psychological abuse encompasses verbal abuse that causes emotional distress and can include:
- Swearing
- Insulting
- Threatening
- Intimidating
- Harassing
- Using negative language to put down seniors
An additional example of emotional abuse may be if a caregiver keeps an elderly person isolated from friends or social activities.
Financial Abuse
Any instance in which someone illegally uses a resident’s assets or other property (without consent) may constitute financial abuse. The National Council on Aging reports the yearly loss by victims of financial abuse to be at least $36.5 billion.”
This illicit activity could include:
- Forging signatures
- Stealing cash or possessions
- Coercing someone to sign something they don’t understand for the financial gain of the perpetrator
Some seniors living in nursing homes may have dementia or another form of memory loss. Abusive employees can take advantage of their confusion or memory loss and use it to steal their money.
Sexual Abuse
Assault, unwanted touching, coerced nudity, or any other form of sexual contact without consent is sexual abuse. Unexplained sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or bruises may be signs of sexual abuse.
Most nursing home residents with memory loss or communication issues may be unable to verbalize what’s happening to them.
Abandonment
These facilities have a responsibility to take care of the residents in their charge. Negligent nursing homes that become frustrated with residents with extensive medical needs may decide to abandon them, leaving them vulnerable to suffering a personal injury.
This could happen at a public place like a shopping mall or grocery store, or they could even leave the senior at a hospital.
If you’re concerned a relative who’s a resident in a Baltimore assisted living facility is facing any of the ill-treatment above, don’t delay in reaching out to a nursing home abuse attorney to explore your rights to take legal action on their behalf. Consulting with one of our lawyers is free.
Signs of Abuse
You may suspect your loved one is being subjected to abuse or neglect but don’t know what to look for.
There are a few signs you can check when you’re visiting, and it can be helpful to visit often and during non-peak visiting times. Speaking to other residents’ families may also give you a better idea of the treatment that their loved ones are receiving at the nursing home.
Some typical signs of abuse and neglect include, as documented by the U.S. Department of Justice, include:
- Unexplained Nursing Home Injuries: While an occasional bump may happen, multiple bruises, cuts, bedsores, or other physical marks are not normal for residents to have. Unexplained, serious injuries like broken bones could be from falls, indicating that the staff engages in a fair amount of nursing home neglect. Seniors’ coordination may be poor, and their bones can be brittle, making it easy for them to lose their equilibrium and suffer injuries.
- Verbal Complaints: Your loved one may complain about treatment at the facility or express fear or sadness when you’re visiting them.
- Malnourishment or Dehydration: Nutrition and hydration are essential for seniors to stay healthy and prevent illness. Some studies, like a 2020 European Geriatric Medicine journal article published by the National Library of Medicine, have suggested that up to 38% of residents have experienced dehydration at some point. If you notice significant weight loss or your loved one is visibly dehydrated, they may not be getting the medical care they need.
- Change in Mood and Behavior: Elder abuse can change a talkative and happy person to someone who’s withdrawn, moody, or displays other signs of emotional distress or mental anguish. A sudden inability to communicate or lack of lucidity could be signs of overmedication.
- Poor Personal Hygiene: Your loved one should have baths and be provided clean clothes regularly, as well as have fresh sheets in their bed. If you notice they’re in stained or soiled clothes, they’re not getting proper care.
- Unsanitary Environment: Look around the facility in general. It should be clean and sanitary to reduce the chance of disease and provide a comforting environment for patients.
If you see one or more of the signs above, it’s time to get in touch with a Baltimore nursing home abuse lawyer to help guide you through the process of filing a lawsuit to hold any responsible parties, including the assisted living facility, accountable.
They can also help you help your loved one get out of an abusive environment and into a place where they can get the care they need.
Reporting Abuse and Neglect Occurring in Nursing Homes in Maryland
If you suspect your loved one is being subjected to abuse and neglect, it is vital to report those suspicions to the proper authorities. They can provide guidance as to how to remove your loved one who is facing nursing home abuse from their situation.
Maryland law requires certain professionals, which are called mandated reporters, to report any instances in which they suspect abuse. Examples of individuals who must report this mistreatment include:
- Health care providers
- Human service workers
- Police officers
Anyone, however, has the right to report suspected abuse to the nursing home facility management and the appropriate authorities.
Individuals who report abuse or neglect are protected by law. If you believe your loved one is in immediate danger at their nursing home, call 911.
Filing Non-Emergency Complaints About Assisted Care Facilities
If you search online, you’ll find plenty of horror stories about the assisted living industry. If you have a non-urgent, non-life-threatening situation with an assisted living facility, you should speak with the nursing home operator where your loved one lives and also notify one of the following organizations:
- Local Long-Term Care Ombudsman. This organization, which forms part of the Maryland Department of Aging, works to resolve problems involving long-term care facility residents and quality of care issues at these nursing homes.
- Maryland Office of the Attorney General. The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 requires facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds to uphold certain standards. Abuse would certainly violate the standards as established under the Act. If you contact this office, ask for the Medicaid Fraud Control Division. They prosecute nursing home abuse cases.
- Maryland Adult Protective Services. This program, which forms part of the Maryland Department of Human Services, works to prevent and remedy elder abuse since this population may be in immediate danger and unable to protect their own interests.
- Maryland Office of Health Care Quality. This agency of the Maryland Department of Health will investigate complaints of resident abuse and assist with criminal prosecution.
When you report the ill-treatment your loved one has suffered, it’s important to include as many details as possible—which can also help your abuse attorney later. This will help speed the investigation into the abuse along and help your loved one get out of a bad situation faster.
After you’ve reported the treatment that your loved one has endured and have ensured the safety of your loved one, do not hesitate to reach out to a nursing home abuse attorney.
A nursing home abuse lawyer in our Baltimore office can guide you through the complicated legal process of filing a civil lawsuit. Our abuse and neglect attorneys have extensive experience handling various types of personal injury lawsuits, including wrongful death claims.
Our Maryland legal system allows for the filing of a lawsuit to ensure the negligent nursing facility is held accountable for any abuse and neglect they inflicted or allowed to occur on their premises. It can be difficult to go up against a large facility like a nursing home, but at Belsky & Horowitz, LLC, we have a comprehensive knowledge of the law on our side to help you.
How Can an Attorney Help You Prove Abuse Occurred?
Once you’ve contacted a nursing home abuse lawyer, you’ll be able to file a claim. This claim is the first step to recovering financial compensation and justice.
Personal injury claims filed against nursing care facilities are multifaceted, and a lot of evidence will need to be presented to prove your loved one was wronged. An abuse attorney from our office can start an investigation, conduct interviews, and examine medical records to prove why the nursing home was negligent.
Proving that your loved one’s injuries were the direct result of nursing home negligence can be challenging. Your lawyer will need to show that the facility:
- Owed the individual a duty of care
- Breached their duty of care
- The long-term care facility resident suffered because of the breach
The elements may vary depending on who you’re going up against, but your lawyer will know how to present the facts to build a strong argument on behalf of your family member.
Damages Recoverable in Cases Filed Against Long-Term Care Facilities
Once it has been proven that your loved one has been mistreated, your Baltimore nursing home abuse lawyer can go about calculating damages, which are intended to compensate the resident for their sufferings.
The term “damages” refers to compensation that can be recovered to reimburse a personal injury victim for the incident-related costs they’ve amassed and also the mental and physical toll it’s had on them and their closest loved ones.
Generally, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, and the costs of medical treatment related to the injuries can be covered. Calculating a monetary value for emotional pain and suffering can be complicated, but your nursing home neglect attorney will make sure that the parties responsible for what happened to your loved one pay compensation that is both full and fair.
In addition to helping your family member recover, your legal counsel will also be dedicated to ensuring no other residents face elder abuse. The negligent facility needs to understand that it cannot harm its elderly residents in any manner.
While recognizing that your loved one is being mistreated is upsetting and overwhelming, you can get help for them. When you work with us at Belsky & Horowitz, LLC, we’ll investigate your loved one’s case and find evidence to support the claim. We will stand up for your loved one’s rights and ensure that the abusive nursing home is held accountable for its actions.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to review your claim. Our abuse and neglect lawyers help you determine how to proceed, and you’ll have peace of mind that someone is looking out for your loved one’s best interests.
