Little Rock Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
A nursing home abuse lawyer may be able to assist those affected by nursing home abuse. Nursing home abuse affects the lives of millions of people each year in the United States. In some cases, loved ones and family members may be unaware of the abuse occurring behind closed doors. Affected nursing home residents and their families may be able to recover compensation with the help of a personal injury attorney.
If you have been injured, or if a loved has been killed, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact a Little Rock nursing home abuse lawyer at the Johnson Firm today. You can fill out the form on this page, call us at 501-777-7777 or email us at info@johnsonfirm.law.
There is no cost to speak with us. If you choose to pursue a claim, you pay no upfront fees or expenses. Our fees are based solely on the recovery made on your behalf. If there is no recovery, you pay nothing.
What is Nursing Home Care?
Nursing homes typically provide some type of residential care for people who cannot care for themselves on a day-to-day basis, including the elderly and younger adults who suffer from physical or mental disabilities. Some nursing homes may provide physical and occupational rehabilitation therapies, particularly when a resident has experienced an accident or serious illness.
Nursing Home Care in Arkansas
According to the Arkansas Department of Human Services, more than 23,000 Arkansans receive some type of service in a long-term care facility licensed and inspected by the Office of Long Term Care (OLTC) each year.
Arkansas state law defines a nursing home as:
[A]ny buildings, structure, agency, institution, or other place for the reception, accommodation, board, care, or treatment of two or more unrelated individuals, who, because of physical or mental infirmity are unable to sufficiently or properly care for themselves.
Residents, or their families, pay for accommodation, board, care and treatment. Nursing home residents receive care form licensed nurses, certified nursing assistants as well as other types of health professionals 24 hours a day. Nursing home facilities in Arkansas must be operated and maintained by obtaining a license and renewed on a yearly basis.
Other types of long-term facilities include:
- Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (facilities that specialize in providing services to developmentally disabled individuals)
- Assisted Living Facilities
- Residential Care Facilities for individuals over the age of 17 who are not capable of independent living and who need assistance and supervision
- Adult Day Cares, which provide custodial care, supervision, and social services and Adult Day Health Cares, which provide rehabilitative, therapeutic, and supportive programs, social services and activities
- Post-Acute Head Injury Retraining Residential Facilities
- Alzheimer’s Special Care Units (specialized long-term care units that offer services specifically for people with Alzheimer’s Disease or related dementia)
As a nursing home resident in the state of Arkansas, you have the right to be treated in such a way that you are free from mental and physical abuse. If you or your loved one feels that they have been humiliated, harassed, threatened with punishment or deprivation, or received any type of physical abuse, a nursing home abuse lawyer can help guide you through the legal process.
Nursing Home Abuse and Warning Signs
Millions of nursing home residents are victims of some type of abuse each year in the United States. In some cases, nursing home may never get reported. Nursing home residents may be subject to a variety of types of mistreatment, including:
- Physical abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Psychological abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Financial exploitation
Physical abuse is one of the most common types of nursing home abuse. Common signs of physical abuse may include broken bones, bloody or torn clothing, and unexplained bruises or cuts.
Emotional and psychological abuse may be less obvious, and some nursing home residents affected by such abuse may not say anything to their loved ones for fear of retribution. One of the most common types of emotional abuse is verbal abuse. Examples of verbal abuse may include threats of harm or saying things that may frighten a resident.
Elderly people are especially vulnerable to financial exploitation and certain types of fraud. Many nursing home residents must rely on other people to read their mail, manage their bank accounts, or other financial tasks. Warning signs associated with financial abuse may include unexpected changes to wills or powers of attorney, suspicious additions to insurance policies, disappearance of property or money, unexpected charges to credit cards or withdrawals from bank accounts, and unpaid bills.
How a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Can Help
When negligence or abuse results in injury, an injured party suffers loss in various ways. The law allows an injured party to pursue damages to recover those losses. Common types of damages recoverable in a personal injury case include:
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Scarring and disfigurement
When someone’s negligence results in the death of another person, family members of the person killed may recover damages for the wrongful death of their loved one. Wrongful death damages include:
- Medical expenses incurred prior to death
- Conscious pain and suffering prior to death
- Loss of the economic support of the loved one
- Loss of the companionship of the loved one
- Funeral expenses
If the actions causing injury are malicious or so reckless that an intent to harm can be inferred, the responsible party can be liable for punitive damages to punish wrongful conduct and deter similar conduct in the future.
Victims of harm in long-term care facilities and their families are encouraged to seek the counsel of a nursing home abuse attorney to learn more about their rights and remedies.
