Kansas City Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

Making the important decision to put a loved one in a nursing one is incredibly difficult, but we know it is often necessary. When the needs of the people we love become more than we can manage on our own, we look for the best, most professional home we can find.

But what happens if you discover that your family member, friend or loved one is being abused in a nursing home? It can be alarming and disturbing since we expect a standard of care and patient well-being from the nursing care facilities that treat those that need this care.

Bedsores, malnutrition and broken bones can all be signs of nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect. Elder abuse can come in many forms from physical abuse and sexual abuse, financial abuse through financial exploitation as well as emotional abuse can all occur.

At Peddicord & Townsend LLC, we are here when you need a Kansas City nursing home abuse attorney. We will stop at nothing to secure the compensation you need.

You Need to be Vigilant

If your loved one is in a nursing home, it is important that you are always aware of the potential abuses that can occur. Elder abuse is rampant in this country, though it is vastly understudied. As the average age of our population increases, the number of nursing homes will rise, and the medical malpractice cases and nursing home abuse and mistreatment will be on the rise with it. This means we need to get a handle on what elder abuse is and how to recognize the signs of it.

For the abuses we are going to discuss today, we recognize that this information can be hard to read. Elder abuse is unthinkable, but please be on the lookout for certain signs and symptoms when you visit your loved ones. This can include:

• Unexplained marks, bruises, cuts, or scrapes
• Dirty clothes, linens, and rooms
• Changes in behavior and withdrawn behavior
• Bedsores or other seeping wounds
• Malnutrition and signs of neglect
• Weight loss
• Memory loss from potential medication errors
• Bruises and marks around the wrist and ankles from restraints
• Pressure ulcers as a result of improper restraining

Many elderly people are unable to communicate what is wrong or that an abuse has happened, so it is up to us to help to root out nursing home neglect and nursing home negligence and ensure the mistreatment of patients and elder abuse are stopped and avoid injuries that lead to nursing home abuse cases.

Long-term care facilities can often have a problem with understaffing, which jeopardizes the well-being of their patients under their care, and leads to neglect cases and serious injury simply because they don’t have the amount of staff needed to provide proper real-time care. It can lead to mistreatment and nursing home neglect when most patients just want to be treated like a real person, receive proper health care and have a positive experience as a nursing home resident.

The Centers for Disease Control says that elder abuse is “an act or failure to act that causes or creates risk of harm to an older adult.” This can include:

• Physical Abuse of any kind, including slapping, punching, shoving, pushing, burning, or any other act that intentionally causes an elderly person pain.
• Sexual Abuse against the elderly is unthinkable, but it happens. It includes any sexual contact between an elderly resident with staff or volunteers at a home.
• Psychological or Emotional Abuse can happen in verbal and nonverbal forms and is meant to inflict distress, mental pain, or fear in older adults. This happens with name-calling, intimidation, isolation, property destruction, and more.
• Neglect occurs when an elderly resident’s basic needs of food, water, hygiene, clothing, and medical needs are not being met by nursing home staff.
• Financial Abuse occurs when nursing home staff abuses their access to a resident’s personal financial information for their own gain.

If You Discover Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

If you have discovered that a loved one is being abused in a nursing home, long-term care facility or assisted living facility, please seek legal assistance as soon as possible. At Peddicord & Townsend LLC, we take these cases seriously. Elder abuse is abhorrent and the people responsible need to be held accountable. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision. Our Kansas City, Missouri law firm develops strong attorney-client relationships and fights for the financial compensation you or your loved one deserves in a nursing home abuse case. Nursing home abuse is serious, and can result in serious injury, brain injury, or even wrongful death, as a result of negligent medical care professionals committing elder abuse. The law offices of Peddicord & Townsend have years of experience as personal injury lawyers in the Kansas City area and all across Missouri and Kansas.

We will work to secure compensation for the following:

• Coverage for medical expenses related to the abuse
• Pain and suffering damages
• Loss of enjoyment of life damages
• Relocation expenses
• Punitive damages against those responsible

If you need a Kansas City nursing home abuse attorney, please contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling us at 816-842-3200.