Owings Mills Nursing Home Injury Lawyer
The population is quickly aging, which means more and more people will be in nursing homes in the coming years. This influx of patients will no doubt cause problems for already understaffed nursing homes.
What this means is that staff members will become even more overwhelmed. They may neglect patients. They may even get stressed out and abuse them, causing physical and emotional injuries.
If a healthcare worker commits an act of negligence or abuse against your elderly loved one, you may be forced to take legal action to ensure their safety. The Owings Mills nursing home injury lawyers at Furman | Honick Law can help you understand your legal options so you can get compensation and justice.
What to Know About Neglect
Neglect in a nursing home is often unintentional. There are often three main reasons: understaffing, overcrowding, and underfunding. There are simply too many patients and not enough staff to care for them all. A lack of money is preventing nursing homes from getting qualified staff.
In Maryland, approximately 14% of residents are over the age of 65. Most residents are between the ages of 40 and 65, so a huge boom of nursing home patients is coming, adding to the stress of nursing homes.
Still, negligent care in a nursing home is never acceptable. In fact, it is against the law. If the facility does not provide the expected level of care, your loved one suffers. This is when you need to take legal action.
What to Know About Abuse
Nursing home abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, or financial in nature. The abuse may be perpetrated by staff members or even other residents. In fact, there has been an increase in resident-on-resident abuse in recent years.
Nursing homes are seeing hostile behavior between residents. It includes physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, and biting each other. Emotional abuse is also common, with residents yelling, insulting, and cursing at each other.
The abuse is also sexual in nature, such as unwanted sexual advances, groping, rape, and indecent exposure. Some residents also engage in financial abuse by going into other residents’ rooms and rifling through their belongings in search of money and other assets of value.
Of course, staff members also abuse residents. Any nursing home resident can be a victim of abuse. However, those with physical or mental disabilities tend to be more at risk, since they are less likely to report the abuse.
Contact Furman | Honick Law Today
It’s sad when families cannot trust nursing homes to provide adequate care for their loved ones, but unfortunately, neglect and abuse happen often. When this happens, you need to understand your legal rights.
The team at Furman | Honick Law can assess your case and hold the nursing home liable for your loved one’s injuries. We can help you get justice. To schedule a free consultation, contact our Owings Mills nursing home injury lawyers at (410) 844-6000 or fill out the online form.