Chattanooga Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer Elderly Claims

Steps to Take if You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse

If you suspect that your loved one is being abused or neglected, act quickly. Taking the following steps can help protect them and hold the abusive and neglectful parties accountable:

Ensure Immediate Safety

If your loved one is in danger, call 911 or remove them from the facility, if possible.

Document Everything

Take photos of injuries or unsanitary conditions and keep a written record of your observations and conversations with staff.

Speak With Facility Management

Report your concerns to the nursing home’s administrator or director of nursing. Request a written incident report.

Contact Adult Protective Services

In Tennessee, you can report suspected nursing home abuse to the Department of Human Services Adult Protective Services by calling 888-277-8366.

File a Complaint With the State

You can also file a formal complaint with the Tennessee Department of Health’s Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities.

Consult a Nursing Home Attorney

A lawyer can help investigate the abuse, secure evidence, and pursue compensation on your loved one’s behalf.

Can I Pursue Compensation for My Loved One’s Nursing Home Abuse?

The anger of uncovering the abuse or neglect of your loved one is often followed by confusion and uncertainty about what to do next. You may think about taking legal action, but how do you know if you have a case?

Understanding the elements of a nursing home abuse or neglect situation and the steps of the legal process can help you take appropriate action. Talking to a lawyer experienced in handling nursing home abuse and neglect is an important next step.

At Gary Massey Injury Lawyers, we can review the specifics of your situation to determine if you may have grounds for a lawsuit. The following are some of the factors and information we consider.

Reasons for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

In some cases, nursing home employees intentionally neglect or inflict abuse on the patients in their care. However, the vast majority of nursing home abuse and neglect cases are caused by negligence.

Understaffing, inadequate background checks, poor training, and insufficient or careless administrative oversight are the leading underlying causes behind this abuse and neglect. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), more than 1 in 5 older adults may suffer abuse or neglect, but only 1 in 24 cases are reported. In addition, the National Institute on Aging notes that each year, hundreds of thousands of adults over the age of 60 are abused, neglected, or financially exploited.

Identification of Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect

Types of Nursing Home Abuse

Most people think the warning signs of abuse are always physical. Certainly, physical abuse is a real danger to nursing home residents. Abuse can take other forms, too. Types of nursing home abuse include:

Physical Abuse

Physical force that causes injury, pain, impairment, or distress.

Neglect

Failure to provide appropriate care, supervision, treatment, or basic necessities.

Emotional Abuse

Verbal, psychological, or social mistreatment that causes fear, humiliation, or distress.

Financial Exploitation

The improper or unauthorized use of a resident’s money, property, accounts, or financial information.

Signs and Symptoms of Abuse or Neglect

Bruising

Older individuals often bruise more easily than they did when they were younger, so new bruises on a patient’s arms or hands may not necessarily be cause for concern. However, increased bruising can sometimes be a sign of physical abuse, particularly when the bruises appear on a patient’s head or torso.

Falls and Broken Bones

Another sign of potential physical abuse is an increase in injuries such as broken bones either caused by accidents or attributed to unknown causes. One major cause of broken bones in nursing home patients is falls.

Nursing homes are legally obligated to take measures to prevent falls and when they fail to do so, they may be held liable for injuries that result. Measures that may prevent falls include:

Bed rails
Rails along walls
Implementation of policies to reduce the risk of falls
Staff training
Monitoring of patients at risk for falls

Injuries suffered in nursing home falls may be emotional and mental as well as physical. This is particularly true when a patient who falls does not receive attention for some time after the fall and remains helpless and in pain. Nursing homes may be liable for not only allowing a fall to occur, but also for injuries due to the delay in responding to the patient’s after-fall needs.

Physical injuries from falls often include broken bones, lacerations, severe bruising, head injuries, and internal organ damage. In addition, the traumatic impact of a fall can lead to heart and respiratory failure and leave long-lasting mental and emotional scars.

Bedsores

Bedsores, also referred to as pressure ulcers, occur when there is continuous pressure in one area for too long or too severely at one time. Older patients are often vulnerable to pressure wounds because of the fragility of their skin and their reduced mobility. Bedsores frequently occur in bony areas of the body, such as heels, when patients remain in the same position for too long.

Bedsores can be caused by continuous pressure, which can reduce blood flow and oxygen supply and cause cells to die off. In some situations, bedsores develop due to shear and friction. Shear damage occurs to underlying tissue when skin is stretched, such as when a bedridden patient sinks down into a bed. Friction injuries occur when skin rubs across an abrasive surface, which can include the upholstery of a chair or even coarse bed linens.

The presence of bedsores may indicate that other needs of the patient are being neglected, too.

Emotional and Mental Abuse

Emotional or mental abuse in nursing home situations comes from what caregivers say to residents and how the staff treats the residents. That could come in the form of verbal abuse, isolating the residents, or treating the patients in a way that makes them feel ashamed, humiliated, hated, or punished.

Warning signs for emotional abuse include nursing home residents who are afraid of the abuser. If the abuser comes near, the resident could possibly change his or her behavior, become more anxious, or may become quieter and refuse to interact. Sometimes, victims withdraw and become less interactive or less engaging overall.

Patients who are unable to communicate and understand what people are saying are particularly vulnerable to mental or emotional abuse. Families of victims should be vigilant if they suspect that their loved one is suffering from an emotional abuser.

Common examples of emotional or mental abuse are inappropriate and offensive language, belittling of victims, humiliating him or her, or making him or her wear certain clothes. Isolation is also unfortunately common. The nursing home staff may put a patient in a room where he or she is prevented from contacting anyone.

Other Warning Signs to Watch For

There are often more subtle signs that may suggest neglect or abuse. Any of the following are indicators that should demand further investigation:

Broken Eyeglasses or Restraint Marks

Broken eyeglasses or marks around the wrists may indicate physical mistreatment or improper restraint.

Medication Problems

Watch for signs that the resident is not receiving medication, is receiving the wrong medication, or is ingesting too much medication.

Poor Hygiene or Unsanitary Conditions

Dirty laundry and linens or infrequent bathing may indicate neglect.

Dehydration or Weight Loss

Unexplained dehydration or weight loss can indicate that a resident’s basic nutritional and medical needs are not being met.

Behavioral Changes

Changes in behavior, such as exhibiting fear or reverting to childlike mannerisms, may be signs of abuse.

Unexpected Financial Changes

Changes to a patient’s will or financial records or unexpected withdrawals from bank accounts may indicate financial exploitation.

When you suspect neglect or abuse, it is important to compare the current situation and behaviors with what you’ve observed in the past. Family members are often best able to detect changes that could indicate abuse.

What Is My Loved One’s Nursing Home Abuse Case Worth?

Every nursing home neglect or abuse case is unique. The actual dollar amount your loved one may receive depends on a variety of factors. But generally speaking, recoverable damages in nursing home abuse cases include the same types of damages available for any type of personal injury case. These include:

Monetary Damages

These are amounts that may be more easily calculated before trial. There is no cap on monetary damages.

These damages include costs related to treatment for injuries caused by neglect and abuse. They may also include the cost of future care a patient will need because of the abuse or neglect, which may be documented in a Life Care Plan.

Non-Economic Damages

These amounts are not readily calculable before trial.

Awards are capped at $750,000 in Chattanooga, no matter how significant the victim’s injuries or suffering. These damages include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, fear, humiliation, and loss of opportunity.

Punitive Damages

These damages may apply if the abuse was intentional or there was recklessness on the part of the nursing home.

Punitive damages are awarded by a jury or judge to punish intentional, reckless, or malicious conduct and deter similar future conduct. Amounts are calculated based on the severity of the conduct, the harm caused, and the defendant’s ability to pay.

Awards may be based on trial evidence about the defendant’s financial circumstances, corporate structure, size, and other factors presented by the plaintiff’s attorneys.

Nursing home abuse damages differ from other types of personal injury cases because of the condition of the victim. Nursing home patients already have a diminished quality of life. Many also have altered mental states, making it hard to prove how much they could perceive their injury or how much pain they suffered. They also often have other health conditions that contribute to shortened life spans. These factors can negatively influence a case’s value.

The cap on punitive damages is another factor. Chattanooga nursing home abuse lawyers have several strategies to deal with non-economic damages caps. One way is to attack the constitutionality of the non-economic damages cap. Recently, attorneys have banded with other lawyers to create an appellate case that may go up to the Tennessee Supreme Court and ask the Supreme Court to declare that cap unconstitutional, which would remove it altogether.

An experienced nursing home abuse attorney can help evaluate your case. Contact us today for a free initial consultation.

Building a Legal Case Against a Nursing Home

Understanding the Nursing Home’s Duty of Care

The obligations nursing homes have to care for patients arise from a number of different sources.

The Contract Between the Patient and the Facility

This contract, signed at the time of admission, will include a number of terms and obligations that both parties must fulfill or the agreement will be considered breached.

Federal, State, County, and Local Laws and Regulations

Many of these laws, such as the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act, impose a duty of care on nursing homes and other elder care facilities.

The law requires skilled nursing facilities to provide:

An environment that is sanitary and safe
Appropriate medical care
Measures to prevent injuries such as falls
Measures to prevent abuse from staff
Attention to physical needs

In addition, Section 33-2-1202 of the Tennessee code requires facilities to perform a criminal background check on employees and volunteers who have direct contact with or responsibility for patients.

Licensure Requirements

As members of the medical profession, nursing home caregivers have specific duties. For example, doctors owe a certain duty of care by virtue of their license to practice medicine. Those who fail to fulfill this duty may lose their license and their status as doctors.

When nursing homes fail to meet their duties, they can be held negligent.

How to Establish Nursing Home Liability

When a nursing home fails to meet its duty of care and that breach causes harm, the nursing home can be considered liable. Victims may be entitled to damages.

For example, if a nursing home was understaffed and the lack of personnel led to a patient falling out of bed, this could constitute liability on behalf of the nursing home.

The key is establishing a connection between the victim’s injuries and the breach by the nursing home, then providing evidence of it. This is known as making a prima facie case.

Prima facie translates legally to accepting a claim as true until proven otherwise. Demonstrating these facts early on is essential to avoid the nursing home’s legal team getting the case dismissed before a judge or jury can hear the full facts.

Here is one example. A nursing home is required to implement procedures to keep a bedridden nursing home patient from developing bedsores. The attorney proves that nursing home staff are required to turn and reposition the patient every two hours. The attorney then proves that the nursing home employee failed to turn and reposition the patient. The lawyer then shows that the failure to turn the patient caused a bedsore and that the bedsore was harmful and caused damage to the plaintiff.

The lawyer has made their prima facie case, and the burden of proof then shifts to the defendant to disprove liability.

While attorneys will prepare and bring the actual case to court, family members of loved ones can take steps to start gathering the evidence an attorney will need. They can make notes of things they see at the nursing home, such as a lack of staff member attention, poor maintenance, dirty linens, and other concerns. They can also maintain documentation for medical bills and lists of all medical providers.

What Is the Legal Process for a Nursing Home Abuse Case?

Every nursing home case follows the same legal procedure. It is identical to any other personal injury case in Tennessee.

Initial Investigation

The victim’s attorney conducts an initial investigation and gathers documentation.

Filing the Lawsuit and Discovery

The victim’s attorney files a lawsuit. The defendant submits a reply, and the discovery phase, including depositions and document exchanges, begins.

Settlement Negotiations

The parties engage in negotiations to determine whether the case can be resolved without a trial.

Trial

If there is no settlement, the case goes to trial.

Jury Trial: Most nursing home abuse cases in Tennessee are presented to a jury.
Bench Trial: The case is presented only to the judge. Plaintiffs can waive their right to a jury trial voluntarily. However, if the nursing home is government-owned, the case will only be heard by a judge.

Appeal

Either the plaintiff or defendant can appeal the final trial verdict.

What to Expect During the Pretrial Period

This is where the lion’s share of the work is completed in most nursing home abuse cases. Once the complaint is filed and an answer is received, the two sides get busy preparing for trial. It can take many months to work through the pretrial period.

Written Discovery

This includes interrogatories, which are questions sent to the opposing party, and requests for documents.

Depositions

This is each side’s chance to ask verbal questions of the parties in the case and other people, including expert witnesses, doctors who treated the injuries, corporate representatives, and nursing home staff.

Pretrial Motions

Throughout the pretrial phase, both sides can bring motions to the court. These may involve evidence, procedures, and legal disputes between the parties.

Negotiations

As more evidence is gathered, the two sides usually engage in discussions to see if a resolution before trial is possible.

During this phase, it is important that the victim’s family and friends avoid discussing the case without their attorneys present. They should not post anything about the case on social media. They should not talk about settlement, money, or anything of that nature before trial. Doing so might jeopardize their case.

They should confine all communications about the trial to the attorneys or to other family members involved in the decision-making process. Everything else should be kept private and quiet.

If settlement is not possible, the case goes to trial.

The Trial Process in Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuits

Nursing home abuse cases in Chattanooga typically take between one and three weeks, but may last longer depending on the complexity of the case.

Lawyers for each side present their opening arguments and evidence. Witnesses may testify, including eyewitnesses and expert witnesses. The opposing side is permitted to cross-examine the witnesses.

When all evidence has been presented, lawyers make their closing arguments, and the case is turned over to the judge or jury for a decision.

Appeals in Nursing Home Abuse Cases

If one side is unhappy with the outcome, they may have grounds to appeal the verdict to an appellate court. These courts resolve matters based on legal technicalities and mistakes in how the law was applied, not the facts of the case. Appeals can result from final trial verdicts or pre-verdict dismissals by the trial court judge.

The appeals process is complex. It begins with filing a notice of appeal with the trial court. The case is then transferred to the appellate court, where attorneys follow briefing deadlines and adhere to technical requirements for arguments presented in written form. There may be oral arguments, but this is not mandatory.

Appeals can take years to reach a final resolution. The reason is that there are two different levels of appeal in Tennessee. A person’s first appeal goes to Tennessee’s Court of Appeals, and that process usually takes about a year.

Once that process is over, a party may apply for permission to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court. People do not necessarily have the right to appeal to the Supreme Court, but they may ask for an appeal. If the Supreme Court grants that request, it could take another year for the Supreme Court to issue a final ruling.

One of the benefits of appealing a Chattanooga nursing home abuse case is that the initial ruling could be overturned. However, the downside is that appeals take extensive amounts of time, are difficult to win, and are costly. It requires more financial support to appeal a case, and often the appellate court refuses to overturn the trial court. The chances of having a decision overturned are slim.

How Quickly Will My Loved One’s Legal Case Be Resolved?

The speed with which your nursing home abuse case is resolved depends on whether you settle or go to trial. Trials can take months or even years of preparation, plus additional weeks for the actual trial and additional time for any appeals.

Settling a case before trial generally speeds up resolution. Once settlement terms are reached, a nursing home settlement is usually paid out within a matter of weeks or a few months.

Once the settlement check is received, Medicare liens, health insurance liens, and other medical provider liens must be paid. Often, a nursing home abuse attorney in Chattanooga can negotiate to decrease or eliminate the amount that has to be paid back, but all of these actions take time. It will delay distribution of settlement funds to the victim.

Settlement Versus Trial: What to Consider

When we try to hold people responsible in court, we unfortunately task ourselves with seeing a lengthy courtroom process through to the end. While settlements could offer an expedited route to closure, they sometimes present a less-than-fair outcome for compensation. However, that does not mean that either route is inherently negative.

A person may consider settling a Chattanooga nursing home abuse case when the defendant offers a fair settlement amount. Determining a fair settlement amount depends on:

Strength of the Evidence

How strong the proof is that the nursing home did something wrong and caused the injury.

Severity of the Injury

How severe the injury was and what treatment or future care may be required.

The Patient’s Awareness

How much the patient is able to understand and perceive the injury and its consequences.

Effect on Quality of Life

How much the injury affected the patient’s quality of life.

When deciding whether to accept a settlement offer, victims should also consider:

Likely Trial Outcome

Consider what is most likely to happen at trial and how the likely outcome compares with the settlement offer.

Future Litigation Expenses

Consider the expenses incurred between the time the settlement offer is made and the time the case would get to trial. The longer litigation goes on, the more expensive a case becomes. Those expenses come out of the client’s share of any verdict or settlement.

Personal Value of Closure

Some clients want their day in court, while others are afraid to speak in front of a jury or judge. The idea of sitting in a trial for days on end may be an unpleasant prospect for some people.

These conditions may seem arduous, but an attorney familiar with settlements in Chattanooga can help victims decide which option might result in a more favorable outcome.

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