What is Nursing Home Abuse and What Can I Do About it?

Thousands of nursing home residents are injured or die each year. Why? Many nursing homes are focused more on achieving higher profits at the expense of sufficient care for their residents. 

Not only is it reasonable to expect your loved one to be properly treated and cared for in their golden years, it is law. 

Nursing home abuse, negligence, and neglect may result in any one of these results:

  • Bedsores
  • Broken bones
  • Malnutrition
  • Physical abuse
  • Verbal abuse
  • Slip and fall injuries
  • Use of restraints for discipline or convenience
  • Malpractice on the part of doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists, and/or administrators

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Important Information You Could Want to know about Brain Injuries

Millions of Americans suffer brain injuries each year and thousands are left permanently disabled. The disabilities are physical, cognitive, behavioral, and/or emotional in nature.

There are two types of brain injury that can have permanent and devastating effects and can even lead to death: traumatic brain injury and acquired brain injury.

When there is an external blow to the head with some type of force, traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result. A few of the common causes of TBI are auto accidents; firearm accidents; premises liability accidents; and accidents incurred playing active sports such as rollerblading, hockey, and basketball. TBI may also result from incidents where the head is violently shaken or there is a blow to the skull. Shaken baby syndrome and high-speed auto accidents are two very common causes of TBI.

There are three levels of TBI: mild, moderate, and severe. A mild traumatic brain injury is classified as a brief loss of consciousness. A moderate traumatic brain injury is characterized by loss of consciousness that lasts from a few minutes to a few hours, with the resulting impairment of motor skills ranging from several weeks to permanent. A severe traumatic brain injury involves an extended unconscious state or coma (this may range from days to years).

When there is a disruption in the oxygen flow to the brain, this is referred to as an acquired brain injury (ABI). ABIs often result from stroke, aneurysm, heart attack, tumors, infectious disease, airway obstruction, crushing injuries to the chest, drug abuse, infectious disease, and/or meningitis. Additionally, reckless conduct on the part of a second party, including medical malpractice and medical negligence, can cause ABI. ABIs can affect reasoning skills and cognitive thought patterns, and may cause lapses in memory and reduced physical and mental abilities, along with several other traits and impaired body functions.

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Questions to Ask in a Slip and Fall Accident

Here are some questions to ask if you are involved in a slip and fall accident. 

  • If you slipped on a spill in a mall, was it there long enough that the property owner should have been aware of it?
  • Is there a standard cleaning/maintenance schedule for the premises? If so, can the property owner show proof that the policy exists?
  • If, for example, you tripped over a stack of boxes beside a shelf in a grocery store, was there a good reason for the boxes to have been there? Could they have been safely and conveniently placed elsewhere or should a proper barrier or warning sign have been set up?
  • Was the slip and fall accident caused, at least in part, by poor or dim lighting?
  • Did you have a valid excuse for being at the site of the slip and fall accident?
  • Were you paying full attention at the time of the slip and fall accident?
  • Was the area properly labeled?
  • Would a reasonable person have been able to avoid the slip and fall accident?

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Liquor Liability Claims

Under dram shop liability laws, a party injured by an intoxicated person can sue establishments contributing to that person’s intoxication. The term "dram shop" was derived from 18th century English taverns that sold gin by the spoonful, called a dram. Dram shop laws are established by each state.

Dram shop laws can apply to:

  • bars
  • liquor stores
  • restaurants
  • social clubs and private events where liquor is served

The laws also include prohibitions against selling liquor without a license, selling liquor after hours, and selling liquor to minors. For example, if a person has several alcoholic drinks at a restaurant or bar and is visibly intoxicated, and then gets in a car and kills someone on the way home, the owner of the serving establishment can be sued for damages. A dram shop case is often a component of a larger accident case such as a DWI. The statute of limitations on the dram shop portion of the case differs from those that apply to the other claims made in the case.

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