When nursing homes violate their patients’ rights, families need a strong legal team to pursue justice. A dedicated New York nursing home abuse lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve.
The amount of a settlement depends on several factors, including how severe the injuries were and whether they resulted from prolonged mistreatment. Visit Chicago Nursing Home Bed Sores Lawyers to learn more.
Severity of Injuries
Nursing home abuse often results in severe physical injuries, which may affect the victim’s quality of life. These injuries can result in a wide range of losses, such as medical expenses, wrongful death, loss of earnings from family caregivers, or the cost to relocate the victim to a safer facility.
The extent of the victim’s injuries can have a significant impact on how much he or she is entitled to receive in a settlement. Injuries like fractures, head trauma, and bedsores can require a great deal of expensive treatment, as well as ongoing care. These costs can significantly add up, which will also increase the total settlement amount.
Injuries related to a lack of basic care can also result in large payouts. For example, bedsores, which develop when a person remains in the same position for extended periods of time, can be fatal if left untreated. Nursing home negligence, such as failure to reposition patients or provide adequate bedding, can contribute to this issue.
A skilled lawyer can help families understand the value of their cases and negotiate with insurance companies for fair and adequate payments. He or she can review medical records, interview witnesses, and use a database of previous nursing home injury cases to help clients assess their options and make the best choices for their loved ones’ health and well-being.
The willingness of the nursing home to cooperate in the case can also influence its outcome. For example, some nursing homes will settle a claim out of court to avoid bad publicity and negative reviews. This can result in lower settlement amounts than if the home had decided to fight the case through trial.
Wrongful death claims can lead to even larger settlements than those for abuse and neglect, as the surviving family members are entitled to compensation for funeral costs and intangible losses. In addition, a successful claim can force the nursing home to reform its policies and prevent future exploitation of residents. In some cases, the family can file a wrongful death lawsuit against multiple parties, including the nursing home, individual staff members, and outside contractors.
Length of Time
When your family member suffers from nursing home abuse or neglect, it can cause significant financial and emotional losses. Fortunately, the law allows families to pursue compensation for these losses through a lawsuit. The length of time a case takes depends on several factors, including the severity of your loved one’s injuries, the responsiveness of the nursing home’s insurance company, and whether or not your case goes to trial.
After a thorough investigation, your attorney will file a claim against the nursing home or individual responsible for your loved one’s mistreatment. At this point, you and your lawyer will begin negotiating with the other side in an attempt to reach a settlement. In some cases, this may take only a few months. However, if the other party is uncooperative or unwilling to settle in good faith, the negotiations can drag on.
The amount of time it takes to reach a settlement also depends on the nature of your case. For instance, if your loved one suffered from severe physical harm, emotional distress, or financial exploitation, the resulting compensation package will likely be higher than for a less severe case. This is because more serious incidents tend to have more lasting, substantial damages.
In addition, the statute of limitations for your case may also impact how long it takes to reach a settlement. Every jurisdiction has a different time limit within which you must file a lawsuit. Once this time period expires, your family will lose the right to pursue legal action.
The type of damages you receive in a nursing home settlement also play a role in how long your case will take to resolve. In some cases, your compensation may include medical expenses, loss of income, relocation costs, emotional distress, and pain and suffering. These damages are designed to address the full scope of your loved one’s harm and serve as a deterrent against future mistreatment.
The best way to get a sense of how long your nursing home abuse case will take to resolve is to speak with an experienced Tampa attorney. Our team can review your case and provide a free consultation.
Shared Liability
In many cases, multiple parties may share liability for nursing home abuse. For example, if an injury occurred because of a medication error, the prescribing physician and the nursing home may both be responsible. When this is the case, settlements must take into account each party’s degree of fault. This can significantly affect the total compensation available to victims.
The strength of evidence is another important factor in determining settlements. Clear documentation, such as medical records and eyewitness testimony, can help bolster a claim and lead to higher settlements. Additionally, a skilled attorney can review the facility’s insurance coverage limits and determine the maximum amount of compensation that could be recovered.
Victims of nursing home abuse are entitled to a range of damages, including economic losses and non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Economic damages, such as medical bills and a loss of income, are directly tied to the injuries suffered by the victim and can be more easily calculated. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are less concrete and can include things like emotional distress and a decreased quality of life.
The location where the nursing home abuse occurred can also impact a settlement amount. For instance, if the case involves abuse in a state with stricter laws and regulations, that can lead to a greater settlement. However, a strong argument can be made for a high settlement even in states with fewer legal protections.
It is important for families to consider all of these factors when evaluating the value of their nursing home abuse claims. However, it is important to remember that a claim is only valid if it is filed within the statutes of limitations, which vary by state. Fortunately, an experienced New York nursing home abuse lawyer can assist victims and their families with filing their claims well within the legal time period allowed. In addition, extensions are possible under certain circumstances, such as when a victim was mentally incapacitated or when fraud concealed evidence of abuse. This is why it is essential for families to consult an attorney about their options as soon as they suspect that a loved one has been injured or neglected in a nursing home.
Expert Witnesses
When a claimant suffers physical or emotional harm due to the recklessness and/or malice of nursing home staff, compensation is available. These claims are designed to help victims cover costs related to their injuries, as well as the loss of quality of life that is often associated with wrongful abuse and neglect.
However, how much a case is worth involves more than just counting up the victim’s medical expenses and out-of-pocket losses. A successful settlement requires a lawyer to paint a comprehensive picture of the victim’s future needs and financial implications. This often includes consulting with a Life Care Planner to establish future healthcare expenses, quality of life considerations, and the potential for future complications.
A qualified New York nursing home abuse attorney is well-versed in assessing the impact of these damages on a claimant’s future and can enlist expert witnesses to provide insight and professional opinion into the case. These specialists can review the expected level of care, reveal patterns of negligence and abuse, and anticipate future financial impact and consequences of the mistreatment.
For example, a certified nurse’s aide (CNA) who witnessed a resident being left in a bed for long periods of time could testify that the lack of monitoring led to bedsores. An RN, who is typically a supervisor of CNAs and LPNs, can also be called to testify that the record keeping was insufficient, contributing to the nursing home’s failure to properly monitor and supervise the care they provided.
Besides expert witnesses, eyewitnesses can play a critical role in establishing liability and providing an accurate account of the abuse or neglect. Their testimony can also highlight any other factors that may have contributed to the injury or death of a loved one, such as a history of previous abuse or financial exploitation by a particular facility.
Our experienced team is familiar with the tactics insurance companies use to minimize payments, and we know how to negotiate a fair settlement that is in line with your needs. When an agreement cannot be reached, our firm is prepared to fight for your rights in court.
