Nursing Home Negligence Attorney

Serving West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Lake Worth and the Port St. Lucie area

Negligence in the Nursing Home Setting

Click here to view our video about nursing home neglect & abuse

Nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable members of our society. They are often elderly, physically frail, and completely dependent on their caretakers. Many residents are unable to report instances of nursing home abuse and neglect. Family members can easily overlook signs or misinterpret signs such as bed sores, weight loss due to malnutrition, or slips and falls due to unsafe conditions.

Older people may choose to move into a nursing home or long-term care facility to protect themselves from their own deteriorating health. They assume that they will be well cared for. But sometimes they are not only neglected but actually harmed physically or psychologically by their new caregivers.

It’s Best to Investigate

Sometimes the feelings or statements of the elderly are discounted by younger people, who assume that aging is affecting their social functioning or clarity of mind. Sometimes this might be true, but it should never be the first assumption. If your loved one appears to be trying to tell you about mistreatment or mistakes in his or her care, it would be best to assume there might be something behind it and to investigate further.

To learn more about nursing home abuse and neglect claims, please review the general information below and use the links which lead to more information on various topics.

Rights of a Nursing Home Resident

If you find that your loved one has been harmed in a nursing home, or if you yourself have been harmed, please contact our nursing home negligence attorney to learn more about your legal rights and how to protect them, and about the legal concept of negligence in a nursing home setting. Click here for more information on nursing home residents rights.

Duties of a Nursing Home

A nursing home owner or an employee can be held responsible for any negligence in the care of the nursing home residents. To succeed in bringing such a claim, the injured resident would have to prove:

That the owner or employee failed to meet the duty of care they owed to the resident
That this failure injured the resident
That the owner or employee caused the resident’s injury

If that resident died after receiving negligent care, you would not have to prove he or she would have survived with better care. As long as the owner or employee is shown to have contributed at all to the death, they may be liable for it. If their negligence caused extra pain or suffering for the resident, they could be liable to the resident’s estate. Click here for more information on duties of a nursing home.

Proving Damages in Cases That Involve the Elderly
If you file a claim against a nursing home, you will want to show as much as possible about the many types of legal damages that your loved one might have sustained in the nursing home.

Reasonable and essential medical costs
Past actual costs for things such as doctors, medications, prosthetic devices, nursing or laboratory fees, etc.
Expected future expenses
Injury caused by prolonged lack of movement (bedsores, for example)
Any pain or suffering from physical harm
Any pain or suffering reasonably likely in the future
Any pain not readily obvious to others, i.e., what is known as phantom pain
Mental distress
Harm caused by lack of sleep
Any past or future loss of the ability to enjoy life

Click here for more information on proving nursing home damages.

Statutory Protection of the Elderly

It was in the early 1980s that the mistreatment of nursing home residents was brought to the public’s attention. Many instances were exposed and discussed, where older people were being harmed, and some examples are:

Having food, water, or medical care withheld
Being physical hurt
Having their life savings taken by caregivers or family members

As the prevalence of this abuse or neglect became clear, state legislatures began enacting laws to address it. Click here for more information on nursing home protection of the elderly

Resource Links for Nursing Home Injuries

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging. Information here on the Older American’s Act, State Ombudsman programs, and many links to other sites on aging.
The Alzheimer’s Association. This site is a headquarters for Alzheimer’s information.
The American Association of Retired persons (AARP). This is a non-profit organization for the elderly and gives information and many links about current issues. It offers benefits and services for its members.
The U.S. Government site for People with Medicare has ratings of nursing homes in every state.

Practice Areas

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OFFICE LOCATION: 2090 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. Suite 402
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
1-800-GOLD-LAW

CRAIG GOLDENFARB, P.A.

Call Toll Free 1-800-GOLD-LAW (465-3529)

The reader’s understanding of the information on this website about personal injury law does not constitute a formal legal relationship with the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. Please do not assume this content to be formal legal advice. If you would like to know if you have a valid personal injury case, please contact a Florida nursing home negligence attorney at the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb, P.A. today for a complimentary consultation regarding personal injury law in Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth, Port St. Lucie and Palm Beach County, Florida.
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