There comes a time and age in your life when you feel that you are not being able to take good care of your parents any longer. In such cases, what do you do? One option that many elders go for is nursing home care. If you put your loved ones in a nursing home then it will provide them with skilled nursing round the clock along with giving medicines and all kinds of proper care. However, nursing homes can also neglect your loved ones and deprive them of the care that their patients deserve and what they are being paid for. A nursing home can be pretty expensive to pay for, so if you see any signs of neglect in your loved ones, go in for nursing home attorney assistance immediately.
Planning for long term care
If you are planning for long time health care for your elders, then there are quite a few things that you need to sit down and consider. That includes looking at the long term insurance plans, and looking at options for nursing homes. You should also make sure that your loved one is able to extract the most out of benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid, etc. Make sure that their assets are protected and be on the lookout for any form of elder fraud. To help you with these financial decisions, you could also hire an attorney who specialises in elder law and finance cases. In that case, you will know all the legalities and the rights that your loved one has.
Be alert for signs of neglect
The first thing to do is to regularly visit your loved ones in the nursing home. If you cannot be present then make sure that you send someone to do it regularly. There are many warning signs of nursing home neglect and you can hold the home legally accountable for them. These include bad hygiene, malnutrition, forms of physical abuse including fractures, bruises or any form of unexplained marks. All living conditions including bathrooms also fall under this category. Lastly, if a nursing home is making claims of providing professional nursing facilities then any form of medical negligence or substandard care also falls under nursing home neglect.
If you feel that your loved one is facing any of these on a regular basis, then you need to seek legal assistance. Remember that it’s not about abuse, even negligence is criminal and can lead to emotional trauma and in some cases, death too.
What to do in case of elder neglect
If you have definitively verified that your loved one is being neglected then you should remove him/her from the facility immediately and have them placed somewhere else. Then you should inform the local authorities and file a complaint with the social services. If you want to take it a step further, then consider going in for nursing home attorney assistance. Hire the services of a civil lawyer who specialises in a branch of elder law. This should include elder abuse, consumer fraud, nursing home law, etc. If there are others like you, then you could consider going in for a class action lawsuit.
The advantage is that, you can sue for neglect as well. The case doesn’t necessarily have to escalate to the point of abuse. There are industry standards that require nursing homes to provide standard and reasonable care to their patients. If the nursing home fails to provide “reasonable care”, then you have cause or action for neglect cases.
About the author:
Jean is a lawyer specialising in elder law for the past fifteen years. She has helped countless elders to structure their healthcare and finance plans. Recently she has also co-authored an article on nursing home attorney assistance. Jean likes to read novels in her free time.
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