Who Is Liable For Abuse Of Residents?

Nursing home negligence and abuse can run the gamut from physical injuries inflicted on residents to financial exploitation and emotional harm. In these serious cases, you deserve to have a strong advocate on your side who confronts the problem head-on and efficiently resolves the situation.

At the Cleveland law firm of Kelley Ferraro, LLC, we have been compassionately and effectively representing injury victims and their families in Ohio for more than 18 years. Our highly experienced trial attorneys have a well-established reputation for taking on even the most imposing companies in order to pursue justice and fair compensation for our clients. We are here to help you. Call 216.575.0777.

Digging Deep To Unearth The Truth

We are passionate about holding negligent parties accountable for the harm they cause. Our team will dig deep to uncover the facts, hiring experts as necessary to determine who is responsible for the nursing home abuse or neglect. We can pursue claims related to wrongdoing on the part of parties such as:

• Nurses – When nurses are responsible for too many patients, the stress level increases and mistakes tend to happen. Such mistakes can range from medication errors to failure to properly monitor a resident’s health.
• Nursing aides – Nursing assistants may also be overworked or undertrained. One common issue for aides is failing to reposition residents regularly, leading to bedsores.
• Dietary staff – Kitchen workers can also play an important role, and negligence can lead to malnutrition, dehydration, allergic reactions and other serious problems.
• The facility itself – The assisted living facility carries the responsibility for hiring qualified employees and properly training those employees. It is also responsible for maintaining the premises to avoid slip-and-fall accidents or other harm.

Five Tips For Finding An Abuse-Free Facility

Here are five useful tips for choosing a long-term care facility that will not subject your loved one to abuse, neglect or other care-related negligence.

1. The nursing home and its administrator should be licensed by the state. Never choose a facility that is not.
2. Do the nursing home’s procedures to screen potential employees for a history of abuse meet state requirements? Your long-term care ombudsman program might be able to help you with this information. The long-term care ombudsman for Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties can be reached at 800-365-3112.
3. Some nursing homes have special service units to tailor to specific needs, including rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s and hospice. Learn if there are separate waiting periods or facility guidelines for when residents would be moved on or off the special unit.
4. Well-trained staff can make a significant difference. Do the nursing home’s training programs educate employees about how to recognize resident abuse and neglect, how to deal with aggressive or difficult residents, and how to deal with the stress of caring for so many needs? Are there clear procedures to identify events or trends that might lead to abuse and neglect and on how to investigate, report and resolve your complaints?
5. Are there policies or procedures to safeguard resident possessions? This can make a difference in guarding against financial exploitation or theft.

Request A Free Consultation To Learn More

We invite you to call Kelley Ferraro, LLC, in Cleveland for a free initial consultation about your potential case: 216.575.0777. You can also reach our lawyers via our online contact form. We charge only contingency fees in these types of cases.