The Jacksonville nursing home abuse attorneys of Nursing Home Law Center LLC are leading prosecutors of claims against nursing facilities due to the unacceptable treatment and neglect of their patients. One of the most prominent issues is that of pressure ulcers, which occur when patients who are unable to move without assistance are left in the same position for long periods of time. When left undetected and untreated, these sores can become extremely painful and threaten patients’ lives due to the risk of infection. There is no excuse for allowing patients to suffer in this way and we will fight for any victim of neglect to see that justice is served.
The city of Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida and in the middle of a growth spurt, as its population has ballooned from 821,000 to 868,000 in a short five year span. Senior citizens over the age of 65 make up almost 11% of the total and there are still many thousands of residents over the age of 50 who may soon require senior services in some form.
Those who are looking to remain active and social or who wish to delay the need for assistive living services for as long as possible can turn to the Jacksonville Community and Senior Services Program, which operates senior centers and programs throughout the city. Members can participate in educational courses, learn new hobbies, mingle with their peers during social events and receive aid in the form of warm meals, transportation assistance, health counseling and education and services offered through various volunteer programs connected with the program.
To learn more, you can visit this website.
Of the 43 nursing facilities located throughout Jacksonville, only 6 have received perfect grades from Medicare. This only reinforces the growing distrust people have toward nursing centers and may result in families delaying placing their loved ones into an assisted living community despite it being what their loved ones need. Our Jacksonville pressure sore lawyers often refer people to the Medicare nursing home compare tool to help them avoid the homes known for their poor treatment of patients and to allow them to feel more confident about the facility they end up selecting.
This tool provides Medicare grades based on staff quality, penalty history and health and safety information derived from routine inspections. Using it can help you avoid homes like the West Jacksonville Care and Rehabilitation Center, which is graded a single star by Medicare and has been accessed over $87,000 in fines during 2016 alone. You can access this tool on Medicare’s website by visiting medicare.gov.
When attempting to explain the sharp rise in nursing neglect cases over the last decade and a half, all signs point to the intrusion by for profit nursing homes into an industry once populated by non-profits. This was helped by lawmakers, whose cuts to senior programs made it difficult for non-profits to compete. The unfortunate impact of the privatization of nursing homes is that the residents are paying the price.
The most common and effective strategy used in the industry to maximize profit margins is to reduce costs by keeping staff small and limiting investment in programs that are needed to ensure patients are comfortable and secure. While minor bedsores can be forgiven, it is a sign of systemic neglect when patients are allowed to suffer through advanced pressure ulcers, which form into open, infected, and decaying wounds that erode the tissue all the way to the bone.
Nursing Home Law Center LLC is committed to ensuring there is a price to pay for the abhorrent neglect of nursing patients and would like to invite you to have your case reviewed for free by one of our award-winning Jacksonville bedsore injury attorneys. Contact us today. After we have the chance to investigate your claim, we will be able to review your legal options together so that you can be comfortable with how you choose to proceed. We will never require payment for our services unless we secure compensation on your behalf.
Should you have questions about Florida law related to pressure sores and nursing homes, view our page here.
If you are looking for an attorney to assist with the investigation or prosecution of a Jacksonville nursing home abuse case involving bed sores or other injuries visit the pages below: