The Nursing Home Law Center is committed to providing the legal resources necessary to hold negligent facilities accountable.
Nursing Home FAQ
Each nursing home and assisted living facility resident has the right to be safe from abuse and neglect. Staying informed about these issues and knowing how to respond when we suspect they may happen can protect nursing home residents and keep the long-term care system in check.
Nursing Home Abuse FAQ
Nursing home elder abuse is any intentional act that aims to harm a resident. Here is how to recognize it and report elder abuse.
What Are the Signs of Nursing Home Abuse?
The signs of nursing home abuse include unexplained injuries, such as bruises, cuts, or fractures, sudden changes in mood or behavior, and withdrawal from activities and social life. Financial exploitation can show through unexpected changes in finances or missing personal items.
If you notice these signs, act quickly — speaking up can protect your family members and prevent further abuse.
What Are the Different Types of Nursing Home Abuse? (Physical, Emotional, Sexual, Financial)
Nursing home residents can suffer several forms of elder abuse, sometimes occurring at the same time:
- Physical abuse – Includes hitting, kicking, slapping, or inappropriate use of chemical or physical restraints.
- Emotional abuse – Includes verbal abuse, isolation, or humiliation.
- Sexual abuse – Includes any unwanted sexual contact or advance.
- Financial abuse – Exploiting a resident’s finances through theft, manipulation, coercion, or unauthorized transactions.
How Can I Report Nursing Home Abuse?
You can report abuse and seek support through several routes:
- Contact nursing home administrators, as they are required by law to file a report to state authorities within 24 hours, or two hours in case of physical injuries
- Eldercare Locator hotline at 1-800-677-1116
- Adult Protective Services (APS) is available in your state. You can find contact information to report abuse by area here.
- Your local long-term care ombudsman program. Find ombudsmen in your state.
- 911 for nursing home residents in immediate danger
- Healthcare providers and medical personnel, as they are mandatory reporters
- Elder abuse hotlines in your state
- Contact Medicaid services for suspected Medicaid fraud
Contact your state-specific services to report suspected abuse confidentially. Taking action promptly can protect the resident from further harm. Call a law firm for additional assistance in holding facilities liable.
What Are the Legal Options for Victims of Nursing Home Abuse?
Nursing home abuse victims and their families can file a personal injury lawsuit against the nursing facility, seeking compensation for emotional or physical harm. Family members can also hire a law firm to pursue wrongful death claims if abuse leads to a resident’s passing. Additionally, victims may be eligible for punitive damages to hold the facility accountable.
Can I Sue a Nursing Home for Abuse?
Yes, you can sue a nursing facility for abuse if there’s evidence of negligence or intentional harm by staff or management. A law firm can help you obtain evidence.
What Is the Process for Filing a Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit?
Contact nursing home abuse attorneys for a free case consultation. After the consultation, the process looks like this:
- Investigation and gathering evidence
- Filing the claim
- Discovery phase, in which you and your lawyer exchange information and evidence with the other side
- Settlement or trial
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer?
Many nursing facility abuse lawyers work on a contingency basis, meaning you only pay the attorney fee if they win your case. The attorney fees are calculated as a percentage of your financial compensation, often between 30% and 40%. Before hiring an attorney, always clarify the fee structure and ask about additional expenses such as expert consultations.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Recover in a Nursing Home Abuse Case?
Your financial compensation can include medical expenses, pain and suffering, relocation costs, and sometimes punitive damages. In wrongful death claims, you can also recover damages for funeral expenses, loss of financial support, and loss of companionship and emotional distress.
What Should I Do if I Suspect a Loved One Is Being Abused in a Nursing Home?
If you suspect abuse and believe a resident is in immediate danger, call 911. In other cases, you can do the following:
- Talk to your family member and assess how they feel. However, they may choose to remain silent out of fear.
- Share your concerns with the nursing home administrator.
- If you’re not satisfied with the administrator’s response, file a complaint with the appropriate state agency, Adult Protective Services, or ombudsman.
- Preserve evidence such as medical records, injury photographs, and financial documents regarding the resident’s care.
Nursing home abuse cases are complex, and you usually need a personal injury attorney to guide you through the process and protect your loved one’s rights.
Should I Move My Parent When Elder Abuse Is Reported at a Nursing Home?
Your parent’s well-being is your top priority. If you suspect they are in an unsafe or abusive situation, you can file a formal complaint to have them relocated. However, moving them to a new facility can be damaging if they are not directly affected. If unsure, speak with their care team, consult a lawyer, or call a nursing home hotline to evaluate the situation.
Is There a Time Limit for Filing a Nursing Home Abuse Claim?
Yes. The statute of limitations for filing a nursing home claim varies by state. In most cases, it is between one and three years from the date of injury or its discovery.
What Are the Nursing Home’s Responsibilities in Preventing Abuse?
Nursing facilities have a legal and ethical responsibility to prevent abuse by:
- Screening employees
- Training staff
- Monitoring resident’s care
- Reporting abuse
- Maintaining a safe environment
They can be held liable if they fail to fulfill their obligations, which results in harm.
How Do I Report Coworkers For Nursing Home Abuse?
Every nursing home employee is legally required to report observed or suspected abuse and neglect. If you’re worried about retaliation, know that the Nursing Home Care Act legally protects you. If you have suffered consequences for speaking out, you can file a lawsuit against the facility by contacting a nursing home lawyer.
Nursing Home Neglect
All residents have the right to a safe and respectful environment, medical care, proper nutrition, and freedom from elder abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, their rights aren’t always respected in a nursing home setting.
What Is Nursing Home Neglect?
Neglect in nursing facilities happens when employees fail to provide adequate care to residents, which results in harm or potential harm. Such cases are common in understaffed nursing homes where employees struggle to provide basic residential care, such as:
- Personal hygiene
- Nutrition and hydration
- Medical care
- Safe and sanitary environment
How Is Neglect Different From Abuse?
Neglect involves failing to provide necessary care, such as food, medical attention, or safety, while abuse is intentional harm, including physical, emotional, sexual, or financial mistreatment. Both can cause significant harm, but neglect is often more passive.
What Are the Signs of Nursing Home Neglect?
The signs of nursing home neglect include:
- Pressure sores
- Malnutrition, dehydration, and unexplained weight loss
- Unsanitary environments, such as dirty clothes or bed sheets
- Poor hygiene
- Infections
- Frequent falls and injuries
- Depression and emotional withdrawal
Can Neglect Be Unintentional?
Although it can cause serious harm and pain, neglect can be unintentional. It’s often a result of staff shortages, poorly qualified or trained staff, or inadequate supervision.
What Are the Consequences of Nursing Home Neglect?
The consequences of nursing home neglect can be severe, leading to physical injuries like falls resulting in broken bones, pressure ulcers or malnutrition, infections, and even death. Victims may experience a decline in physical, cognitive, and mental health, loss of dignity, and emotional distress.
How Do I Prove Neglect in a Nursing Home?
You’ll need strong proof of nursing home negligence if you want to take legal action. An attorney can help you collect:
- Medical records
- Photographs of injuries or unsanitary conditions
- Witness statements from residents, staff, or family members
- Documentation showing missed medications or improper medical treatment
- Expert testimonies from medical professionals
Who Is Liable for Nursing Home Neglect?
Multiple parties can be held liable for nursing home neglect or abuse. These include the nursing facility, employees such as aides and nurses, the facility’s management, or third-party contractors such as medical professionals.
What Can I Do if My Loved One Is Being Neglected in a Nursing Home?
If you suspect your loved one is suffering neglect in a nursing home setting, you can take action to protect them. Start by gathering evidence of neglect and then report the neglect to management. If unsatisfied with the outcome, contact APS or your state’s long-term care ombudsman.
You can also move your family member to another facility and contact a personal injury law firm for help.
Is Understaffing Considered Neglect?
Understaffing can be considered neglect, as long-term care or assisted living facilities fail to hire enough staff to provide proper resident care. Understaffing is a key factor in many neglect cases.
What Questions Should I Ask a Nursing Home About Their Neglect Prevention Policies?
It’s good to ask as many questions about the nursing home as possible. You can start with the following:
- What is your staff-to-resident ratio?
- How do you ensure staff are trained in recognizing and preventing neglect?
- What is your protocol for monitoring residents’ health and well-being?
- How often are residents assessed for nutrition, hygiene, and medical treatment?
- What steps are taken if nursing home abuse or neglect is suspected?
- Do you conduct background checks on staff members before hiring?
- What is your policy for reporting care concerns?
- How do you address complaints from residents or their families?
Nursing Home Injuries
Abuse or neglect are the main reasons for nursing home litigation, as they often result in injuries, reduced mobility, poor health, disability, and even death.
What Are the Most Common Types of Nursing Home Injuries?
The most common types of nursing home injuries are:
- Falls
- Pressure ulcers
- Medication mistakes
- The consequence of wandering off
What Causes Falls in Nursing Homes?
Falls are caused by various factors, including understaffing, failure to implement a fall prevention plan, an unsafe nursing home area, medications, certain health conditions, and improper mobility aids such as wheelchairs and walkers. A lack of assistive devices, such as grab bars and fall mats, can also contribute to falls.
How Can Falls Be Prevented in Nursing Homes?
Falls can be prevented by ensuring adequate supervision and training, sufficient staff, and an environment free from accident hazards. Nursing homes should also implement fall prevention plans for high-risk residents.
What Are the Signs and Stages of Bedsores?
Bed sores can appear as slightly reddish bruises at first and may be less visible on darker skin tones. In stage two, they become an open wound that affects the first two layers of the skin. In stage three, the wound penetrates deeper into the subcutaneous fat, while stage four pressure ulcers reveal muscles, tendons, and bones,
What Are the Risks of Untreated Bedsores?
Besides the pain, discomfort, and social isolation the residents suffer, untreated bed sores can be life-threatening. As open wounds, they can lead to infections, sepsis, septic shock, and death.
How Can Medication Errors Be Prevented in Nursing Homes?
Many regulations and healthcare standards aim to prevent medication errors, and nursing homes are required to comply. This includes clear labeling, keeping expired and unexpired medications separate, double-checking, and safe storage rules.
What Are the Signs of a Medication Error?
Medication mistakes, such as missed, delayed, wrong, or incorrectly dosage medications, can affect the resident’s health in many ways. Family members, other residents, and staff should pay attention to unusual symptoms or side effects and significant changes in blood pressure, heart rate, or respiration.
What Are the Common Types of Infections in Nursing Homes?
Common types of infections in nursing homes include:
- Urinary tract infections
- Bronchitis and pneumonia
- Skin infections related to pressure sores
- Gastrointestinal infections
- Eye infections
- Sepsis
How Can Infections Be Prevented in Nursing Homes?
Each nursing home must adhere to established infection prevention and control protocols. These include adequate hand hygiene, the proper use of PPE, wound care, incontinence care, vaccination, monitoring and isolating sick residents, and regular cleaning and disinfection.
What Should I Do if My Loved One Is Injured in a Nursing Home?
If someone you love has been injured due to abuse or neglect, you can take measures to protect them and hold the facility accountable. Here’s what you should do:
- Seek immediate medical attention for the family member
- Document the injury
- Report the incident to facility management and ask for a report
- Consult a personal injury attorney
Can I Sue a Nursing Home for My Loved One’s Injuries?
Yes, you can sue the facility if the injury was directly caused by neglect, abuse, or medical malpractice. Contact a nursing home attorney to discuss your case.
Who Is Responsible for Injuries That Occur in a Nursing Home?
The nursing facility, staff members, management, or third-party contractors such as physicians can all be responsible for Injuries in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
What Are the Legal Options for Nursing Home Injury Victims?
Depending on the injury and circumstances, nursing home injury victims have several legal avenues, including:
- Personal injury claim
- Wrongful death claim
- Medical malpractice claim
- Reporting the home to the government to ensure oversight
How Can I Prove Negligence Caused My Loved One’s Injury?
To prove the facility’s negligence, you must show that the facility’s action or inaction directly caused the injury. You will need strong evidence such as witness statements, photographs, medical records, and expert opinions.
What Kind of Compensation Can Be Recovered for the Injuries of a Nursing Home Resident?
You can recover compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional distress, punitive damages, and funeral expenses.
Get Professional Legal Help Now!
Nursing home abuse and neglect affect one in ten residents, and the toll these issues take on older adults and their families is immeasurable. If you have any suspicions about abuse or neglect or are worried about a facility’s standard of care, contact us for a free consultation with a nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer by calling (800) 926-7565 or filling out our online form.