Nebraska Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
Elder Neglect & Abuse in Omaha Nursing Homes
It is all too common for an employee to neglect or abuse their job responsibilities; however, when practices of neglect and abuse transfer to the care of elderly individuals, real problems can ensue. Nursing homes are supposed to be safe environments where your elderly loved ones are cared for better than you could at home. However, terrible things happen in nursing homes everyday. They range from malnutrition, to falls, to medication mistakes, to neglect that causes dramatic bedsores and decubitus ulcers.
At Domina Law Group, we have dedicated our legal practice to holding said individuals responsible for their acts of neglect and abuse, and we are unafraid to take matters of nursing home abuse to court when need be. In fact, we have devoted a great deal of our practice to doing exactly that. We aggressively fight for clients who are the victims, or whose loved ones are victims, of abuse and neglect in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, homes for developmentally-disabled persons, or other places where residents of limited abilities have a right to expect quality care.
Under the representation of an attorney at our office, your wants will be heard and your needs will be qualified by a team of legal professionals who have been in the business for more than 50 years collectively. The case successes and legal accomplishments of our team have not only been effective for our clients, but they have also been groundbreaking in the legal profession as a whole. As one of the only trial attorneys in the country with a billion dollar verdict, Mr. Domina has skillfully led our firm since its establishment in 1975.
If you suspect elder abuse, contact our Nebraska nursing home abuse lawyers at (888) 387-4134 to get started on your case.
Experienced Litigation for Nursing Home Concerns
Nursing home abuse and elder neglect are problems that, until now, have gone widely unrecognized in the legal field. Unfortunately, with an elderly population that has skyrocketed, the number of senior citizens is not the only thing growing. Now, more than ever, the number of elder abuse cases is growing as well. As more and more elderly individuals are placed in senior citizen homes and nursing care facilities, more and more reports of abuse and neglect are being made.
In a field that encompasses a wide variety of legal practices, Domina Law Group is prepared to handle nursing home abuse cases of every nature. Elder neglect is a widespread problem that has appeared in nursing homes and elder care facilities throughout the nation. Victims of emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse deserve to be given recompense for their pain and suffering, and we are here to make sure that they have the adequate means to do so in court. With the help of an associate at our office, a compelling story can be developed that will artfully portray your situation in trial, while skillfully holding the responsible parties liable for their misguided behaviors.
In your pursuit to take legal action, you will be significantly better off with professional support on your side. At Domina Law Group, we understand this concept to a tee, and every effort we have taken since the firm's inception has reflected our desire to uniquely represent the individuals we serve. Not only are we here to develop a personalized approach for your case, but we are also ready to provide answers to common questions about nursing home abuse and even help you identify warning signs of neglectful behavior. In a situation that would otherwise be fraught with emotion and concern, we are here to act as a sounding board for our clients. The personal support and professional guidance that are needed to effectively take on cases of this nature will be delivered in spades when you choose to work with Domina Law Group.
How Do I Know If Nursing Home Abuse is Happening?
Nursing home abuse and neglect is so unthinkable, it may be hard to believe it's actually happening to your loved one. Unfortunately, abuse is very common in elderly care facilities. In fact, it's thought that 1 in 10 nursing home residents over the age of 60 is abused.
Despite what you may have been led to believe, identifying a potential case of abuse or elder neglect can be far more difficult than it appears. In many cases, the abusers and the seniors who have been abused do a good job of covering it up or excusing it away in a believable manner. This does not mean, however, that identifiers do not exist; it simply means that you need to know what to look for when you are suspicious of abuse or neglect.
The following is a breakdown of some of the most common warning signs of the different types of abuse to which seniors are most often subjected:
Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
Abuse in any form is inexcusable, but is more common in nursing homes than most would believe. Whether it’s of a physical, sexual, or psychological nature, nursing home abuse is also terribly underreported, as victims often fear fighting back against their abusers.
Common signs of nursing home abuse include:
- Unexplained injuries, bruises, cuts, or broken bones, as well as residents being reluctant to explain how those injuries occurred. This may indicate rough handling when transporting or repositioning residents, force feeding, and administration of medicines, or willful and intentional infliction of harm.
- Sudden or unexplained changes in behavior, including depression, agitation, isolation, fear, anxiety, embarrassment and silence.
- Strained or visibly unusual relationships between staff and residents, including fear and anxiousness in the presence of certain staff members.
- A lack of interest or enjoyment in activities or hobbies residents once enjoyed.
- Signs of punishment or retaliation committed by staff, including isolation, bullying, harassment, restraints, and more.
- Failures of staff to respond to complaints and appropriately handle allegations of abuse, including physical and sexual abuse.
Signs of Nursing Home & Elder Neglect
Nursing homes and their employees have a legal obligation to take steps which ensure the health and safety of residents. Failure to uphold that obligation often results in negligence that could and should have been prevented – and commonly constitutes a violation of duties to patients.
One of the most difficult tasks involved in addressing the issue of elder neglect is the initial ability to identify the mistreatment itself. A progressive and generalized deterioration in health is much more challenging to identify than a rapid change in health. Unfortunately, symptoms of neglect often tend to appear slowly and over a prolonged period of time. Therefore, friends and family members must be extra vigilant in their efforts to keep a close eye on their elderly loved ones. Knowing the warning signs and taking immediate action to voice concerns is critical.
Common signs that staff may be neglecting residents include:
- Weight loss, malnutrition, and dehydration caused by staff neglecting basic needs for food and water.
- Poor hygiene, unsanitary conditions, infections, bed sores, frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs),
persistent odor of urine or feces, rashes, lice, and other signs of poor personal hygiene that may be caused by neglecting personal care and bathing, or failing to rotate a resident. - Failures to properly address and treat injuries, including those resulting from falls, abuse, and pre-existing neglect.
- Worsening of medical condition symptoms or adverse health effects caused by medication errors, failures to monitor resident health, and other staffing errors.
- Unexplained falls, accidents, or repeated avoidable incidents and mishaps that may indicate a lack of supervision, assistance, and appropriate care.
- Decreased mobility which may be result from a lack of assistance, staffing problems, and more.
- Behavioral changes, depression, isolation, and other signs that suggest a resident’s emotional needs are being neglected.
- Inappropriate clothing for the weather
- Unexplained or untreated physical health problems
These, and other medical conditions, can be warning signs of mistreatment. Individuals who are concerned that neglect may be the cause of an elderly person's decline in health can ask themselves a simple question to help determine whether or not their suspicions are founded: Is there any justifiable explanation for the symptoms that have arisen? Medical conditions that are not easily explained are often indicative of neglect. For example, it is relatively uncommon for individuals to develop a bed sore unless they are not being turned in their beds frequently enough.
Signs of Financial Abuse
Elder financial abuse committed by staff or fellow residents is common in nursing homes. While capitalizing on trust or taking advantage of vulnerability for financial gain may be a crime – no criminal case provides a viable source of compensation to victims and their families for all their suffering and damages. Victims and their loved ones must pursue civil litigation when they suspect or know financial exploitation has occurred.
Common signs of financial abuse involving the elderly or disabled include:
- Unauthorized cashing of residents’ checks
- Forging a resident’s signature
- Coercing or deceiving residents to sign financial documents
- Sudden and unexplained money or asset transfers, transactions, changes to wills, and bank account withdrawals
- Living conditions below the financial resources of a resident
- Lost jewelry, collections, and other valuables
Signs of Emotional Abuse
Verbal assaults, inattention, and constant put-downs are only some of the many causes of emotional withdrawal. For elderly persons, these causes can be exacerbated in nursing home facilities that do not allow for frequent interaction or socialization, often resulting in depression, physical health, and worse.
- Elderly individuals who mimic signs of dementia
- Elderly individuals who adopt unusual behaviors of rocking or sucking
- Elderly individuals who start mumbling to themselves
- Caretakers who belittle or threaten elderly individuals in your presence
Signs of Physical Abuse
Elderly individuals who are victimized by physical abuse are often unwilling to disclose such information to friends and family for fear of being further mistreated. Therefore, it is up to you to look for warning signs that could tip you off to the physical abuse that your loved one is enduring under the care of another.
- Unexplained injuries
- Personal items that have been broken
- Reports of drug overdose or other inconsistencies in regular medications
- Sprains, dislocations, and broken bones
- Caregivers who refuse to allow you to visit an elder alone
Signs of Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse is a common form of mistreatment among caretakers and nursing home staff that cater to the elderly. Often, these individuals are taken advantage of because of their weakness or timidity, resulting in sexual confrontations that were not solicited or reciprocated.
- Unexplained genital infections or venereal diseases
- Unexplained vaginal bleeding or anal bleeding
- Bruises on the breasts or genitals
- Torn or bloody underclothing
If you've noticed any of these signs, it's important that you take immediate action to protect you loved one. Call (888) 387-4134 to speak to Nebraska nursing home abuse lawyer from Domina Law Group so that we can begin investigating your case!
The Domina Law Group Approach
At our law office, custom solutions are created for each client that we agree to represent in court. We are unwilling to settle for anything less than desirable results that yield positive outcomes for the victims of nursing home abuse and elder neglect. As such, we are committed to providing our clients with every opportunity for success, right down to the cost of obtaining our legal services. Domina Law Group works on contingency fees, which means that you won't be expected to pay anything unless we are successful in our ultimate goal to provide you with successful results for your case.
We urge victims of nursing home abuse, as well as their friends and families, to come forward with the issue and allow for the opportunity to halt such abusive behaviors. Under our legal counsel, we feel confident that the aggressive courtroom stance you need in order to make a lasting impression can be delivered satisfactorily. All of our documents are hand-crafted from scratch to ensure that they uniquely reflect the situation at hand. Our representation is designed to reflect the personal needs of your case, and our undivided attention is given to each and every elderly individual we represent. To learn more about the specifics of our legal service and how we may be able to apply our techniques to your case, do not hesitate to contact Domina Law Group today.
Nursing Home Abuse FAQ
1. Does the resident show signs of physical abuse or unexplained injury?
- Bruising.
- Abrasions.
- Cuts.
- Apparent fractures.
- Extraordinary pain.
- Peculiar movements.
- Guarded behaviors.
2. Has the resident demonstrated an unexplained dramatic change in condition?
- Dramatic changes in condition.
- Dramatic changes in mood.
- Guarded behaviors.
- Withdrawal.
- Sudden or unexplained depression.
- Emotionality.
- Dramatic lack of emotionality.
3. Is the resident uncharacteristically sedate, lethargic, or unresponsive?
- Unexplained sleep or drowsiness.
- Changes in affect and behaviors.
- Hyperactivity or hypoactivity.
- Comments about changes in medications or medication times.
- Other signs of fears or psychosis.
- Lethargy.
- Unresponsiveness.
4. Has the resident’s weight changed significantly?
- Weight changes.
- Discernible changes in eating habits.
- Swallowing difficulties.
- Food refusals.
- Food demands.
- Apparent mistiming of meals during visits.
- Apparent changes in food quality.
- Hydration failures.
5. Has the resident’s skin broken down or changed?
- Pressure sores.
- Ulcers.
- Unusual coloration.
- Open sores.
- Blackened or decaying flesh.
- Unusual bruises.
- Guarded behaviors.
- Suspicion about lack of bathing.
- Body odors.
6. How can you help me stop elder abuse?
The most effective way of ending elder abuse is to alert as many people as possible to the problem. That being said, at Domina Law Group we aim to help bring abusive and neglectful behaviors to the forefront of attention among professionals in the field, as well as those who work in the legal system. Unfortunately, alerting Adult Protective Services (APS) is not always effective enough in stopping the problem altogether. While it may help dissolve an existing issue, there is no promise that the problem won't appear again in the future, perhaps even to a different victim. Therefore, it is out mission to bring these cases to court and aggressively represent them in trial. In doing so, we aim to bring the issue to light while simultaneously obtaining financial compensation for the victims under our representation.
Domina Law Group respects the legal process, and all of our actions are geared at ensuring that the integrity of the legal system is maintained along with the integrity of our clients. To do this, we create unique strategies to use in court, and we develop a compelling story that can effectively shed light on an issue that deserves attention. Stopping elder abuse requires much more than punishing the individual who is directly responsible for the victimization. It requires acute legal attention and widespread acknowledgement of the problem. At Domina Law Group, we provide more than blanket representation to our clients. We devise intricate, personalized plans of attack that are successful in court and remain effective after trial as well.
7. Are there laws against elder abuse and nursing home abuse?
Currently, there are no federal laws in place to curb the abuses of elderly individuals in nursing home facilities. There are, however, individual state laws that address these issues. Cases that refer to abuse or neglect that occurred within a nursing home facility are referred to as "Institutional Abuse." Due to the rising trend of abuse and neglect at these facilities, more and more states are adopting explicitly defined laws regarding the issue, and some have even clarified which punishments are associated with which behaviors. At Domina Law Group, we represent individuals in Nebraska and other states throughout the U.S. We are more than happy to discuss the specific details of your state's elder abuse laws with you during the free consultation that we offer to our clients.
8. What if I'm not sure if nursing home abuse is going on?
It can be difficult to feel certain about whether or not abuse is taking place. In fact, without explicit alert to the problem from the victims themselves, suspicions are often all we have to go by at the beginning of an investigation. This is okay. There is no penalty for accidentally making an accusation that turns out to be inaccurate. There can, however, be significant consequences to stifling your suspicions. When professionals are not alerted to a potential problem, no action can be taken to alleviate the situation. The issue can quickly escalade and a victim's health can be significantly worsened. For this reason, we encourage individuals who are suspicious to trust their instincts and come forward with the information. Persons who are unsure or hesitant to do so can refer to our page on warning signs to learn more about the specific symptoms that can be assessed before making an accusation of nursing home abuse or elder neglect.
9. How will abusers be held responsible for their abuse?
Criminal penalties for abusers of elderly individuals are defined at the state level. Most states, in fact, have established multiple laws to address the concern of how victimizers will be punished for their elder abuse or neglect. Due to the increasing reports of elder neglect and nursing home abuse throughout the country, nationwide, states have begun to implement new training programs for police officers who may be called to the scene of these types of situations. They have also enforced strict regulations that are designed to bring justice to the victims of elderly abuse. When you contact Domina Law Group, we will take the time to thoroughly review the specific laws of your state to help you better understand the legal procedures that you can expect moving forward in trial.
10. Why does an attorney need to be involved in a case of elder abuse?
Involving a legal professional in the abusive or neglectful behaviors of a caregiver or nursing home facility can better ensure that the case will be resolved in your favor. The results you will achieve from contacting Adult Protective Services (APS) and other professional services in the elder care field could be entirely different than the results yielded by an attorney who can take your case to trial. Since 1975, Domina Law Group has been successfully representing cases in Nebraska, as well as a number of states throughout the country. We have the experience and skills needed to effectively address issues of this nature in court, and we are unwilling to back down when challenges arise.
11. What's the difference between abuse and neglect?
Elder neglect is another type of abuse. The primary difference between the two is that neglect refers to inattention and / or failure to live up to standards of expectation, whereas abuse implies intentional physical / emotional / sexual harm. Elders who are improperly cared for and consequently suffer from malnutrition, dehydration, bed sores, and other avoidable medical complications are victims of neglect. Elders who are physically abused, verbally assaulted, or emotionally harassed are victims of abuse.
12. Who can be held responsible for the abuse or neglect of an elderly individual?
Who will be held responsible for cases of elder abuse and neglect will depend largely upon the specific circumstances involved in the case. For example, a personal caregiver who acts abusively toward an elderly individual can be held liable for his / her actions. It may also be possible to hold an entire nursing home facility responsible for the abusive behaviors of their staff members if the problem is tied back to negligent hiring practices. Making the determination of who should be held legally responsible for the elder abuse and / or neglect that was experienced is a task for the attorneys at Domina Law Group. As experienced professionals in the field, we are more than qualified to discern the best course of action in these cases.
Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys Serving Nebraska & Beyond
When you suspect neglect or abuse may be to blame for your loved one’s injuries, losses, or emotional suffering, working with experienced attorneys is vital. As proven trial practitioners, our team at Domina Law Group is available to discuss your concerns, as well as your rights, available options, and how we may be able to help you seek justice and compensation. Eliminating nursing home abuse and neglect is of tremendous importance, and we value our role as advocates and litigators who help victims make their voices heard – even when they face off against corporations and commercial insurance carriers that prioritize profits over people.
Contact us today and speak with one of our nursing home abuse attorneys in Omaha if you have any questions about a potential claim.
