According to the Maryland Department of Health, the state has 230 nursing homes with the potential to house up to 30,000 residents. When one of these residents is a victim of improper care, abuse, neglect, or injury, the residents and their families often file insurance claims or lawsuits. Their goal is typically to hold the facility and its management financially responsible for mismanagement and negligence.
These types of cases are usually resolved without going to trial. If a fair and acceptable settlement agreement cannot be reached through negotiation or mediation, the case might then go to court for resolution. The following nursing home lawsuit settlements and examples in Maryland show how law firms fight for justice and monetary recovery for injured residents and their families.
Recent Monetary Settlements For Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect
Financial compensation can help injured nursing home residents in various ways. It can ensure they are able to relocate to a safer facility, receive ongoing medical care, and receive emotional therapy and support.
Examples of our recent settlements for injured residents and their families include:
- $325,000 financial award for a resident injured in a nursing home fall
- $500,000 financial award for another nursing home resident who was also injured in a fall
- $600,000 financial award for a resident injured due to nursing home neglect
Nursing home residents and their families received these awards to compensate them for the physical and emotional trauma of negligence. The lawyer who represents you will prove the legal elements of your case, including the nursing home’s duty to care for your loved ones, their failure to do so, and the resulting harm to your family member and potentially his or her family.
Examples Of Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect In Maryland
The nursing home you trust with caring for your loved one is responsible for their daily and ongoing needs. When patients are mismanaged, mistreated, neglected, or abused, you can hold their facility financially responsible.
Your elderly parent or spouse can suffer abuse in a variety of ways. Examples of nursing home abuse and neglect include the following:
- Abuse by staff: any instance where a staff member abuses a resident or ignores their need for care
- Abuse by nursing home residents: Resident-to-resident physical, psychological, and verbal abuse, often caused by a lack of proper supervision
- Bedsore injury: Injuries that result from continual pressure on one or more parts of the body, creating nasty lesions and deep-tissue injuries. They are often caused by often forced immobility and lack of appropriate care
- Elopement and wandering: Inattention and failure to supervise residents that result in their wandering within the facility (wandering) or off the facility entirely (elopement) and being put at risk
- Falls and fractures: Injuries caused by pushing, shoving, obstacles, slippery surfaces, or lack of attention and supervision
- Lack of appropriate care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients: Improperly trained staff or staff who ignore the specialized needs of residents with memory concerns
- Medical mismanagement: Failure to administer necessary medication or other prescribed orders, misdiagnosis, missed diagnosis, improper use of restraints, and intentional overmedication
- Nursing home choking: Physical restraint that impedes a resident’s ability to breath freely as well as choking on food, beverages, or other objects while improperly supervised
- Nursing home physical injuries: Various injuries, including bruises, cuts, broken bones, bedsores, etc.
- Nursing home sexual abuse: Any instance of rape or illicit sexual touching, language, or interaction
- Nutrition neglect: Failing to ensure residents are offered and actually consume properly balanced meals and snacks
If your elderly loved one was injured in one of these ways in their nursing home, a lawyer in your area could help you seek compensation. Abuse and neglect can take other forms as well, so the best way to explore your financial recovery options is with a case review—at no cost—from a local nursing home abuse and neglect attorney.
Signs Of Nursing Home Abuse In Maryland
Residents and their families who file lawsuits against nursing facilities typically cite abuse and neglect as the underlying reason. Mistreatment that constitutes abuse can take on many forms. If you suspect your loved one is suffering from abuse or neglect, there are signs.
National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) cites the following things to watch for:
- Physical abuse: Look for bruises, sprains, injuries, and changes in behavior
- Sexual abuse: Bruising, bleeding, sudden infections and diseases, restlessness, irregular sleep, and anxiety
- Emotional or psychological abuse: Distress, depression, withdrawal from others, distance, poor hygiene, lack of self-grooming, and child-like behaviors such sucking
- Financial abuse: Changes in the bank account, changes to the will, unpaid bills, poor diet, and bad or suspicious decisions with money
Call Today For A Free Review Of Your Nursing Home Case
The nursing home lawsuit settlements and examples above show the compensation that negligent facilities have had to provide to the families of abused and neglected residents. In Maryland, our nursing home abuse lawyer will help your family achieve the maximum financial recovery for your circumstances if your loved one was mistreated.
Contact one of our case review team members at Brown & Barron to learn more about your compensation options today.