Even though nursing homes in Lanham, Maryland, are trusted to care for our aging and disabled family members, abuse and neglect are a reality for many residents. If you’ve personally experienced abuse or have a family member who has been abused at a nursing facility in Lanham, MD, contact Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers at (301) 936-0011.
You have rights, which can include the ability to demand compensation from the abusive caretakers. Our experienced Lanham nursing home abuse lawyers can help your family fight for monetary justice.
Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers has been a strong, passionate legal advocate for injury victims and families in Lanham and throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore for over a decade. We’re award-winning trial lawyers with 125+ years of collective experience and an unparalleled ability to win life-changing case results for our clients.
We’ve forced powerful corporations to pay our clients over $100 million in settlements and jury awards. Now, we’re ready to go toe-to-toe with the nursing home on your family’s behalf in pursuit of the compensation you deserve for your loved one’s injuries and suffering, too. Call our Lanham law office to schedule a free consultation.
How Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers Helps Victims of Nursing Home Abuse in Lanham, MD
Nursing homes are responsible for providing a certain level of care for their residents. When care falls short, they must be held accountable. However, it can be difficult to prove that a nursing home or caretaker intentionally harmed or neglected a resident—at least without considerable resources to support an investigation and a thorough knowledge of relevant state and federal law.
That’s where our lawyers can help.
At Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers, we fight for victims of injustice every day. Unlike insurance companies and profit-driven nursing facilities, we prioritize our client’s well-being and do everything in our power to make a positive difference in their lives. It’s why we’re recognized as leaders in civil litigation by Lawyer Legion, Expertise.com, Martindale-Hubbell, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and Super Lawyers.
Take the time you need to focus on your loved one’s health and future and count on our top-rated law firm to handle the rest.
Our Lanham personal injury attorneys will:
- Review the results of investigations conducted by government regulatory agencies and/or the local Lanham Police Department
- Launch a thorough independent inquiry into your nursing home abuse case
- Obtain and evaluate key evidence, such as medical records, photographs, video footage, witness statements, caretaker logs and notes, staff and caretaker records, and facility hiring and training protocols
- Determine if other similar complaints of abuse or neglect have been filed against the facility in question
- Identify potential violations of Maryland Department of Health regulations
- Consult specialists and expert witnesses as we build your nursing home abuse claim
- File your lawsuit with the local Prince George’s County court clerk
- Provide legal advice and guidance throughout the claims process
- Force the nursing facility to take accountability and make you a fair settlement offer, or go head-to-head against our award-winning litigators at trial
Our Maryland nursing home abuse lawyers in Lanham will take your case on a contingency fee basis. You’ll only pay when we recover compensation for you.
Contact our law office in Lanham to learn more about working with our top-rated team. There’s no charge for your initial case review.
What Is Nursing Home Abuse, and How Common Is It?
Nursing home abuse is defined as “the willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation or cruel punishment with resulting physical harm, pain, or mental anguish or deprivation by a person, including a caregiver, of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish, or mental illness.”
More simply, nursing home abuse involves a caretaker’s intentional infliction of physical, sexual, emotional, or financial harm on a resident. Nursing home abuse can also be defined to include neglect, which involves an intentional withholding of a resident’s basic needs as a human.
Nursing home abuse may include the following:
- Physical nursing home abuse can include hitting, unnecessarily tight restraints, grabbing, and pushing. This can often cause residents to suffer from serious physical injuries, as well as emotional distress, fearfulness, and anxiety.
- Sexual nursing home abuse involves forcing a resident to engage in or watch sexual activity without their consent. Residents may suffer from psychological harm, STDs, infection, and physical trauma.
- Emotional nursing home abuse can involve taunting, isolation, abandonment, yelling, and embarrassing a resident. In turn, the resident may suffer from mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and fearfulness.
- Financial nursing home abuse is often evident when a resident’s personal belongings or finances disappear unexpectedly due to identity theft or misappropriation.
- Nursing home neglect can involve intentionally depriving a resident of necessary medical attention, food, water, or socialization. Resulting trauma can include dehydration, malnutrition, serious physical illness, or even death.
A study by the World Health Organization revealed that two out of three caretakers surveyed admitted to having abused a resident. It’s believed that, overall, at least 10 percent of all nursing home residents are abused or neglected. However, nursing home abuse and neglect are vastly underreported, so the rate at which abuse occurs is likely much more common than is suggested.
Victims of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Can Suffer Serious Physical Injuries
Nursing home abuse can manifest in a lot of different ways. While most nursing home abuse is psychological in nature, many residents suffer physical trauma.
Some of the most commonly reported injuries and consequences of nursing home abuse include:
- Burn injuries
- Bed sores
- Cuts and lacerations
- Broken bones
- Soft tissue injuries
- Brain injuries
- Bruising and contusions
- Concussions
- Head injuries
- Eye injuries
- Nerve damage
- Crush injuries
- Infections
- Dental injuries
- Wrongful death
If you suspect that someone you love has been neglected or abused at a nursing home or assisted living facility in Lanham, report the abuse to the administration and contact the local police. Then, call Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers to explore your family’s legal rights and options. Our Maryland nursing home abuse lawyers in Lanham are always here to offer the support and advice you need.
What Compensation Can Be Awarded to Lanham Nursing Home Abuse Victims?
Nursing home abuse claims can help victims recover compensatory damages for both economic and non-economic losses.
Economic damages are awarded to help victims and their families deal with the financial consequences of nursing home abuse, such as:
- Costs of relocating to a different nursing facility
- Current and future medical expenses, including hospitalization, surgery, diagnostic tests, medication, and medical devices
- Financial restitution for theft of property
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Rehabilitation
- Therapy
- Funeral expenses
Non-economic damages are paid to help your loved one cope with the much harder-to-value trauma they experience as a victim of abuse and neglect, including:
- Embarrassment
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Reduced quality of life
- Pain and suffering
- Chronic physical pain
Punitive damages can also be awarded if there’s clear and convincing evidence that the nursing home demonstrated “egregiously bad conduct toward the plaintiff.” Most often, this requires a showing by clear and convincing evidence that the nursing home’s actions were malicious, intentional, or purposeful. In some situations, gross negligence – or a conscious disregard for a nursing home resident’s safety – can also give rise to an award of punitive damages. Ultimately, these decisions are left to the discretion of a jury when a nursing home abuse lawsuit goes to trial.
What’s the Statute of Limitations for Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuits in Maryland?
Like other types of personal injury lawsuits in the state of Maryland, a nursing home abuse claim must be filed within three years of the date of a victim’s injury or wrongful death.
The statute of limitations has few exceptions. If you miss the filing deadline, you will lose the ability to hold the nursing facility accountable for the harm and suffering it’s inflicted.
Don’t let well-deserved compensation slip away. Don’t let the nursing home walk away without consequence. Call Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers for help right away. Members of our legal team in Lanham are always available to help.
Schedule a Free Case Review With an Experienced Lanham Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
The nursing home violated your trust. Your aging family member has suffered needlessly. Alpert Schreyer Personal Injury Lawyers wants to help you get justice.
Our Lanham nursing home abuse lawyers have 125+ years of collective experience litigating complex cases like your family’s. The personal injury case results we’ve achieved total more than $100 million in monetary awards.
Now, we’re ready to help your family make the nursing facility take accountability and make things right. We won’t stop at just winning your case. We’re here to make sure you maximize your financial recovery, too.
There’s no charge for an initial case review. Contact our Lanham, MD, law office to speak with our team about your nursing home abuse and neglect case today.