Has your elderly loved one suffered abuse at the hands of nursing home staff in San Antonio, TX? If so, you should not hesitate to take immediate legal action.
Nursing home abuse is devastating and is, unfortunately, common in our community. A San Antonio nursing home abuse lawyer can help you get justice. In these cases, justice means getting compensation for financial losses and emotional trauma while also holding abusive facilities accountable.
George Salinas Injury Lawyers can help you file a nursing home abuse lawsuit in San Antonio. Contact us or call us at (210) 225-0909 to learn more about our experience and legal services.
Why Should I Hire George Salinas Injury Lawyers To Handle My Nursing Home Abuse Case?
George Salinas Injury Lawyers has over 110 years of combined experience handling personal injury cases, including those based on nursing home abuse. During that time, we have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients.
San Antonio personal injury lawyers on our team have received numerous recognitions and accolades, including being named Texas Super Lawyers in 2020, 2021, and 2022 and earning a Top 100 US Jury Verdict in 2020.
When you hire us to handle your nursing home abuse case in San Antonio, Texas, we will:
- Investigate the nursing home
- Find out how the abuse happened
- Report abuse to the authorities
- Collect evidence
- File insurance claims (if applicable) and negotiate with insurance on your behalf
- Calculate your damages
- Keep track of deadlines and important documents
- File a personal injury lawsuit if we can’t reach a settlement
- Stand up for you in trial
We recognize that every case is different, and we create a custom strategy design to achieve your goals. You won’t regret hiring George Salinas Injury Lawyers to help with your San Antonio nursing home abuse case during this difficult time.
What Is Nursing Home Abuse in Texas?
Nursing home abuse is when staff harm the residents through action or inaction. It can also occur on a more systematic level. Nursing home abuse can also happen intentionally or unintentionally. It is the responsibility of the nursing home staff and facility to ensure that each resident is safe and receiving the proper care.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home abuse can come in many different forms and isn’t always physical. Some of the most common types of nursing home abuse include:
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Financial exploitation
- Neglect
- Involuntary confinement
- Abandonment
No form of abuse is acceptable, and it isn’t always obvious to people on the outside. By recognizing the signs of abuse, you can help to protect your loved ones from further harm.
What Are the Signs of Nursing Home Abuse in San Antonio, TX?
Depending on the type of abuse that is happening, there are certain signs that you can look out for. This will also create the foundation of evidence that is used in a nursing home abuse case.
The most common signs of nursing home abuse are:
- Unexplained bruises or bleeding
- Hair loss
- Wounds, like bed sores
- Weight loss or malnutrition
- Infections
- Dirty or stained clothing
- The onset of strange behaviors
- Withdrawn demeanor
- Unusual financial transactions
- Loss of personal items
- Unsanitary conditions
- Over or under medicating
It is always important to investigate changes in behavior or suspicious circumstances when it comes to loved ones in nursing homes. While there may be an innocuous explanation, nursing home abuse is alarmingly common. If you catch the abuse early on, you can lessen the impact and prevent the abuse from becoming deadly.
Why Does Nursing Home Abuse Happen in San Antonio?
There are many reasons that nursing home abuse happens. In our experience, the most common reasons for nursing home abuse are:
- Understaffed facilities
- Lack of proper training
- Underpaid staff
- Poor management practices
- Lack of investigation into nursing home staff
Some nursing home abuse happens because of the conditions of the facility. Other times, it is perpetuated by a particularly malicious employee. Regardless, nursing homes have a responsibility to make sure that their staff is caring for the residents and isn’t perpetrating harm.
Nursing Home Abuse Statistics in Texas
According to Families for Better Care, Texas is the worst state in the United States for nursing homes. The care is considered substandard. In fact, Texas lawmakers have cited 93% of the nursing homes in the state for violating either state or federal law. This includes instances of nursing home abuse.
Less than 30% of the nursing homes in the state have an above-average health and safety inspection rating. In fact, 1 in 5 has severe deficiencies.
What Should I Do if I Suspect My Loved One Is Suffering From Abuse in San Antonio, TX?
It is overwhelming to find out that your loved one is experiencing nursing home abuse. There are several important steps that you can take once learning about the abuse. This will help protect the abused and prepare for a legal case.
Report The Abuse (Call 911 For Emergencies)
If you suspect that a loved one is in imminent danger, you should call 911 and report the abuse. You should not delay your response and risk a life-threatening situation. Emergency medical personnel can provide immediate medical treatment, and the police can open a criminal investigation into the abuser.
In non-emergency situations, you can still report the abuse via a non-emergency police hotline or to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Documents Signs And Symptoms
You should always document the signs and symptoms of abuse. You can do this by keeping a log or a journal that includes the dates and your observations. This can be written by hand or digitally.
This log will become important in a legal case. That’s because a nursing home abuse lawsuit can last a long time. Your memory might fade after a few weeks, months, or even years. A log will help you remember the details but will also help your lawyer collect evidence and build the case. For example, dates can be cross-referenced with nursing home logs to find out who was working at the time of the abuse.
Collect Evidence
Collecting evidence is one of the most important things that you can do in a nursing home abuse case.
Evidence in a nursing home abuse case may include:
- Recording or writing a narrative of the abuse
- Taking photographs of injuries or neglectful circumstances
- Collecting medical records
- Speaking with doctors
- Documenting unexplained financial transactions
It is better to err on the side of collecting more evidence than not enough.
What Rights Do Nursing Home Residents Have?
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services has put together a nursing home Resident’s Bill of Rights. This bill of rights must be posted in every nursing home in San Antonio and throughout Texas. They also need to give a copy to each resident.
It includes many rights, including the right to:
- Be free from physical and mental abuse
- Treated with respect and dignity
- Live in a safe and sanitary environment
- Have unrestricted communication
- Make complaints
- Access records
- Refuse treatment or designate a specific doctor for treatment
It’s clear that just because someone moves into a nursing home doesn’t mean they lose autonomy. Residents are entitled to just as many rights as a person living on their own. We must make sure nursing homes are upholding these rights while caring for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
What Damages Are Available in a San Antonio Nursing Home Abuse Case?
In a nursing home abuse case in San Antonio, you can collect several different types of damages, including economic and non-economic. Usually, we recover damages for:
- Medical bills (past and future)
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- In-home nursing care
- Other financial losses
The damages in your case will depend on the consequences and impact the abuse has had. You will need to provide evidence of your damages to recover them. This includes producing receipts, bills, estimates, and other records. It can also include testimony from mental health providers and experts in the case.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced San Antonio Nursing Home Abuse Attorney
You should consider hiring a San Antonio nursing home abuse lawyer when you discover abuse. A nursing home abuse attorney can help you report the abuse, collect evidence, and prepare a legal case. By including a lawyer earlier on in the process, you are setting yourself up for a successful legal case.
Plus, most nursing home abuse lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. That means that you won’t have to pay your lawyer anything until they win your case. At that point, you will pay a set percentage of the settlement.
There’s no financial benefit to waiting to hire a lawyer until later in the case. You should take advantage of the benefits of legal counsel as soon as possible.
When it comes to nursing home abuse, you can’t waste any time. You should contact a San Antonio nursing home abuse attorney at Goerge Salinas Injury Lawyers as soon as possible. We can set up a free consultation at (210) 225-0909 to discuss your case and how we can help.
George Salinas Injury Lawyers
6243 I-10 Ste. 955, San Antonio, TX 78201
(210) 225-0909
Open 24 hours
