Columbus Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Thousands of families in Columbus and throughout Franklin County trust nursing homes to care for their elderly loved ones. Facilities such as The Ashford at Sturbridge, Mayfair Village Nursing Care Center, and the Columbus Alzheimer’s Care Center are just a few examples. However, when a nursing home has failed to protect residents from abuse, families must know where to turn for help. A Columbus nursing home abuse lawyer is a crucial asset in this situation.

Representing Nursing Home Abuse Cases in Columbus, OH

The attorneys at Spangenberg Shibley & Liber have more than 80 years of experience representing injured clients in Columbus and throughout Franklin County, and we know how difficult it can be for any family to address nursing home abuse from those they have paid and trusted to care for their elderly family members.

Since 1946, our firm has successfully secured many substantial case awards and settlements for clients throughout Ohio. We have obtained more than $1 billion in compensation for our clients, and during the past two years in Ohio, more than 25% of all settlements over seven figures were secured by our firm. * We are confident we can provide comprehensive legal counsel through every step of your nursing home abuse case.

These cases are challenging in several ways. Nursing home abuse rarely occurs as a single, isolated incident. In many of these cases, victims suffer patterns of abuse over long periods before the situation is discovered. The National Council on Aging reports that as many as 10% of Americans over the age of 60 have suffered some type of elder abuse from a caregiver, but as few as one in 24 cases is reported to authorities.

We can help you build a strong case against the abuser and/or their employer if you have discovered that your elderly family member has suffered any type of nursing home abuse. We have decades of experience handling complex personal injury claims, and we are confident we can help you prove liability. We will do everything we can to help your family secure appropriate compensation for the abuse your loved one suffered.

Building a Nursing Home Abuse Case in Columbus

Nursing home abuse manifests in various ways:

• Some nursing home residents are physically abused by their caregivers. This may include direct striking as well as intentionally being too rough when moving or repositioning nursing home residents who struggle with limited mobility.
• Sexual abuse is more common in nursing homes than many people realize. Victims may be infected with sexually transmitted infections and experience deep psychological distress from these experiences.
• Some nursing home staff members steal from residents, and some go as far as to use their personal information to commit identity theft and/or fraud. Unfortunately, these activities often take a long time to be discovered.
• Emotional abuse can entail excessive ridicule, manipulation, or verbal abuse. Over time, this can severely deteriorate the victim’s mental well-being and ultimately result in various unpredictable physical symptoms.
• Willful neglect may include failing to provide nursing home residents with proper nutrition, hydration, or medication on a correct schedule. It can also include failure to reposition bedridden residents on a regular basis, and this can cause the formation of life-threatening pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores.

Family members visiting their elderly loved ones in their nursing homes must be vigilant for any signs of abuse or neglect. A dirty living space, soiled clothes and bedsheets, and other signs of neglect should be thoroughly investigated. If your loved one seems fearful, agitated, or otherwise distressed, or if they have unexplained injuries, you should demand an explanation from nursing home staff, and then hire a nursing home abuse lawyer at your first opportunity.

An experienced Columbus nursing home abuse attorney can gather the evidence you need to prove your elderly family member has been abused by their caregivers at their nursing home. This may require incident reports, nursing home records, witness statements from staff members and other residents, and security footage from inside the facility. You have limited time to gather this evidence, so it’s vital to connect with legal counsel right away.

Claiming Compensation for Nursing Home Abuse in Columbus

Your Columbus nursing home abuse lawyer can gather the evidence you need to prove the truth of a nursing home abuse case. Once you have proven that abuse did in fact occur, your attorney can then help you calculate all of the damages you are eligible to claim from the defendant. In a personal injury case, the plaintiff can claim compensation for all economic and non-economic damages the defendant caused.

Economic damages are generally straightforward and include direct financial losses resulting from the defendant’s negligence or misconduct. In a nursing home abuse case, the plaintiff may be eligible to claim compensation for the cost of any medical treatment the victim required to recover from the defendant’s abuse. Similarly, if the abuse exacerbated existing medical conditions, any resulting medical expenses may also be claimed from the defendant.

If a family member of the victim was forced to take time away from work to address the victim’s abuse, lost income can be included in the plaintiff’s economic damages. Additionally, other out-of-pocket expenses, such as the cost of transferring the victim to a new, safer facility, may also be claimed as economic damages.

In Ohio, a personal injury plaintiff may also claim compensation for their pain and suffering. Generally, the amount they receive reflects the overall severity of the harm they experienced. Your Columbus nursing home abuse attorney can help you determine an appropriate amount of pain and suffering compensation that reflects the severity of the harm done to the victim.

In some nursing home abuse cases, plaintiffs receive punitive damages at the court’s discretion. As the name suggests, these are meant to punish the defendant for egregious negligence or criminal misconduct. If a nursing home was aware of a staff member’s abusive tendencies but failed to take appropriate disciplinary action, or if they failed to perform a background check on a staff member who went on to abuse residents, this could come into play in your case.

Ultimately, nursing home abuse cases are inherently challenging in several ways, and legal counsel you can trust is an invaluable asset in this situation. The team at Spangenberg Shibley & Liber has decades of experience representing clients in some of the most challenging personal injury cases in Ohio, and we are ready to leverage this experience on your family’s behalf. Reach out to our firm as soon as possible to learn more about how we can help.

FAQs

Q: What Are the Warning Signs of Nursing Home Abuse?

A: A few possible warning signs of nursing home abuse include signs of neglect, such as dirty clothes, bedding, and living spaces, sudden changes in your elderly family member’s behavior and/or health, or unexplained injuries that the nursing home failed to document. If you notice any of these red flags, you should remove your elderly family member from this potentially dangerous situation and consult a Columbus nursing home abuse lawyer at your first opportunity.

Q: What Evidence Do You Need to Prove Nursing Home Abuse?

A: You may need various forms of evidence to prove nursing home abuse. Medical records, incident reports documenting injuries, witness testimony, and security footage from the facility could all be useful to your case. A Columbus nursing home abuse attorney will know how to gather and preserve the evidence you need to establish liability.

Q: How Much Compensation Can You Claim for Nursing Home Abuse?

A: The amount of compensation you can claim for nursing home abuse varies based on multiple factors. You may have grounds to claim substantial compensation for economic damages like medical expenses, lost income, transportation costs, and other out-of-pocket expenses resulting from the defendant’s action. Additionally, the victim can receive compensation for the pain and suffering they experienced.

Q: Why Should I Hire a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Columbus?

A: You should hire a nursing home abuse lawyer in Columbus to have a better chance of achieving a favorable outcome in your case. Your attorney can gather evidence you would not know how to obtain on your own, accurately assess the full extent of your claimable damages, and help you navigate these difficult legal proceedings as efficiently as possible.

Q: What Are Attorneys’ Fees for a Columbus Nursing Home Abuse Attorney?

A: Attorneys’ fees for a Columbus nursing home abuse attorney may not be as expensive as you expect. When you hire Spangenberg Shibley & Liber to represent you, we take personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. We only charge our clients a fee after we secure compensation for them. There is no upfront cost to hire our firm, and you pay nothing if we are unable to secure compensation from the defendant.

Spangenberg Shibley & Liber can help you and your family understand your legal options after a loved one has suffered abuse in the nursing home you trusted to care for them. You have a limited time to build this complex case, and we are ready to help. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Columbus nursing home abuse lawyer. We look forward to representing you.

*Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and must be evaluated on its own merits.