Cleveland Nursing Home and Elder Abuse Attorneys

Over $1 Billion Won for Our Clients

Trusting a nursing home with the care of a loved one is an extremely difficult choice for a family. Having your trust violated when your loved one is abused or injured is a terrible injustice.

Many are in need of special care and around-the-clock attention, and abuse often goes unreported by those who are either unable or too intimidated to speak up. The devastating result is that these patients have their needs and rights disregarded, causing them to suffer serious physical or financial injury. Senior citizens who are taken advantage of by those who are supposed to care for them have legal rights.

If you or your loved one has suffered abuse, Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP wants to help. We are committed to advocating for nursing home residents who have been taken advantage of. It doesn’t matter whether the facility’s management blames staff shortages or the like. There is no excuse for elder abuse.

To discuss your options as either a victim of abuse or neglect or a family member, contact our nursing home abuse lawyers in Cleveland, OH today. Call (216) 600-0114 or contact us online for a free consultation.

Nursing Home Residents' Rights in Ohio

Everyone deserves competent medical and nursing care.

In fact, the Ohio Nursing Home Residents' Bill of Rights guarantees that residents of nursing home facilities in the state of Ohio receive adequate and appropriate medical treatment and nursing care. The bill of rights outlines the rights a patient has and what they should expect from a care provider.

These rights include:

• The right to a safe and clean living environment
• The right to be free from physical, verbal, and mental abuse, and the right to be treated with courtesy and respect
• The right to adequate and appropriate medical treatment and nursing care
• The right to have all reasonable inquiries and requests responded to promptly
• The right to have clothing and bed sheets changed as necessary to ensure comfort and sanitation
• The right to unrestricted communication with the resident's family
• The right to participate in decisions that affect the resident's life

Nursing home facilities are required to post this list of rights or to provide a copy to their residents.

Knowing these rights will assist you in making certain that your loved one receives the quality of care he or she is entitled to under Ohio law. Speaking with a nursing home abuse attorney can also help you determine whether or not a violation of the Nursing Home Residents' Bill of Rights took place.

Common Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

There are many signs that could point to nursing home negligence or mistreatment. You should know about them if you have a loved one in a long-term care facility.

Changes in behavior and personality are common signs of elder abuse. For example:

• Is the patient suddenly withdrawn, angry, uncomfortable, or anti-social?
• Do they behave differently when staff members—or one staff member in particular—is in the room?
• Does your loved one appear to be over- or under-medicated? Watch for any physical changes, such as bruises, cuts, fractures, or sudden weight loss or gain.
• Is the staff barring access to your loved one?
• Does the patient seek to make sudden financial changes, including large withdrawals or changes to their will?
• Are the conditions of the nursing home unsanitary?
• Does your loved one show signs of medical or physical restraints?

These are among the signs of nursing home neglect that you should be aware of—don’t hesitate to obtain help by contacting an authority or local organization.

Click here to find out more about reporting nursing home abuse in the state of Ohio.

Types of Nursing Home Abuse

There are various types of nursing home abuse—including sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and financial exploitation. Physical abuse and neglect are often behind the most serious nursing home injuries.

Some common nursing home injuries include:

• Nurse and physician negligence
• Injuries resulting from inadequate staff and improper training
• Medication errors
• Bedsores and pressure ulcers
• Dehydration and malnutrition
• Injuries from falling or from improper transportation
• Physical and sexual abuse
• Emotional abuse

Nurses and other care providers at these facilities may fail to obtain appropriate medical care for their patients. Physicians may misdiagnose a condition and prescribe incorrect or insufficient treatment or medication. They may even actively abuse a patient—physically, financially, sexually, or emotionally.

If this happens to you or a loved one, you have legal recourse and should not hesitate to speak with an elder abuse lawyer in Cleveland from our office at Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP.

Tough Advocacy for Nursing Home Abuse Victims in Ohio

There is perhaps no greater injustice than nursing home abuse or neglect. Nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable of victims; they are often frightened and unable to protect themselves or speak up about the abuse. Some nursing homes are understaffed and poorly operated, which results in thousands of injuries—and even deaths—each year because of neglect, misconduct, and abuse.

We see our role as attorneys at Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP as one of promoting justice and fighting for better conditions in these nursing homes. The Ohio Nursing Home Resident Bill of Rights outlines the treatment and care that patients of nursing homes in the state can expect. We encourage you to learn more by consulting a Cleveland nursing home injury lawyer from our firm. We are experienced in these types of cases, knowledgeable about your rights, and prepared to offer you the representation that you need.

Why Hire Our Cleveland Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys?

• Over 70 years of experience
• Free consultations
• Over $1 billion recovered
• Award-winning representation

Put 7 Decades of Elder Abuse Representation Experience on Your Side

At Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP, we handle cases that involve nursing home abuse and neglect throughout the state of Ohio and nationwide.

Over the course of over 70 years of experience in practice, our Cleveland nursing home abuse lawyers have recovered more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients.

We always put our clients first—we can’t imagine another way of doing business. Our practice is centered on the needs and well-being of those we represent. We’re here to fight for the results you deserve.

Examples of Cases We've Handled

Case 1: The Painful Loss of a Mother

Recently, Attorney Stuart Scott of Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP successfully concluded a case on behalf of a family who lost their mother after she had fallen in a nursing home twice in less than a month. After the second fall, it was discovered she had broken her left hip. After surviving the hip repair surgery, she died three weeks later — a well-known complication of hip fractures in the elderly.

Only through the lawsuit did the family learn that their mother had been injured because a state-tested nursing assistant (STNA) had failed to follow the nursing home's written procedure for transferring their mother from her wheelchair to her bed. These events also resulted in the nursing home adopting the use of gait belts, a simple device used by an STNA or nurse to maintain control over the patient during a transfer to prevent falls.

In this case, the STNA was using their mother's pants as a handhold instead of a gait belt and lost control, resulting in a preventable fall that required the resident to be taken to the emergency department with a head wound.

Case 2: Fractured Hip Leads to Death

Attorney Nicholas DiCello represented the family of an elderly nursing home resident who suffered a fractured hip while being transferred by aids to and from a sister facility on a recreational outing. Unfortunately, the elderly woman soon died as a result of her injury.

The circumstances surrounding the resident's injuries and death are particularly troubling to the family. A nursing home aide was pushing the family’s mother in her wheelchair when the aide became distracted by an unaccompanied resident who was beginning to fall. Left unattended, the wheelchair overturned, dumping the family's mother to the ground and causing multiple injuries — the most serious of which was a fractured hip.

Unfortunately, the hip fracture went undetected for several excruciatingly painful days. Once diagnosed, the resident was sent for surgery. Given her advanced age, however, complications ensued, and the family's mother soon passed away. Understandably, the family was outraged over the circumstances leading to their mother's injuries and death.

Call Spangenberg Shibley & Liber LLP. No Recovery, No Fee!

Wondering if you have a case?

We want the legal system to be accessible to everyone, especially for our nation’s elders. We invite you to contact our firm to request a complimentary, risk-free case review. Because we operate on a contingency fee policy, you don’t pay us unless we win your case.

Contact our office at (216) 600-0114 to arrange a free case evaluation with a Cleveland nursing home negligence lawyer.