10 Things You Can Do To Stop Nursing Home Neglect Or Abuse Before Filing A Lawsuit

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Are you or your loved one currently in a nursing home and experiencing abuse or neglect? Maybe this abuse or neglect has either already caused injuries, or it may cause injuries if it continues.  In certain situations where the injury has already occurred, a lawsuit may be the best option to hold the nursing home accountable. However, a lawsuit is not always the best course, and there are other actions that can be taken to stop the abuse or neglect.

To have a case against a nursing home for negligent care certain legal requirements must be met. The legal requirements that must be proven are: (1) the nursing home must have provided care that was below acceptable standards or the nursing home violated regulations; (2) the substandard care or regulatory violations proximately caused damage; and (3) damages were caused.  To have a successful negligence case against a nursing home in the civil justice system each one of these elements must exist and be proven.  If there is substandard care or regulatory violations, but no damage, it will not meet the legal requirements and the case will be kicked out by a judge.

Many times, we are consulted by residents and family members after significant injuries have already been suffered. For instance, a broken hip caused by a fall, an undiagnosed UTI that progressed to sepsis and death, the development of stage 3 or 4 pressure ulcers, etc.  These are all significant injuries that can support a civil lawsuit when it can be proven that the nursing home violated standards of care or regulations that proximately caused the injury.  However, we are occasionally consulted by nursing home residents or their family members where the resident is currently in a nursing home that is providing substandard care, but there has been no significant injury. The resident or family expresses frustration that the nursing home is not taking proper care of the resident and is not providing the care that it is paid to provide. For instance, we commonly hear concerns that:

  • the nursing home is not turning and repositioning frequently enough and there is concern that bed sores will develop.
  • the nursing home is not properly bathing/dressing/grooming the resident.
  • the nursing home is not feeding the resident.
  • the nursing home is not getting the resident out of bed.

In some of these cases, no significant injury has occurred yet, and therefore, may not support a civil lawsuit. This is obviously frustrating for the resident or family to hear, especially when they see that the nursing home is providing poor care and they want it corrected before injury occurs.  You don’t have to wait until an injury occurs to take action!

Just because a lawsuit may not be supported by the current situation, there are certain things the resident and/or their family can do to try and get better care and prevent significant injury from occurring:

  1. If feasible, have family and/or close friends visit your loved one often (daily or 2-3 days a week) to keep an eye on the care that is or is not being provided, and address the deficiencies with nursing home staff on an ongoing basis until corrected.
  2. Attend the Care Plan Meetings and address any concerns at the meeting.
  3. Be heard! Address your concerns with the Charge Nurse, Director of Nursing, and even the Administrator of the nursing home – address your concerns with each level of the medical team.
  4. If you have concerns about the medical condition or medical care, ask to speak with the nursing home physician or the physician who is attending to your loved one. If you do not happen to be at the nursing home at the same time the physician rounds on your loved one, you should ask the nursing home for the physician’s contact information and contact him/her with your concerns.
  5. Make written complaints to the nursing home so that your concerns have been documented. File a formal grievance with the nursing home.  Pursuant to 42 CFR § 483.10(j), upon request by the resident, the nursing home must provide the grievance policy to the resident, which provide information on how to file a formal grievance with the nursing home, as well as with independent grievance entities (see #6 below).
  6. Contact your ombudsman and address your concerns with them. The ombudsman conducts investigations of nursing home complaints and advocates for the resident. The nursing home is required to provide contact information and instruction on how to file a complaint with the ombudsman or other independent grievance entities. This information should also be displayed prominently in the facility. The following website is helpful for contacting your local ombudsman. http://www.georgiaombudsman.org/. For additional information on the ombudsman program: https://aging.georgia.gov/long-term-care-ombudsman-program,  and http://theconsumervoice.org/get_help/state_resources/ga.
  7. Lodge a complaint with the Georgia Department of Community Health – Division of Healthcare Facility Regulation, and your complaint will be investigated – https://dch.georgia.gov/hfr-file-complaint.
  8. Document your concerns – make and maintain personal notes about your concerns and the problems with the care, your communications with nursing home staff about the issues, what if anything the nursing home does in response to your concerns, and take photographs of the problems if appropriate.
  9. In certain cases where criminal actions may be involved, contact the local police department.
  10. Try to locate another facility to move your loved one to. If you have lost trust in the nursing home and your concerns are not addressed, consider moving your loved one to another nursing home.

The most important thing is to get the best care possible for yourself or your loved one. It is always a good idea to be involved as much as possible in your loved one’s care, and do what you can do to get the care they need and deserve. If you see problems with the care that the nursing home is providing to you or your loved one, speak up and have your concerns heard and addressed. Unfortunately, injuries will still occur due to abuse and neglect in the nursing home even when family members and the resident do everything in their power to try and get better care. Moreover, even though there are steps the resident or family can take to address substandard nursing home care, the nursing home has an obligation to provide appropriate care to its residents even when family is not involved or is not taking these steps.  If you would like to speak with experienced nursing home attorneys who pursue cases against nursing homes in the Atlanta metro area and throughout Georgia, call Gretchen Wagner or Kate Hughes at the law firm of Wagner Hughes, LLC. This consultation is free and you will speak directly with a senior attorney.