Nursing Home Abuse

Hillsboro Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys

Rely on 200 Years of Legal Experience

Countless families rely on nursing homes and assisted living facilities to provide their sick and elderly loved ones with round-the-clock attention, stimulating social opportunities, and life-saving medical services. However, in recent years, nursing homes across the country have been the subject of intense public and professional scrutiny. Despite being for-profit organizations, many of these facilities are critically understaffed and ridiculously underfunded. The low pay and high turnover rates contribute to a dangerous living environment staffed by inexperienced, negligent, and abusive caretakers.

Representation of a Hillsboro Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been abused, neglected, or financially exploited by a nursing home facility, contact the Hillsboro nursing home abuse lawyers at The Gatti Law Firm today. Our trial-tested legal team has been providing compassionate guidance, personalized legal services, and dedicated representation to the elderly residents of Oregon for over 45 years. You can trust that we have the skills and resources to meticulously investigate your case and construct a customized litigation strategy that holds the negligent facility accountable for any acts of misconduct and malpractice. With our help, you can recover compensatory damages while also protecting other victims from suffering the same fate.

Contact The Gatti Law Firm at (503) 543-1114 to schedule a free consultation with our team.

Recognizing the Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home residents in Oregon are protected by both state and federal laws. In fact, per federal regulations, a resident “has the right to be free from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse, corporal punishment, and involuntary seclusion.” Despite these legal protections, over 2 million people across the country report incidents of abuse and neglect each year. Unfortunately, many cases go unreported on an annual basis because the victimized residents fear their caretakers or lack the cognitive functioning to recognize mistreatment and abusive behaviors. In this scenario, a resident’s health, safety, and quality of life depends on their friends and family taking legal action.

If you or a loved one has suffered of abuse while in the care of a nursing home facility, it’s critical that you report the incident to the proper authorities and contact a qualified attorney as soon as possible. However, many people aren’t certain about what actions and behaviors actively constitute abuse. For this reason, we’ve compiled the following list:

Acts of physical abuse include, but are not limited to:

  • Pushing, hitting, or intentionally tripping the resident
  • Burning or cutting the resident
  • Threatening the resident with assault
  • Inappropriately restraining the resident
  • Sexually assaulting the resident

Acts of emotional abuse include, but are not limited to:

  • Intimidating or threatening the resident
  • Gaslighting or manipulating the resident
  • Insulting or mocking the resident
  • Humiliating the resident
  • Isolating the resident

Acts of neglect include, but are not limited to:

  • Denying the resident basic and/or essential necessities
  • Failing to prevent or treat dehydration and malnourishment
  • Forcing the resident to live in unhygienic conditions
  • Forgetting to give the resident their prescribed medications
  • Giving the resident the wrong medications
  • Allowing hazards to exist in resident’s environment (slippery floors, poor lighting, etc.)

Acts of financial exploitation include, but are not limited to:

  • Stealing the resident’s assets or property
  • Utilizing the resident’s identity
  • Forging the resident’s signature
  • Modifying the resident’s estate planning documents
  • Using the resident’s credit or debit cards

These actions and behaviors can detrimentally impact a resident’s physical and mental health. The only way to protect your loved one is to visit the facility on a regular basis and check for signs of abuse and neglect. These signs include abnormal changes in behavior, bruises, welts, poor hygiene, bed sores, anxiety, depression, and more. As such, it’s best to vary the days and times you visit to make sure the caretakers don’t have time to prepare for your arrival.

Compiling evidence? Follow these steps to evaluate your loved one’s living conditions:

  1. Keep an ongoing record that details your concerns, questions, and experiences
  2. Talk to other residents and families to learn about their experiences and complaints
  3. Take pictures of the facility and your loved one’s living conditions
  4. Compile photographs and records of the resident’s injuries
  5. Talk to the staffers to learn more about the people responsible for your loved one’s care

Ready to Take Legal Action? Call The Gatti Law Firm Today – (503) 543-1114

It’s important to trust your instincts when it comes to the health and safety of your loved ones. If you suspect that your friend or family member is being abused, you need to contact the authorities and any parties that can help you remove your loved one from that dangerous environment. Once you’ve completed this step, you can call the Hillsboro nursing home abuse attorneys at The Gatti Law Firm to start developing your injury claim. A successful lawsuit can yield damages that account for your loved one’s medical bills, rehabilitation, pain and suffering, and more. If you’re ready to take legal action, rely on a legal team that has the experience and resources to effectively guide you and your loved one through each step of this challenging legal process.

Contact The Gatti Law Firm at (503) 543-1114 to discuss your case with a qualified legal professional.

 

The opinions that matter most

our clients share their stories
  • Gatti Law Firm helped me obtain compensation I deserved!

    “With their help, I was able to obtain appropriate compensation for the incident - which was much more than I would have received without them.”