When a person in a nursing home experiences abuse or other types of mistreatment, that person may feel embarrassed, confused and afraid to speak out. Often, nursing home abuse victims remain quiet about what they experienced, and family members may be the ones to notice that there is something amiss with their loved one.
If you believe that your family member experienced abuse of any kind as a resident of a Georgia nursing home, you have the right to take legal action on his or her behalf. You should not only fight for the victim’s personal safety, you may also seek compensation for both the physical injuries and emotional damages he or she experienced.
Damages you can seek on behalf of a loved one
If you are to bring a civil claim against a nursing home, you will need to provide clear evidence that your loved one experienced harm at the hands of those who were supposed to be providing care. Medical records, picture evidence and witness accounts can be helpful. You may seek the compensation for the following on behalf of your loved one:
- Medical expenses
- Past expenses accrued while in the nursing home
- Future expenses
- Loss of ability to enjoy life
- Suffering from physical injuries
- Harm from loss of sleep
- Harm caused by a period of immobilization
In addition to recompense to which you may have a rightful claim for injuries, pain and suffering and financial losses, you may be able to seek damages for mental anguish as well. Experiencing mistreatment as a nursing home patient can be traumatic, and some scars are not visible. Your claim may seek damages related to mental trauma, including:
- Trauma of waiting for help for an extended time after an injury
- Living in fear of the consequences from reporting abuse
- Anxiety about future well-being
- Anguish over current and future medical needs
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
You have the right to fight back when you learn of a loved one’s mistreatment in a nursing home. It is possible to hold liable parties accountable.
Fighting on behalf of a loved one
When you place a loved one in a nursing home, it is with the expectation that he or she will receive quality care. If a facility fails in that duty, you may take action to hold liable parties responsible for physical and mental damage, as well as seek monetary damages.
