Phoenix, Arizona Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Loved ones enter Phoenix, AZ nursing homes expecting to be treated with respect and care; and the United States, especially through Medicaid and Medicare, spends extremely large amounts of money to achieve this; but the all-too-frequent stories of nursing home abuse and neglect clearly indicate that the pervasive failure to deliver.

While courts and juries tend to be sympathetic to nursing home residents who have been assaulted, neglected, or even killed at the hands of their caregivers, that doesn’t make up for the experiences of the victims or the horror experienced by their families. A Phoenix nursing home abuse attorney at Knapp & Roberts understands the horrors the loved ones and families go through and is there to help. Speak to an Arizona nursing home abuse lawyer today with a free case evaluation.

Laws Protecting Phoenix Nursing Home Residents

Both Arizona and the federal government have passed laws for the protection of nursing home residents. Arizona’s Adult Protective Services Act (APSA) protects vulnerable adults from nursing home abuse, neglect, and exploitation. The statute provides for lawsuits seeking damages for injuries caused by violations of the law’s provisions. Suits can be brought against any person and against any enterprise that has been employed to provide care to the vulnerable adult, but has been amended to specifically exempt physicians, podiatrists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.

The Federal Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA) applies to nursing homes that receive Medicare or Medicaid money. It provides a set of rights for nursing home residents and establishes standards of care in many areas, including nutrition, restraints, and bedsores, among other things. It doesn’t allow residents to sue for violations, but an experienced Phoenix elder abuse lawyer can still establish that the facility violated NHRA as an indicator of the facility’s negligence.

Damages from Nursing Home Abuse

In a suit brought under the Adult Protective Services Act, damages recoverable include:

• Actual and consequential damages
• Punitive damages
• Costs
• Reasonable attorneys fees

Arizona courts have ruled that, when a loved one dies as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, damages for the loss of the inherent value of human life can’t be recovered under APSA, but those damages are available under Arizona’s wrongful death statute.

Typical Nursing Home Failings in Phoenix AZ

First and foremost of the failings that result in nursing home resident injuries are those involving staff:

• Too few staff; the best policies in the world won’t protect residents when the facility has too few staff members to do the jobs that need to be done
• Hiring staff with histories of nursing home abuse and violence; either not checking at all, or not checking thoroughly
• Inadequate training; even when staff members try to do the job properly and may be capable of it, they have not been taught what they need to do
• Inadequate supervision and monitoring; without it, abusive and incompetent staff aren’t identified and corrected
• Inattentive staff; signs of resident distress and injury are missed or not reported

Other typical failings include:

• Inadequate policies on such subjects as rules to prevent residents from wandering off or falling, and the monitoring of residents’ weight, nutrition, kidney function, and the like
• Not following up on reports of nursing home abuse and neglect
• Maintaining premises conditions that aren’t safe for the residents

Common Signs of Nursing Home Abuse in Phoenix, AZ

No list of injuries from nursing home abuse and neglect could be exhaustive, but the following are among the most common:

• Malnutrition and dehydration
• Bedsores (pressure sores)
• Fractures from falls and physical abuse
• Emotional and psychological damage (especially anxiety, fear, withdrawal, loss of confidence and self-efficacy)
• Worsening of existing diseases and injuries due to medication errors and poor treatment
• Wrongful Death (resulting from any of the above, or from injuries suffered after wandering off)

Help for Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse in Phoenix & Maricopa County

Nursing home abuse cases are very specialized, very dependent on what you can prove, and very emotional. The Phoenix nursing home abuse lawyers of Knapp & Roberts have successfully handled many of these cases, achieving a fair settlement out of court whenever possible and taking the case through trial whenever necessary. A specialized Phoenix nursing home attorney at our firm is aware of how hard the cases are for loved ones, and we take great pains to keep our clients aware of the case status and prepared for the steps to follow.

Contact an Arizona Nursing Home Abuse Attorney in Phoenix

There’s no charge for talking to us, and if we take the case, there’s no fee unless we succeed in getting compensation for the injuries or death of a loved one living under care. Call the Arizona nursing home abuse lawyers at Knapp & Roberts today for a free case evaluation.