Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Attorneys

Louisiana Medical Malpractice Lawyers

No one wants to make the decision to place their parent or loved one in a nursing home. The decision is challenging and comes with conflicting emotions like guilt, regret, and a sense of relief. You want to make sure your loved one is getting the best care possible. When a loved one suffers injuries from nursing home neglect, the emotions of regret and guilt can become overwhelming. It’s not your fault.

In Louisiana, nursing home residents have fundament rights that a nursing home must honor, including the right to dignity, respect, and quality care. When these rights are violated, your loved ones suffer. Common problems often caused by neglect include falls, pressure sores, dehydration, and malnutrition, each of which can have devastating consequences for frail and elderly residents of the home.

Falls often occur because nursing home residents have not been properly monitored or supervised, or because proper measures have not been put in place to ensure a resident's safety. Falls often lead to injuries which may create a domino effect in an elderly person’s health, leading to loss of a resident's independence, and may even cause them to become bedridden and a loss of all quality of life. If you are reading this, we suspect this may sound all too familiar.

Pressure sores or decubitus ulcers, otherwise known as "bed sores," usually occur when bed-bound or chair bound residents are not moved often enough or when their personal hygiene is neglected by staff. Irritation occurs and then ulceration begins. Malnutrition is also often a contributing factor. If these sores are not immediately treated they can cause damage to underlying tissue, bones, and even internal organs. One can also develop a severe and deadly infection called sepsis should these sores go untreated.

Malnutrition is a common among seniors, even those not residing in nursing homes. However, it is the responsibility of the nursing home to ensure its residents are properly nourished. Malnutrition can lead to poor health effects and even death.

In addition to these common injuries from neglect in nursing homes, residents can suffer physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse inside the nursing home. Obviously, if you suspect this is occurring with a loved one, immediate action must be taken.

And, you may not know that Louisiana has enacted new legislation that allows you to place a video camera in your loved one’s room under certain conditions. This can be extraordinarily helpful and we encourage you to research this option. Of course, we would be happy to discuss this with you.

And we would be remiss if not to mention that most care provided in Louisiana’s skilled nursing facilities is quite good. Nurses and nurse assistants are typically well-trained and embrace their responsibilities fully and with integrity. When we observe excellent care, we should say so, just as we must speak up when we don’t.

If you or your loved one have been the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse, please call us to discuss your options.