As more of our family members age and require specialized care for their final years, more cases of abuse and negligence by care providers in facilities are coming to light. The horror of discovering your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse can be overwhelming and upsetting.
If you have a family member who has experienced harm in their Lowcountry care facility, contact a Goose Creek personal injury lawyer from Shelly Leeke Law Firm for skilled legal guidance. We investigate and tenaciously pursue those who have harmed the sick or elderly, securing justice and compensation on their behalf. Schedule a free case evaluation with our personal injury firm to learn more about how we can help you.
How Shelly Leeke Law Firm Helps Your Nursing Home Abuse Claim
Taking care of your older, sick, or disabled loved one can be more than you can bear when trying to hold down a job and care for your spouse and children. Many people rely on nursing homes to provide full-time attention for those in need. However, when those loved ones are harmed, you must turn to a lawsuit against those responsible.
Our team offers critical services such as:
- Compassionately listening to your situation, providing comfort and support
- Examining all aspects of your case to determine all liable parties
- Gathering, analyzing, and presenting evidence to demonstrate how your loved one has been harmed and by whom
- Calculating a fair and appropriate estimate of damages
- Representing you forcefully to persuade the court’s decision in your favor.
- Negotiating with insurance companies and defense lawyers to reach a satisfactory settlement
- Answering your questions at every step in the case
- Offering free initial consultations and working on a contingency fee basis, meaning we do not get paid until we win your case
Each Goose Creek nursing home abuse attorney at Shelly Leeke Law Firm has spent years managing cases for clients who need experienced, knowledgeable, and aggressive legal counsel to set things right. We offer a proven track record of success in many kinds of personal injury claims. Our team of attorneys stands ready to help you with your case.
Understanding Nursing Home Abuse in Goose Creek, SC
Nursing home abuse can be difficult to identify unless it is blatant. In many cases, patients may present a danger to themselves or others and occasionally need to be calmed or restrained. This does not necessarily constitute abuse unless it is overused or leads to neglect.
Patients may suffer abuse such as physical or psychological violence, neglect of their basic needs, delays in receiving medications, or other forms of harmful treatment. A thorough investigation by a qualified personal injury attorney, using input from medical and other experts, is needed to successfully prove nursing home abuse. Unless the situation is discovered and corrected, victims may suffer malnutrition, illness, or death.
Types of Abuse Your Loved One May Experience
Nursing home staff may demean or insult patients, speaking about them in derogatory terms. They could make illegal changes to the victim’s power of attorney and steal money from their bank accounts or use their credit cards without permission. In addition to ignoring a patient’s physical needs, providers may beat, hit, push, or mishandle their victims.
In the most heinous cases, wrongdoers may sexually abuse their comatose or disabled patients. In all cases, you need a caring but fierce Goose Creek nursing home abuse attorney to ensure these terrible people are held accountable for their actions. You can seek reimbursement for medical bills, emotional trauma, the cost of moving to a new facility, attorney’s fees, and compensation if your loved one dies.
What to Do After Discovering Nursing Home Abuse
You will likely be filled with shock and disgust when you learn of the abuse your loved one has suffered. It is natural to want to lash out, but using insurance companies and courts to fight your battle is the most effective course of action. The law is on your side, and your nursing home abuse attorney in Goose Creek from Shelly Leeke Law Firm will work to secure justice.
Types of Complaints You Could File
Depending on who contributed to your family member’s suffering, there may be many liable parties to pursue. You could seek compensation from doctors, nurses, orderlies, cleaning staff, product manufacturers, and government oversight agencies. Your attorney will examine every potential avenue to identify everyone who shares the blame.
For example, you could file actions such as the following:
- A complaint with the Goose Creek Police or Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department
- A complaint with the South Carolina Department on Aging
- A medical malpractice claim against the nursing home’s insurance policy
- A medical malpractice claim against the doctors, nurses, or other healthcare providers involved
- A civil lawsuit against the facility and all individuals who abused your loved one or failed to stop the abuse
In addition to recovering damages for your claim and stopping the abuse your family member experienced, you may put an end to the suffering of other patients. Abuse in nursing homes is rarely a single incident committed by one individual. It often arises from a culture of neglect.
Even when medical providers do their jobs compassionately, understaffing or lack of sufficient training often leads to inadvertent abuse. Regardless of the reason why your family member has been harmed, our team of diligent, top-notch legal professionals will not rest until we achieve the best possible outcome for your case.
Meet with a Goose Creek Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer for Help Today
Neglect, abuse, and injury in a nursing home will make your family member’s life substantially worse and may even shorten their time with you. You must rescue your loved one from these dangers. To secure a just and fair outcome, schedule a meeting with a nursing home abuse lawyer in Goose Creek.
At Shelly Leeke Law Firm, we support the citizens of our community and those across South Carolina. We are ready to fight for the rights of those who have been harmed by the careless or malicious actions of another. Contact our team for a free consultation today.