With all of the news about nursing home abuse, it can be hard to know where to look for help that your loved ones may very much need. There are a few different ways that nursing home abuse lawyers can help your loved one retain their dignity and ensure they are in a much better place.
1. Treating Their Concerns As Valid
So many times people who have been abused feel like their concerns are less valid. They feel like they are not taken seriously, and they feel like they are complaining about nothing. This is particularly true in cases where older patients feel like they are too much of a burden or that their needs are just too hard to meet. A good elder abuse lawyer will help walk them through what is legally and realistically expected, letting them know that their mistreatment is not okay and that they deserve to be treated much better.
2. Getting Them Out Of A Bad Situation
If your loved one has picky insurance or is in a state-run facility, it can be difficult to transfer them. Often facilities will refuse to transfer patients and other facilities won’t take on patients without an official order to transfer them. A good lawyer can get an order for transfer and can ensure that your loved one goes to a home that is not normally covered or that would be much harder to get into. This is especially likely if a settlement is reached that allows for pre-payment of a new home at the expense of the old one.
If your loved one likes the home that they are in, but does not like the way that they are treated or the person that is treating them, a good lawyer may be able to help with this as well. They can take the home to court to require them to make changes, or they can get your loved one a restraining order against the staff member that has been causing them problems. Both of these options ensure that your loved one is treated better and that their care is the focus of the case, not a side effect.
3. Settling Cases Out Of Court
If your loved one is worried about having to testify in court or having their abuse revealed, a good lawyer will be able to push for the case to be settled out of court. This may result in a slightly smaller payoff, but will allow them to add in stipulations and generally accomplish everything necessary for your loves one’s continued good health. Out of court settlements do take a little while to reach, but they are often favored by homes and patients who just want to live a quiet life.
Nursing home abuse lawyers make sure that your loved one feels that their concerns are valid, ensures that they get to a better place in life, and are able to ensure that they do not feel humiliated or forced to confront their abusers if they are not ready to do so. In these ways, they help preserve the dignity and privacy of their clients.
