Milwaukee Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

When a Wisconsin family decides to place an elderly relative into a nursing home, it is usually a long, difficult, and ultimately expensive proposition. That means they are sacrificing quite a bit. It also means they rightly expect the nursing home staff to be as professional as possible, and they have a reasonable expectation that the entire staff, including the licensed medical staff and others, will provide their loved one with all of their needs and do so in a nurturing and safe environment. Unfortunately, although the family wants the best for their elderly family member, the nursing home facilities often fail to meet their standard of care and become a source of neglect or abuse. If an elderly family member suffers mistreatment, neglect, or even outright abuse, you may be able to pursue legal action against the nursing home.

Our Milwaukee nursing home abuse lawyers at Welcenbach Law have the knowledge and experience needed to get the justice you seek and the best settlement possible. We’re not afraid to go up against the large corporations that own nursing homes or their insurance companies. Contact our attorneys today to get justice for your loved one.

Why Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Are a Problem

The issues of nursing home neglect and abuse are serious problems that harm the health and safety of their residents. When one of the millions of residents of nursing homes in a given year is subjected to either neglect or abuse, they usually suffer health problems. However, the circumstances can often be difficult to detect and settle for reasonable compensation. That is the case because the abusive nursing home staffers will usually do everything they can to hide the injuries their elderly patients suffer from everyone else they can, especially family, supervisors, and lawyers.

They also often attempt to intimidate the senior patients into keeping quiet about their abuse, which can hurt their search for justice. Problems can also arise from various medical conditions elderly patients commonly suffer, like dementia. Too often, elder abuse cases go unreported because the victim cannot say anything about the abuse. While most nursing homes are professional and safe for their residents, incidents of elder abuse in nursing homes have become more prevalent in recent years, which is why there has been an increased emphasis on families knowing and understanding the signs and signals of nursing home abuse and neglect, so they can better know when to seek help and hold the nursing home accountable, if necessary.

Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Can Look Different For Everyone

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has established five primary nursing home abuse categories: emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, abandonment, and neglect.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is all-too-common and usually the most obvious form of abuse because it often results in injuries, sometimes serious. Physical abuse often includes hitting, shaking, slapping, kicking, choking, burning, or even suffocation. The injuries incurred through physical abuse can be very serious and lead to high medical bills in the short term and long periods of rehabilitation and/or physical therapy over many years.

Emotional Abuse

Placement in Milwaukee nursing homes or assisted living facilities is nerve-wracking enough for an older person, yet some may experience additional psychological abuse from staff members. This is one of the most common types of abuse of elderly patients and the most difficult to detect since there are no physical signs.

Emotional abuse can include:

• Yelling at or threatening patients
• Humiliating or ridiculing patients
• Isolating patients from other nursing home residents or family members

Sexual Abuse

Another CDC category of elder abuse that is far more common than it should be is sexual abuse, which involves any sexual act that has been forced or coerced or if a nursing home staff member has sex with a resident who is too incapacitated to give consent to the act. Sexual abuse can involve sexual activity, including unwanted touching and attempted sexual assault.

Neglect and Abandonment

The fifth and final CDC category of nursing home abuse comes with the problem of neglect and abandonment. That category refers to the nursing home’s failure to provide the necessary care a resident needs. Depending on the circumstances, this type of abuse can include failure to provide proper medical or nursing care or abandonment of a resident in either the nursing home or another public place. However, it can also mean failure to provide necessities, such as hygienic needs, medications, water, and food. Still, it can also include exercise if that is considered crucial to the resident’s health and well-being.

Contact a Milwaukee Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Today

When an elderly nursing home resident has been abused, bringing a lawsuit is the next logical step. However, like any other lawsuit claiming injury, nursing home abuse lawsuits are anything but straightforward. As expected, the nursing homes and the insurance companies representing them will do everything possible to avoid accepting responsibility. That is why you need an experienced and knowledgeable Milwaukee nursing home abuse attorney by your side the entire time. Such an attorney can guide you through the long, difficult process, including the entire discovery process. They will also handle all negotiations on the client’s behalf.

Do the right thing for your loved one—book a free consultation with us today.