Nursing
Home Abuse Information and Recovery
Many
of our elderly will someday need the type of care
that can only be provided in a nursing home environment.
While there are many fine nursing care facilities
in Eastern Washington, there are some that in the
past and may in the future fail to adequately provide
for the needs of their elder residents. others may
actively contribute to abuse, neglect and injury
of those under their care. Our
personal injury lawyers
and staff have the special knowledge and
skill required to expertly handle personal injury
cases in specialized areas of the law. We have the
experience and resources to take on the largest
corporations, insurance companies, and governments
in the interest of getting justice and proper financial
compensation for our injured clients. In Washington,
there are elder abuse laws that seek to protect
the elderly who are under someone else's care, including
while being cared for at a nursing home or rehabilitative
center.
In Washington, the term
"vulnerable adult" includes persons receiving
services from any individual who for compensation
serves as a personal aide to a person who self-directs
his or her own care in his or her home. RCW
74.34.021
Abandonment, abuse,
financial exploitation, or neglect of a vulnerable
adult - Cause of action for damages:
(1) In addition to other
remedies available under the law, a vulnerable adult
who has been subjected to abandonment, abuse, financial
exploitation, or neglect either while residing in
a facility or in the case of a person residing at
home who receives care from a home, health, hospice,
or home care agency, or an individual provider,
shall have a cause of action for damages on account
of his or her injuries, pain and suffering, and
loss of property sustained thereby.
(3) In an action brought
under this section, a prevailing plaintiff shall
be awarded his or her actual damages, together with
the costs of the suit, including a reasonable attorney's
fee. The term "costs" includes, but is
not limited to, the reasonable fees for a guardian,
guardian ad litem, and experts, if any that may
be necessary to the litigation of a claim brought
under this section. RCW
74.34
In Washington, "abuse"
is defined as: The willful action or inaction that
inflicts injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation,
or punishment on a vulnerable adult. Abuse includes
sexual abuse, mental abuse, physical abuse, the
exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
"Neglect"
means a patter of conduct or inaction by a person
or entity with a duty of care that fails to provide
the goods and services that maintain physical or
mental health of a vulnerable adult, or that fails
to avoid or prevent physical or mental harm or pain
to a vulnerable adult; or an act or omission that
demonstrates a serious disregard of consequences
of such a magnitude as to constitute a clear and
present danger to the vulnerable adult's health
welfare, or safety. RCW
74.34.020
Nursing home abuse and neglect
can take many forms. The following represents some
common examples of nursing home abuse and neglect:
(a)Failure
to provide proper nutrition and hydration; (b)Failure
to assist in personal hygiene when needed; (c)Over-medication
or under-medication; (d)Failure to take reasonable
precautions to prevent falls; (e)Failure to answer
call lights in a timely fashion; (f)Failure to
turn residents in their beds (leading to pressure
sores); (g)Failure to take residents to the toilet
(leaving them in soiled garments or beds); (h)Slapping
or other physical abuse; (i)Failure to take adequate
precautions to prevent injury; (j)Sexual assault
or rape of the resident.
Please
contact one of the attorneys for Reinig & Barber
to discuss your case. You can be confident that
you are selecting attorneys that will respond to
your concerns and maximize your settlement potential.
Disclaimer: The personal injury, medical malpractice,
dental negligence, birth injury, traumatic brain injury,
negligence, wrongful death, product liability, accident,
crop loss or other legal information presented at
this site should not be construed to be formal legal
advice, nor the formation of a lawyer or attorney-client
relationship. Any results set forth here were dependent
on the facts of that particular case and the results
will differ from case to case. Feel free to contact
a medical malpractice lawyer, personal injury attorney,
or agriculture law specialist at our office in Kennewick,
Washington. This web site is not intended to solicit
clients for matters outside of the State of Washington.
Reinig
& Barber
