Phoenix Nursing Abuse Attorney

One of the main reasons you should work with a Phoenix nursing home abuse lawyer is he or she will know how to determine all of the damages your loved one suffered and the value of those damages. These damages can be divided into a few main categories:

Economic Damages

These are any damages with a defined monetary value, such as:

Economic damages are easier to calculate than other types of damages because there are receipts or bills to go with them.

Non-Economic Damages

The other type of damages in a nursing home abuse case are called non-economic damages because they do not have a defined monetary value. In other words, there are no receipts or bills for these damages.

Some examples of non-economic damages your loved one may have experienced include:

When our Phoenix nursing home abuse lawyers are determining the value of economic and non-economic damages, we will factor in the damages your loved one is suffering both now and in the future. For example, your loved one may need ongoing medical care and may have lingering emotional issues well after the abuse occurred.

Punitive Damages

These are only awarded in rare cases where the elder abuse and negligence that occurred was particularly egregious. These are not intended to compensate your loved one for a specific economic or non-economic injury. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish the other party and attempt to prevent others from engaging in similar conduct in the future.

Unlike some states, Arizona puts no caps on the amount of compensation your nursing home abuse attorney in Phoenix can recover in your case. These types of caps are prohibited by Arizona’s state constitution.

Contact us today to determine if you have a viable claim. We are prepared to launch a comprehensive investigation to gather evidence of the value of the damages your loved one suffered.

If you suspect your loved one has been abused in a nursing home, there are many reasons you should work with a reputable nursing home abuse attorney. Our lawyers will:

Review Your Case in a Free Consultation

One of the main benefits of working with a Phoenix nursing home abuse lawyer is that your initial consultation is free. The attorneys at Phillips Law Group do not charge for your initial consultation. This allows you to decide whether to contact us without worrying about how much it will cost.

The initial consultation allows you to explain what happened so we can determine if you have a viable elder abuse claim and may be entitled to compensation. You can also ask questions about how we can help with your claim and what to expect throughout the legal process.

If we determine that you have grounds for a case against the nursing home, and you choose to move forward, we will provide our services on contingency. This means we will not charge legal fees unless we obtain the compensation you deserve.

Thoroughly Investigate Your Case

Our nursing home abuse attorneys in Phoenix are fully prepared to manage every aspect of your case, including the investigation of your loved one’s abuse. The steps we will take include:

• Talking to staff members at the facility to determine what happened
• Collecting any records that could help your case, including medical and financial records and records of past abuse or negligence at the facility
• Taking pictures of your loved one’s injuries
• Taking pictures of the location where the abuse occurred
• Reviewing the qualifications of staff members involved in the abuse to ensure they meet all state and federal requirements
• Talking to medical experts about your loved one’s injuries to determine all of the ways they affect your loved one

Determine the Role of Negligence

The goal of a nursing home abuse case is to obtain compensation by proving that your loved one was abused or neglected because of some form of negligence. In other words, we need to show that staff members failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent your loved one from being hurt.

Our nursing home abuse attorneys in Phoenix will work tirelessly to discover any signs of negligence that contributed to your loved one’s abuse.

Negotiating Fair Compensation

As we build your case, attorneys for the other side may reach out to try to settle. Nursing homes and their attorneys often want to do this to avoid the cost and potential bad press of a trial.

While we are fully prepared to accept a fair settlement, we will reject any unfair offers. We are fully prepared to take your case to trial to achieve the justice you deserve.

We understand you may feel anxious about a trial, but we will handle all of it. We will keep you informed throughout the process to explain what you can expect and what we will need from you.

There are many reasons why nursing home abuse happens. These are some of the most common reasons we have seen in our years taking on nursing home abuse cases:

• Hiring staff members who are unqualified — This includes staff members who lack the necessary education for their position or do not satisfy state or federal requirements. Shockingly, some facilities hire staff members who did not pass a background check or that have a documented history of abusing residents.
• Poorly training staff members — This can be almost as important as reviewing a staff member’s qualifications. Even if someone has the right degrees and passed a background check, they still need to be trained on the different aspects of their job. When this does not happen, it opens to the door to many forms of abuse and neglect, such as improperly administering medications or physical abuse of disabled or disorderly residents.
• Understaffing — This is one of the most common forms of negligence at nursing homes. Understaffing makes it difficult or impossible for the staff members who are there to provide the care and attention residents need and are entitled to under the law. Staff members in these facilities are often overworked, leading them to lash out at unruly or uncooperative residents. If your loved one was neglected, there is a good chance it was caused by understaffing.

Our Phoenix nursing home abuse lawyers will carefully investigate your situation to see if any of these things happened at the facility where your loved one was abused or neglected. Elder abuse is a violation of your loved one’s rights and the responsible parties should be held accountable.

Another benefit of working with an attorney on your nursing home abuse case is that we have detailed knowledge of your loved one’s rights as a nursing home resident. Some of these rights are listed on Medicare.gov. Arizona’s Office of Long Term Care Licensure also has a document listing nursing home resident rights.

Your loved one has the right to:

If you believe any of these rights were violated, you may have grounds for a nursing home abuse case against the facility.

Nursing home abuse is generally classified into five different categories. Our attorneys are prepared to handle cases involving many types of abuse that fall under these categories:

Neglect

This occurs when a caretaker or medical professional does not provide the standard of care a resident is entitled. Common examples of neglect include failing to:

Physical Abuse

Although the definition of physical abuse in a nursing facility varies depending on location, it is generally defined as a caretaker using excessive force that results in bodily harm or pain and suffering in the nursing home resident.

Here are some examples of physical abuse:

Sexual Abuse

Nursing home sexual abuse and assault happens when an individual engages in a non-consensual sexual act with a resident. This could include rape, sexual gestures or jokes, taking pictures of residents in compromising positions, or sexual harassment.

Psychological or Mental Trauma

This type of abuse can happen through both verbal and nonverbal behavior. Any action that knowingly causes emotional anguish to a resident can be considered psychological abuse, including verbal assaults, bullying, and subjecting a resident to isolation or silent treatment.

Other forms of psychological or mental abuse include:

• Making a resident perform demeaning activities
• Denying a resident their medication
• Talking to residents in a condescending way

Financial Abuse

This is defined as the unauthorized use of a resident’s assets, including cash and bank accounts. Some examples of this form of abuse include:

If you suspect your elderly loved one is the victim of abuse in a nursing home, contact a Phoenix nursing home abuse attorney at Phillips Law Group today. We care about our elderly citizens and will fight tirelessly for the justice and compensation they deserve. All of our initial consultations are free, and we only get paid if you win.