How to Gather Evidence of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Our elderly loved ones are perhaps the most vulnerable amongst us. That’s why many of us choose to entrust their care to nursing homes that are tasked with ensuring that these individuals are treated with dignity and respect. Yet, as statistics show, far too often nursing home abuse and neglect occurs. If you’re reading this blog because you suspect that your loved one has been subjected to egregious behavior in a nursing home, then read on to learn more about what you can do to gather evidence to support a legal claim against the nursing home in question.

• Document everything: One of the best things that you can do to build a nursing home abuse or neglect case is to document everything that you find suspicious. This means taking pictures of injuries and writing down what your loved one and nursing home staff say about the injuries.
• Talk to other residents: Nursing home abuse and neglect is rarely an isolated incident. Therefore, even if your loved one won’t or can’t talk about the incident, speak with other residents in the nursing home. They might give you a clear picture of systemic abuse and neglect that can help build your case.
• Obtain accident reports: Nursing homes should be documenting all injuries for their own records. Try to obtain those records to see what their official position is. You might be surprised to find that they’re either lying or failing to document injuries altogether.
• Get a medical opinion: If your loved one has been injured or developed a serious condition while in a nursing home, then you should seek out medical care for him or her. When you do, try to get the doctor’s opinion about what caused the injury or condition in question. This opinion can prove invaluable during litigation.

Protect your loved one and find accountability

Your loved one deserves to be safe. The sad reality is that in many instances that requires legal action. That’s why law firms like ours stand ready to fight to hold negligent and abusive nursing homes and their staffs accountable for the harm that they’ve caused. If you want to learn more about how we go about doing that, then please continue to research our firm and what we have to offer our clients.