New Mexico Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

New Mexico Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Nursing Home Laws and Regulations

Despite numerous laws designed to protect the rights of nursing home residents, including the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, the Elder Justice Act, and the Older Americans Act, nursing home abuse is still a widespread problem. Federal laws offer various protections including:

• Ensuring that nursing homes provide sufficient supervision of employees and staff.
• Requiring nursing home staff to report any instances of suspected abuse or neglect.
• Establishing a national employee background check database.

In addition, New Mexico requires that nursing homes maintain adequate staffing levels, including having a full-time director and a nurse on duty at all times. New Mexico also places limits on the use of restraints, whether physical or chemical, on nursing home residents. Additionally, medication must be administered only under the explicit orders of a doctor.

Types of Nursing Homes

Many types of facilities exist to care for the elderly. All can be places where abuse and neglect occur. Under federal law, four categories of elderly care institutions exist:

• Adult boarding services
• Residential care facilities
• Intermediate care facilities
• Skilled nursing facilities

Our legal team is experienced in litigation against all four types of elderly care facilities and understand the different rules, regulations and standards for care established by each.

Understand the Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

Everyone should be aware of indications that a nursing home resident may be suffering abuse or neglect. Below are some of the most common signs to look out for:

• General changes in personality and behavior including onset of depression, anxiety, or withdrawal
• Tension or anger between your elderly relative and a caregiver
• Unexplained bodily injuries including broken bones and bruises
• Bedsores
• Soiled clothing
• Poor hygiene
• Unexplained STD’s or other infections

Types of Abuse in Nursing Homes

Nursing home abuse comes in different forms including physical, emotional/mental, neglect, and sexual.

• Physical – Any use of force against a resident may be considered physical abuse. Physical abuse is dangerous and can lead to serious bodily injury including fractures & broken bones, cuts, bruises, trauma, and even death.
• Emotional/Mental – Emotional & mental abuse is serious, traumatizing, and unacceptable. This type of abuse may occur in situations where an employee or caregiver exerts power over an elderly resident as a way of making them feel fearful, intimidated, and isolated. Bullying and taunting are common examples of emotional and mental abuse in a nursing home setting. These instances do not leave physical scars but are devastating to victims. Victims of emotional and mental abuse commonly experience depression, withdrawal, and severe anxiety.
• Sexual – Sexual abuse is any non-consensual sexual act. Many nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable to acts of sexual abuse due to medical conditions like dementia, Alzheimer’s, and cognitive decline. Frequently, victims in these cases are unable to report which can lead to continued abuse.
• Neglect –Any failure to provide adequate care constitutes neglect. When residents experience nursing home neglect, they are left vulnerable to bedsores, falls, malnutrition, and dehydration, all of which can lead to serious illness, injury, and death.

The Reasons Behind Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home abuse is never acceptable. Unfortunately, many factors contribute to the abuse and neglect that regularly occurs at elder care facilities. For example, nursing home residents are often dependent on the help of others for everyday activities which makes them particularly vulnerable to abuse.

Further exacerbating these issues are the lack of resources and proper management within nursing homes, which leaves residents even more susceptible to abuse. Some common issues that can contribute to abuse include:

• Understaffing
  
  Nursing homes cannot operate properly when they do not have enough employees to care for and supervise residents. Many nursing homes intentionally hire fewer employees than necessary to save money. Others may be unable to find qualified professionals. Understaffing forces employees to prioritize certain tasks at the expense of others. Residents in understaffed facilities are vulnerable to falls, bedsores, malnutrition, and medical errors. Furthermore, understaffing can create feelings of hostility and lead to disgruntled employees. Tired, stressed, overworked, and angry employees are more likely to either intentionally or unintentionally harm the residents in their care.
• Lack of training
  
  Lack of training is another common issue within nursing homes. Many nursing home employees are underqualified and do not receive the training they need for job success. Other training issues that are all too common within nursing homes are the lack of ongoing professional development efforts and inadequate training regarding resident rights.

Recovering Damages

You deserve compensation for what you have been through. While we wish that we could go back in time and erase the abuse, we cannot. What we can do is fight for what you deserve in hopes that the compensation recovered, and the justice served will help you move forward with your life.

In nursing home abuse cases, damages can be tangible, intangible, or punitive. Examples of tangible damages that we have recovered on behalf of nursing home abuse victims include:

• Hospitalization bills
• Doctor’s visit bills
• Medication
• Surgery
• Physical therapy

We believe that your suffering matters. As such, we will also fight to recover compensation related to intangible damages including:

• Physical suffering
• Mental anguish
• Emotional distress

Our Process

Our thorough process will give you the peace of mind to focus on rebuilding your life while we focus on obtaining justice and recovering damages on your behalf.

Your case process will begin with a free consultation designed to help us understand the details of your unique situation and to help you gain confidence in our team. We will remain open and honest with you so that you understand next steps.

Next, we will perform a detailed investigation and file the lawsuit. This is when we gather evidence to build the strongest case possible.

Then, we will proceed to the discovery stage which involves sharing our findings with the legal team for the defense. This stage also involves issuing any necessary subpoenas, gathering additional documents, and conducting witness testimonies & cross-examinations.

The next step is to prepare for trial and potentially come to a settlement agreement. We will do our best to avoid putting you through the be lengthy, difficult, time-consuming, and expensive trial process if possible while still recovering the compensation you deserve.

If we are unable to come to a settlement agreement, the case will proceed to the trial phase. During the trial, we will utilize all relevant evidence to fight for your best interests. A judge or jury will then come to a verdict in the case. Our commitment to you is to put together the strongest case possible and recover the maximum compensation possible.