Personal Injury Specialized Area of Practice in Charleston, SC

Nursing Home Abuse
& Negligence

When you place your loved one in the care of a nursing home, you trust that your loved ones are being attended to with meticulous attention to all nutritional, medical, and psychological needs. The care of the elderly requires constant attention to physical, emotional, and social well-being.

Abuse and neglect while under the care of a nursing home facility can be catastrophic, even fatal. If your loved one has suffered, assert your rights to prevent future abuse.

If you or your loved one has suffered from nursing home abuse or neglect, please contact Stefan B. Feidler & the Feidler Law Firm. Our firm has successfully litigated many nursing home abuse and neglect cases, many of which have yielded large settlement offers. We have the litigation experience to navigate your case and get you the compensation you or your loved ones deserve and hold the nursing home facility accountable.

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3 Main Types of Elder & Nursing Home Abuse

While there is no concrete reason as to why nursing home abuse happens, we do know is that this continues to be an issue throughout the state of South Carolina. Often, many cases never see the light of day and their claims get swept under the proverbial rug.

1. Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is defined as the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment. Common types of physical abuse include shaking, shoving, pushing, beating, hitting, burning, bedsores, bruising, and kicking.

Accidents can always happen, but when signs of physical abuse manifest, an investigation must ensue. Too often staff can wave off these signs by stating the elderly’s higher probability of bruising, imbalance, or coordination.

Although the aged may have underlying health issues to increase these possibilities, a care facility, and its staff is given the responsibility to help prevent or compensate for such outcomes by assisting their residents in walking, washing, and other activities, by ensuring a safe environment, and most importantly, by knowing that staff is not directly causing physical abuse from impatient or uncaring handling.

2. Emotional Abuse

This type of abuse includes any type of pain, anguish, or distress placed upon somebody through nonverbal or verbal acts, typically in the form of threats, insults, humiliation, intimidation, and harassment.

Emotional abuse may also manifest in the form of a lack of social interaction, or in worst-case scenarios, prolonged isolation. Many elderly patients grow more and more isolated from society, due to factors such as infrequent or non-existent family visitations, mental or health disabilities, or simply programmed behavior in response to years of neglect. Care centers must initiate ways to assist residents in stimulating mental and physical activity, as part of their care treatment, rather than ignoring a patient or neglecting their needs.

3. Neglect

When individuals, such as nursing home staff members, fail to or refuse to provide care based on their obligations, it can be considered neglect.

Neglect may be the result of staffing issues and slow responses to resident needs or calls. Residents may have access to in-house calling systems, however, if staff members have extremely high workloads, are understaffed, poorly managed, supervised, under-trained, or in a worst-case scenario, poorly vetted for any background history of negligence, criminality, or abusive behaviors, a scenario can be set for neglect or abuse.

No type of nursing home abuse or neglect should be tolerated. While the person who is being abused may not always be in the position to report the abuse, others, such as family members & friends can step forward and, with the help of a qualified attorney, advocate on their behalf.

Practice Areas

Proven Results

  • $1.2 Million

    Nursing Home Negligence
    The client developed a pressure ulcer resulting in her wrongful death, leaving behind 3 young sons. The judgment was obtained following a lawsuit against the facility for an inadequate care plan, inadequate wound care, and failure to identify an infected pressure ulcer.
  • $575,000

    Nursing Home Negligence
    The client developed severe pressure ulcers after being admitted to a nursing home for rehabilitative purposes. The development of the pressure ulcers prolonged the client’s stay at the nursing home and created unnecessary pain and suffering before the client’s death.
  • $500,000

    Nursing Home Negligence
    Despite family involvement and documented complaints, the client developed severe pressure ulcers resulting in a below-the-knee amputation.
  • $450,000

    Nursing Home Negligence
    The client was a known fall risk. The nursing home failed to implement necessary fall precautions. The client suffered an unwitnessed fall at the nursing home resulting in severe injuries.
  • $395,000

    Nursing Home Negligence
    The client was being transferred from a wheelchair to a stretcher by a nursing home and ambulance transfer service personnel when she slipped and fell resulting in severe injuries.

Throughout the United States, millions of elderly and disabled individuals receive care in nursing homes and care facilities. These facilities are supposed to provide patients with the compassionate and accurate medical care they need. Unfortunately, even the best nursing homes can face complaints of negligence or even abuse. But in worst cases, nursing homes attention to profitability over care can result in intentional acts resulting in injurious harm.

As a form of Personal Injury law, Nursing Home cases can involve negligence or abuse, which must be shown to be either intentional, if not malicious, or a lack of action via negligence for its patients. A right to safety is the bare minimum value that a resident is entitled to at any care facility, and Nursing Home or other Care Facilities must be held liable for any injury caused to the patients and residents under their care. Both federal and state laws protect nursing home residents in South Carolina. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 16 §16-3-1050 makes it a crime for certain persons to abuse or fail to report abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a nursing home resident, or to interfere with the investigation of a report of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

Nursing Home abuse occurs when residents of long-term care facilities suffer physical, emotional, or psychological harm because of the negligent or intentional acts of their caregivers. The National Center on Elder Abuse distinguishes between seven different types of elder abuse. These include physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, financial/material exploitation, neglect, abandonment, and self-neglect.

Under 42 CFR § 483.12, nursing home residents have the right to be free from abuse, neglect, misappropriation of resident property, and exploitation. This includes but is not limited to freedom from corporal punishment, involuntary seclusion and any physical or chemical restraint not required to treat the resident’s medical symptoms. use verbal, mental, sexual, or physical abuse, corporal punishment, or involuntary seclusion. Physical abuse can also include overmedication and sedation.

“Abuse,” is defined in 42 CFR §483.5 as “the willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain, or mental anguish. Abuse also includes the deprivation by an individual, including a caretaker, of goods or services that are necessary to attain or maintain physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being. Instances of abuse of all residents, irrespective of any mental or physical condition, cause physical harm, pain, or mental anguish. It includes verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and mental abuse including abuse facilitated or enabled using technology.”

Elder Abuse and Neglect

Where can you turn to report abuse at a nursing home facility?

  • Police, if the resident is in immediate danger.
  • Nursing Home Administration, to address issues via the chain of command, so that supervisors and administration can take appropriate action against the abusing or neglectful staff or contractors involved.
  • South Carolina Department on Aging Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO). This resource helps to resolve complaints by residents of long-term care facilities, or those acting on their behalf, regarding the quality of care or quality of life, including improper discharge or transfer, lack of assistance with benefits, lack of dignity or respect, abuse, neglect, exploitation, or a general violation of rights of the patient.
  • South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), is required to investigate any written or verbal complaint indicating a violation of state licensing standards.
  • The Feidler Law Firm attorney specializes in Nursing Home Abuse cases. They will evaluate to see if you have grounds for a civil lawsuit against the nursing homeowner, management, staff, or other personnel.

Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit Fee Arrangement

The Feidler Law Firm believes that everyone deserves high-quality legal representation, no matter their financial status. Therefore, we operate on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay us only when we win your case. Our fee would come in the form of a percentage of the settlement or verdict amount we obtain. If there is no recovery, there will be no attorneys’ fees.

You’re not alone. The Feidler Law Firm is here to help. Submit your information through our web form, or call The Feidler Law Firm at 843-790-9015 for a FREE consultation to discuss your case.

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