Nursing home abuse happens in many facilities regardless of reputation, cost, or location. Some facilities encourage specific types of nursing home abuse to increase profits, and other facilities are simply unaware one or more people on staff are mistreating patients. Nursing home abuse comes in many forms, which makes it easy for facilities to mistreat your loved ones without your knowledge. Whether they’re charging your loved one for the care they do not receive or slacking on personal hygiene and meals, it’s dangerous and wrong. If you suspect a loved one is being mistreated in a nursing home, call a nursing home abuse attorney Omaha NE.

Proving Duty

If you believe someone you love is being abused in a nursing home, the first thing you must realize is there is a duty of care expected by the facility. This means all staff is required to provide a certain level of care to each person who is in their care, and there is no exception to this duty. Signing the contract to work in the medical field or in a nursing home in any capacity binds an employee to a duty of care for each patient. That duty of care is outlined in their employee handbook as well as federal guidelines for the healthcare industry.

Proving Breach of Duty of Care

Now that you suspect your loved one is being abused in some way, it’s your duty to prove this breach of duty occurred. This requires proving a staff member or the facility as a whole did not provide the correct level of care for your loved one. For example, if the facility failed to do a background check on an employee who’d been previously fired and accused of negligence in another healthcare facility, they’ve breached their duty of care to hire only qualified people who meet strict requirements.

Proving Causation

Once you prove a duty of care was owed and breached, you must prove that the negligence by the facility or employee caused injury to your loved one. Your loved one’s injuries or health issues must be a direct result of the abuse they suffered at the home, and their injuries cannot be blamed on any other health issues or conditions. For example, if your loved one developed bedsores and became malnourished because no one cared for them, the cause is neglect. However, if your loved one became malnourished because he or she refused to eat the food offered to them due to distaste, it’s their own fault.

Proving nursing home abuse occurred is often difficult, which is why you must have an attorney present. Many health issues and problems are easily caused by other health problems, age, and accidents, and proving that someone deliberately caused these health issues requires an investigation, evidence, and proof of neglect. Look for the signs of abuse in your loved one and call an attorney as soon as you begin to suspect there is an issue with your loved one.