Serving on a jury is a challenging social responsibility: Jurors are tasked with deciding who to believe when completely contradictory explanations of a situation are being presented, particularly when both sides to a trial provide reasonable explanations for their positions. Jurors in nursing home abuse cases typically want to find what went wrong and how to find a fair way to resolve the situation.
A mistake with medication or a staffing shortage can place your relative in danger. By being involved, watching for changes, asking questions, and reporting problems, you can not only help ensure quality care, but doing these things also shows a jury that you were very involved with your loved one’s care.
Making frequent unannounced visits will put you in a position to notice and stop the signs of nursing home abuse – and it also answers a frequent juror question in nursing home abuse cases: “How often did the family visit?” Jurors will likely seek clarity with regards to issues of indifference or abandonment, be it the resident’s family or the staff tasked with the resident’s care. Did the facility prevent the resident from spending any one-on-one time with visitors or other residents? Did the nursing home purposefully keep its facility understaffed in order to cut costs?
Most nursing home residents are afflicted with some sort of disorder: cognitive, functional, or something similar. There has also been a modest decline in the number of assisted care facilities. Combining these two pieces of data with an increase in nursing home residents, it may not surprise a jury that inadequate care and legal challenges follow.
Jurors in nursing home abuse cases will likely be presented with complex medical and legal issues. A nursing home abuse attorney will shine a light on the magnitude of the neglect and its consequences.
If someone you love has been hurt or killed in a nursing home, injuries of unknown origin, bed sores, a broken hip, or frequent falls, and you are suspicions of elder abuse or nursing home negligence, please contact us today for a free case evaluation.