Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes: Types and Indicators According to Giroux & Associates’ Attorneys
In the paragraphs below, an experienced St Petersburg nursing home attorney addresses willful misconduct and simple negligence claims.
When It’s Deliberate
An injury caused by abuse deliberately perpetrated upon a resident of a nursing home by staff members or others is a far different issue from something that results from a simple, inadvertent mistake on someone’s part. We all have the capacity for human error, and there are times when the consequences are unfortunate. However, when your St Petersburg nursing home lawyer can clearly demonstrate that the acts that led to the claimant’s injuries were intentionally committed, punitive damages become a very real possibility. A jury, angered by grievous harm deliberately inflicted upon an elderly person, is often strongly inclined to grant a greater degree of damages. A simple error, innocently committed, is not as likely to incur a jury’s anger.
When It’s Not Deliberate
Sometimes an injury is not deliberately inflicted by someone who intends to do harm. Such injuries can result from inadvertently overlooked trip hazards such as loose carpets or rugs, cords or other dangers or other instances of error or simple negligence. Such incidents are notoriously common and in some instances the patient may even have been a little at fault. After all, it is our own responsibility to pay attention to where we put our feet assuming we are able to do so. This does not, however, absolve the nursing home of the responsibility to maintain a safe environment such that slips or trips and falls can be minimized or avoided altogether. Nursing homes, beset by such incidents, have become adept at minimizing their own culpability and even shifting it to someone else. Since concrete evidence in these cases can be difficult to come by, it takes a skilled St Petersburg nursing home lawyer to handle this type of case.
Deliberate or Not
Whether the injury was willfully inflicted or not, your nursing home abuse case requires the attention of a dedicated St Petersburg nursing home attorney. Call Peter Giroux at Giroux & Associates at (727) 895-5399 for assistance today.