You trust in a nursing home to care for your loved one to the best of its ability. While some age-related issues are unavoidable, when disfigurement and permanent disability occur, you may question whether the facility is doing its job. You might even suspect abuse or neglect.
Our nursing home disfigurement and permanent disability lawyers in Atlanta will investigate your loved one’s injury and determine what happened. If the facility’s negligence played a role, we’ll hold them liable for the suffering they’ve caused and help you recover compensation.
Our team at Schenk Nursing Home Abuse Law has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of Georgia nursing home residents and their families. Call today to schedule your free consultation and find out how our Atlanta nursing home abuse lawyers can help.
How Does Disfigurement Happen in a Nursing Home?
Disfigurement is a permanent and undesirable change to a person’s body resulting from disease, medical errors, accidents, trauma, or other injuries.
For nursing home residents, common causes of disfigurement often include:
- Bedsores: Prolonged pressure can cause skin breakdown, infection, and deep tissue damage.
- Skin Tears: Many nursing home residents have fragile skin that tears easily. Without proper cleaning and care, wounds heal poorly.
- Infections: Untreated bacterial or fungal infections damage soft tissue. Severe infections like MRSA can destroy skin and muscle.
- Surgical Complications: Necessary surgeries, especially amputations or wound debridement, can change appearance or remove tissue, leading to permanent disfigurement.
- Falls and Fractures: Falls cause cuts, bruises, and bone fractures. Facial injuries or poorly healed wounds can result in visible deformities.
These issues are largely avoidable with proper care and staff training. Our nursing home disfigurement and permanent disability attorneys in Atlanta will review your loved one’s injuries. If the home failed to provide an acceptable level of care, we will help you hold it accountable.
For a free legal consultation with a nursing home permanent disability lawyer serving Atlanta, call
Is Disfigurement a Sign of Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect?
While disfigurement can be a result of age-related issues, necessary operations, or an unavoidable accident, it is also sometimes a sign of abuse or neglect in a nursing home. Warning signs of nursing home abuse or neglect that can lead to disfigurement include:
- Untreated pressure ulcers
- Poor hygiene
- Lack of wound care
- Malnutrition or dehydration
- Improper restraint use
- Unreported injuries
Our team can help you ask the right questions and determine if the nursing home’s negligence played a role in your loved one’s disfigurement. If so, we’ll work to recover damages that reflect the hardships the nursing home has caused your loved one and your family.
Atlanta Nursing Home Permanent Disability Lawyer Near Me (678) 823-7678
What Is Permanent Disability for Nursing Home Residents?
People typically think of permanent disability (PD) from the perspective of a worker who experiences an illness or injury that makes them unable to perform their job. While the circumstances are usually different, permanent disability can apply to nursing home residents as well.
A permanent disability is a lasting physical or mental impairment that significantly limits someone’s ability to work or perform normal life activities, and is not expected to improve with medical treatment.
If the home’s negligent actions led to a condition that qualifies as a permanent disability, our Atlanta nursing home disfigurement and permanent disability lawyers will take action.
What to Do if You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse
If you suspect the home is negligent in its care practice or is committing acts of resident abuse, don’t stay silent. The steps you take can protect your loved one and other residents.
If You Witness the Abuse
Call 911 if necessary to request emergency personnel at the scene. Write down everything you’ve witnessed and keep detailed notes going forward. Your documentation can help authorities and strengthen your legal case.
Inform the Administrator
Report your suspicions to the facility administrator. You can do this in writing or by email and retain copies of your correspondence. The administrator should launch an investigation into your concerns.
Report to Authorities
File a complaint with the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division of the Georgia Department of Community Health. This is the organization that oversees nursing home licensing in Georgia. They’ll investigate your concerns and take action against the facility if warranted.
Contact the Ombudsman
Ombudsmen are trained to advocate for residents’ rights in nursing homes. They can look into the situation and report to the necessary authorities if they believe abuse, neglect, or rights violations played a role.
Consult Our Nursing Home Disfigurement and Permanent Disability Attorneys in Atlanta
If you suspect nursing home abuse led to your loved one’s injuries, disfigurement, and disability, contact our legal team. Nursing home abuse and neglect is all we do.
Our nursing home disfigurement and permanent disability attorneys in Atlanta will help you protect your loved one’s rights and recover compensation to account for medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages. You don’t have to take on the nursing home alone.
At Schenk Nursing Home Abuse Law, we focus on nursing home abuse, and we stand up for nursing home residents and their families. Call today for your free consultation and tell us how we can help.
