Lawsuits are an important tool in the fight against poor nursing home care, but there are things that you can do long before a lawsuit is necessary. Most people never really get to see what happens inside of a nursing home, good or bad, until they have to go there themselves. Unfortunately in this country we have a poor track record of visiting our relatives in nursing homes.
An opinion in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette shows this problem well. Before placing his father temporarily in a home while he was recovering, he visited several nursing homes that he knew were badly rated. What he saw were clear cases of elder abuse. Rooms stinking of bodily fluids. Ignored patients. Patients forced to share bathrooms. Even elders forced to stare at their food tray, unable to feed themselves.
If you have a loved one in a nursing home, you should check in on them regularly. Even if a home starts out good, it is quite easy for one to slide downhill. For instance, if they are bought by another company, the rules and procedures may completely change. You must be vigilant and speak out when you see problems. If they won’t take care of your loved ones, take them to court.
Schenk Smith Trial Attorneys specializes in personal injury and nursing home abuse. Don’t let your loved ones suffer from poor care. Call our Atlanta offices immediately for a free consultation. You could be doing more than improving the quality of your loved one’s life, you could be saving their life and the lives of others in the facility. So don’t hesitate. Call today.
