Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
What You Need to Know About Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Cases
You trusted a facility to care for someone you love. If that trust was broken, we can help you find out what happened and hold the people responsible for it. Free and confidential, serving the DMV since 1994.
THE BASICS
The evidence you need most is the hardest to get
Choosing a facility and trusting strangers to bathe, turn, and medicate someone you love is one of the hardest decisions a family makes. Then you notice a bruise nobody can explain, a wound that appeared overnight, sudden weight loss, or you get a call from the hospital.
Nursing home cases are unlike most injury cases. The proof lives inside the building that caused the harm, and the records are written by the people you may need to hold accountable. Often your loved one cannot describe what happened, and in some cases is no longer here to tell anyone.
We request the full chart, the staffing records, incident reports, and inspection history, then work with nurses and physicians who can explain what proper care required and where it fell short.
Abuse and neglect are not the same thing
Know the difference
ABUSE
Hitting, slapping, pushing, or rough handling
Grabbing hard enough to cause pain
Improper physical restraint
Sedating medication used to quiet a resident instead of treating a real condition
Yelling, threats, or humiliation
Sexual contact of any kind
Isolating a resident as punishment
NEGLECT
Not repositioning an immobile resident, allowing pressure injuries
Inadequate food or fluids
Failing to help with toileting or change soiled residents
Skipped wound care, bathing, or dental care
Ignored call lights
Abandoned fall prevention plans
No notice to family or physician of a real change in condition
Something a person does. It requires intent, and can also be a crime and support punitive damages.
Something a facility fails to do. There is no intent requirement; understaffing alone can cause it.
What to do right now
Strong claims are built on proof gathered quickly. The sooner our team is involved, the sooner we can begin preserving evidence.
building your case
OUR ROLE
Cases we handle
We also handle claims from assisted living communities, memory care units, rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities, group homes, and home health care, since the regulations that apply depend on the type of facility involved.
The facility itself
For negligent hiring, poor supervision, failure to train, understaffing, and failing to enforce its own policies.
The employee involved
The staff member who caused harm or failed to provide care, along with the facility, which is generally responsible for its employees on the job.
The parent company or owner
Many facilities sit beneath layers of holding, management, and real estate entities, a structure that can shield assets. Tracing it early is part of our work.
Because some injuries do not appear immediately, or worsen in the days that follow, it is critical to see a doctor right away and have your injuries documented, even if you feel fine at the scene.
Outside providers
Physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacies, and staffing agencies whose own negligence played a part.
Third parties
Including contractors responsible for maintenance or equipment.
Types of Cases
Warning signs families should not explain away
Types of Cases
We have staff members fluent in
Amharic (ethiopian)
spanish
korean
vietnamese
thai
You don’t need to have everything figured out
You don't need to know whether you have a case before calling. You only need to know that something about your loved one's care doesn't seem right, and that you have questions. We'll listen to what you've noticed, ask focused questions about the facility and the care your family member received, and help you understand whether W. Thomas Yi & Associates can help you seek answers and accountability.
What You May Recover
Damages You May Be Able to Recover
Physical harm is only one of the ways nursing home neglect affects a resident and their family. Depending on the facts of your case, you may be entitled to recover several categories of damages.
WHY THESE CASES MATTER
A Nursing Home Abuse Case Involves Far More Than Medical Bills
When you discover that a loved one has been harmed in the place you trusted to care for them, their immediate safety is usually the only thing on your mind. But the consequences rarely stop there. Your family may be facing a difficult move to a new facility, months of medical treatment, a decline your loved one may never fully recover from, or the painful realization that the care you were promised was never actually being provided.
Client Testimonials