The most significant element contributing to nursing home abuse is a lack of people, which focuses an emphasis on profitability. In understaffed facilities, the staff-to-resident ratio tends to worsen. Nursing home employees are usually overworked due to a lack of staff; this frequently results in inadequate treatment for the residents. Using low-wage laborers with no formal training is one such time-saving approach. This creates a perfect storm of ignorance, which unfortunately occurs all too frequently and causes harm to a large number of people who are not accountable for their actions.
Unfortunately, there have been cases of neglect and abuse that take place in nursing homes. As a relative of an elderly in a nursing home, you must check if your loved one sustains bruises, bed sores, fractures, rashes, and infections. You must also routinely check if they suffer from malnutrition, exhaustion, dehydration, and misdiagnosis, among others. This may be helpful in putting an end to both psychological and physical abuse within nursing homes.
It is especially concerning because nursing home violence primarily affects people who are unable to defend themselves. Abuse in nursing homes is famously difficult to uncover due to victims being sometimes too fearful or weak to reveal it, as well as nursing home workers frequently denying wrongdoing.
If you feel that the staff at the nursing home where your loved one is staying is abusing or neglecting them, contact a lawyer as soon as possible. If the investigation is launched straight away, your legal team will have a higher opportunity of acquiring time-sensitive evidence. Furthermore, it allows you to file a lawsuit before the appropriate statute of limitations runs out.
Read on to learn and discover more about the laws for elder abuse and neglect in Florida nursing homes.
Taking Legal Action Against a Private Entity
Victims of nursing home abuse and neglect have two years to file a legal claim. The statute of repose is four years, although they have two years from the time the occurrence was discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable effort to determine the cause of action. The repose period is four years. Regardless of when the cause was found, the case must be filed within four years of the occurrence that gave rise to the cause of action.
There are, of course, exceptions to almost every rule. The statute of limitations is extended to six years instead of four years if the institution buried evidence of misbehavior or wilfully misrepresented facts to prevent discovery. This is due to the fact that concealing evidence of wrongdoing or knowingly misrepresenting facts is deemed purposeful wrongdoing.
Victims who are unable to communicate are likewise exempt from paying. The statute of limitations may be tolled if your loved one was mentally incompetent prior to receive substandard treatment.
Filing a Lawsuit Against a Governmental Agency
Take immediate action if a loved one is held at a government facility. However, before submitting the report, a thorough investigation must be conducted.
The investigation process lasts 180 days after the written claim is made. If the organization rejects your claim, you have the option of filing a lawsuit within the time period stipulated by the statute of limitations.
Conclusion
If your loved one was abused or ignored in the nursing home where they were staying, your family might have a wrongful death claim. The statute of limitations for wrongful death lawsuits in Florida is normally two years. Remember, the countdown (statute of limitations) begins when the victim is killed, not when they are tormented.
Do you need an assisted living lawyer? Mendes, Reins & Wilander is an experienced law firm that specializes in injury cases, nursing home neglect, wrongful death, and medical malpractice, among others. Contact us today to learn more!