Filing a Nursing Home Abuse Claim: What Evidence Do You Need?

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When abuse occurs in an assisted living facility, the individual victim, as well as their family, friends, and community, are impacted. In these scenarios, filing a nursing home abuse claimโ€‹ can be helpful. Taking legal action against those who perpetrated or facilitated the abuse can be an empowering first step in someoneโ€™s journey.

As experienced nursing home abuse lawyers, Dan Pruitt Injury Law Firm has a wealth of compassion for those hurt because of abuse or neglect in institutions designed to help and heal. Our legal team is prepared to go to trial, file a complaint against, contact the police, and negotiate a settlement with abusers and the medical organizations they work for. Our goal is to use our legal knowledge to uplift and support victims and their loved ones so they can move forward.

Understanding the Legal Process for Nursing Home Abuse Claims

Everyone who stays at a nursing home has rights under South Carolina law. These rights include the ability to consent to or reject things โ€” like medical treatments or contact with staff โ€” involving their bodies or privacy. Likewise, they have the right to control their finances โ€” including the freedom to have a power of attorney for property โ€” and understand the charges they incur during their stay.

When staff members, doctors, pharmacists, administrative workers, or others at a long-term care facility violate these or other rights, the victim can take steps to hold them accountable.

The first step in this process might involve calling the police, especially if there is serious violence or threats of violence.

Another option is for the victim or someone who knows them to contact a government agency, like Adult Protective Services. These organizations can gather information about the abuse and take steps to help ensure the personโ€™s immediate safety.

Additionally, the victim or their loved one can contact a nursing home abuse attorney in South Carolina. A lawyer can gather information in a confidential setting and create an action plan to protect the personโ€™s well-being while also respecting their free choice and agency.

Identifying Types of Evidence for a Strong Case

Building a strong medical malpractice case against the individuals or organizations that perpetrated the harm is essential.

Evidence that might be useful is a signed affidavit โ€” a statement given under oath โ€” from a medical expert who believes professional negligence or abuse occurred. Additionally, the victim or their legal representative can support their claim by locating photographs, medical records, surveillance footage, and testimony from others at the facility.

Leveraging Expert Testimony in Nursing Home Abuse Cases

Under South Carolina, most people filing a medical malpractice lawsuit need to support their cases by having a medical expert file a statement that supports their claim. In most situations, the expert should practice the same or similar field as the professional who committed an error.

Additionally, the expert may need to have years of experience in that specific medical field, which enables them to understand what it is like in that setting normally versus what happened in the victimโ€™s case.

Expert testimony is also a robust way to support the victimโ€™s legal and factual arguments. For example, the victim might claim that staff members used excessive force and unnecessary chemical restraints. In this scenario, they might call an expert to discuss what criteria would typically be used to decide if sedation or any level of force would be necessary. Then, the expert can explain how chemical restraints and force were unnecessary and unlawful when used on the victim.

Documenting Signs of Emotional and Psychological Abuse

Emotional and psychological abuse in nursing homes, memory care centers, and long-term care facilities can be challenging to prove because they do not bear the same physical signs as other types of misconduct. Nonetheless, these forms of abuse are very real, impactful, and unlawful.

Victims and concerned loved ones can use evidence to try to prove that emotional and psychological mistreatment occurred.

For example, they can show observations of psychologists, doctors, friends, and families about a change in the victimโ€™s demeanor over time. Additionally, they can show that the person became more agitated, anxious, or avoidant after the abuse versus how they tended to present themselves before it.

How To Gather Evidence Effectively

A key part of shaping a strong nursing home abuse and neglectโ€‹ case is to gather evidence effectively and timely. For example, the victim or their legal representative may want to request medical records, photographs, and surveillance footage early on. A seasoned nursing home abuse attorney in South Carolina can help victims and their loved ones understand and follow the process of locating and preserving this evidence. It is essential to send written requests for evidence so the victim has a paper trail to show what they asked for and when.

Building a Comprehensive Paper Trail

People can strengthen their claims against long-term care facilities and medical professionals by creating a paper trail that shows what happened. What this looks like and what it involves depends on the personโ€™s circumstances. However, examples of documentary materials someone can use to prove their claim include their medical history, administrative records โ€” like procedure manuals โ€” test results, visitor logs, photographs, text messages or emails, and surveillance footage.

Proving Systemic Neglect Through Facility Records

The records the facility uses to document and monitor its processes can be a powerful source of evidence, especially when the victim wants to prove systemic neglect occurred. Medical professionals working in assisted living centers must check on their patients frequently and provide a minimum level of care. The facility should have manuals or other processes in place to explain what should happen, when, and how this ensures patients receive that minimum level of care.

Patients who experienced systemic neglect may be able to use the facilityโ€™s records to prove this. For example, they can show that a specific nurse never checks on patients in the frequency or manner required under the law or procedural manual. Or, the resident can show that the facilityโ€™s administrative protocols did not do enough to provide for their basic needs.

Understanding the Role of Surveillance and Video Evidence

Surveillance and video evidence โ€” along with photographs โ€” can be powerful tools used to support someoneโ€™s claim of abuse or neglect. People can request these from the facility โ€” or ask that their attorney or advocate does so on their behalf โ€” so they can prove what occurred and when. These types of evidence may not be available in every situation because the organization may not have them in the location where the abuse occurred. However, they can be very useful sources of proof when available.

Partnering With an Attorney at Dan Pruitt Injury Law Firm To Strengthen Your Claim

Seeking compensation after experiencing abuse can be a way for someone to reclaim their physical and mental health after the trauma they have endured. Additionally, publicly holding an institution accountable for its actions can force it to enact change that may protect others.

Partnering with an attorney to help you prepare and file a nursing home abuse claimโ€‹ may give you peace of mind and a sense of relief.

The dedicated legal advocate at Dan Pruitt Injury Law Firm understands the sense of loss and frustration that you and your loved ones may be going through right now. Dan Pruitt has helped dozens of nursing home abuse victims demand restitution. While he hopes no one needs his services, he is ready to take your call and defend your rights at court or the negotiation table.

Reach out to him today by calling (864) 721-6885 to set up a time to talk to him about your circumstances.

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