Have you or a loved one been abused or mistreated in a nursing home in Raleigh, North Carolina? Call Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers at (919) 876-3020 for a free consultation. Our experienced Raleigh nursing home abuse lawyers are ready to help you demand maximum compensation.
Discovering signs of abuse or neglect in a nursing home can be devastating. Whether it’s physical injuries, emotional mistreatment, financial exploitation, or neglect of basic needs, no resident should suffer in silence. Contact our dedicated team, and we will fight to hold negligent facilities and staff accountable.
Why Choose Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers for Help With Your Nursing Home Abuse Case in Raleigh, NC?
For more than four decades, Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers has been a fierce and successful legal advocate for injury victims and families in North Carolina. Drawing on 190+ years of combined attorney experience, we’ve taken on powerful corporations and won more than $850 million in damages for our clients (see disclaimer below).
Our Raleigh personal injury lawyers have received over 1,800 five-star reviews from former clients and won some of the highest honors in the legal industry.
We’re recognized as:
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 100
- Super Lawyers and Super Lawyers Rising Stars
- Best Lawyers of America
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent litigators
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40
- Members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
We provide clients with custom-built legal strategies and compassionate representation. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation and let us get to work for you.
What is Nursing Home Abuse?
Nursing home abuse broadly refers to the intentional or reckless mistreatment of nursing home residents by their caretakers.
It’s more common than you might think. A survey conducted by the World Health Organization revealed that two-thirds of all caretakers surveyed admitted to having abused a nursing home resident.
Nursing home abuse can take many forms, including:
- Physical nursing home abuse – occurs when a caretaker causes a resident physical bodily harm by hitting, pushing, punching, shoving, pulling their hair, or using restraints that are too tight.
- Emotional or psychological nursing home abuse – involves systematic and repeated attempts to belittle, humiliate, and cause a resident to experience emotional distress and anguish.
- Financial nursing home abuse – involves stealing a resident’s physical property, identity theft, misappropriating resident funds, and using a resident’s credit cards without their consent.
- Sexual nursing home abuse – involves forcing a resident to participate in or watch sexually explicit behavior without their consent.
- Nursing home neglect – occurs when a resident is deprived of necessary shelter, food, water, medical care, medication, or assistance, either intentionally or because of a caretaker’s negligence.
Understanding the different types of nursing home abuse is the first step toward recognizing the warning signs and taking action to protect your loved ones.
Common Signs of Nursing Home Abuse
Many residents experience several different forms of nursing home abuse. It’s important to know what signs and symptoms to look out for if your loved one is currently residing in a facility.
Indications of nursing home abuse can include:
- Unexplained physical trauma and injuries, including broken bones, bruises, or cuts and lacerations
- Malnutrition
- Dehydration
- Chronic sickness or illness
- Fearfulness, especially around caretakers
- Isolation and withdrawal
- Confusion
- Depression and anxiety
- Bed sores and pressure ulcers
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Unexplained expenses and credit card bills
If you suspect that an elderly or disabled family member is being abused at a Raleigh, NC, nursing home, call the local police department and notify the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation (DHSR). Then, contact our experienced Raleigh nursing home abuse attorneys to discuss your situation, get answers to your questions, and discover how we can help you make things right.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse Cases We Handle
Our firm fights for nursing home residents and families in all types of nursing abuse cases, including:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Abandonment
- Wandering
- Elopement
- Isolation
- Bed sores
- Bed bugs
- Assault
- Sexual assault
- Medical malpractice
- Choking injuries
- Wrongful death
We can offer the high-level experience, knowledge, and skills required to litigate a complex nursing home abuse case and help your family recover a substantial monetary award. You can learn more about our extensive experience and proven track record of success by calling our Raleigh law office today.
How Much is My Civil Nursing Home Abuse Case Worth?
A lot of different things will impact the potential value of your nursing home abuse case.
Some key factors are:
- What types of injuries did the resident suffer?
- Will the resident seek new living arrangements?
- Has the resident’s life expectancy changed?
- How has the resident’s quality of life been affected?
- What insurance benefits are available?
- Was the resident the victim of financial abuse?
- If so, what is the value of the stolen goods, funds, or property?
The more seriously a nursing home resident is injured and the more their overall quality of life suffers because of the abuse they’ve experienced, the more compensation they can generally expect to receive through a personal injury claim or lawsuit.
What Compensation Can Be Awarded in a Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit?
In North Carolina, victims of nursing home neglect and abuse can ask for compensatory damages in a personal injury lawsuit.
Compensatory damages include economic damages to cover objective financial consequences, and non-economic damages to help with harder-to-value trauma.
Commonly awarded damages include money for:
- Current and future medical bills
- Financial restitution
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Costs to transfer to a new nursing facility
- Funeral expenses if nursing abuse is fatal
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Reduced quality of life
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
Punitive damages can also be awarded by a jury when there is clear and convincing proof that a nursing home or caretaker acted with malice or gross negligence.
What Does it Cost to Hire a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney in Raleigh?
Choosing Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers means paying nothing for legal representation until our law firm has won compensation for your nursing home abuse case. We represent clients on a contingency fee basis. This means our fees are directly related to the case results we achieve. If we don’t win, you’ll pay nothing.
When we secure a settlement or win a verdict at trial, we’re paid out of that financial award. It varies, but the typical fee for nursing home abuse cases ranges between 30 and 40 percent of the gross recovery.
Who Could Be Liable for Nursing Abuse?
In North Carolina, anyone who plays a part in causing a nursing home resident to suffer needless harm can be liable in a court of law.
Potentially liable parties might include a:
- Nursing facility
- Certified nursing assistant (CNA)
- Nurse
- Physician
- Physical therapist
- Nursing home staff member
Many times, residents and their families can bring claims against nursing facilities under the doctrine of respondeat superior on the grounds that the facility is vicariously liable for its employees’ negligence or harmful actions. At the end of the day, liability is proportionate to fault. The more someone contributes to nursing abuse, the more they can be held legally responsible for the consequences.
What is the Statute of Limitations on Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuits in North Carolina?
North Carolina has a three-year statute of limitations that applies to most personal injury cases, including those related to nursing home abuse. The statute of limitations is just two years for wrongful death claims. In these situations, the family has two years from the date of the resident’s passing to bring a wrongful death action.
You have to initiate your legal claim before time runs out. Once the filing deadline passes, you’ll lose the ability to sue the nursing facility and hold it accountable for the considerable harm it’s caused your family member.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced Raleigh Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
Call Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers if someone you love has been abused at a nursing home, assisted living facility, or rehabilitation center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Your family should not have to navigate the consequences of abuse and neglect alone.
Our experienced Raleigh nursing home abuse attorneys can help you assert a winning legal claim for damages. When your family is in crisis, know that you can count on our top-rated legal team for support and winning legal representation. There’s no charge for an initial consultation. Contact our Raleigh law office today.