Reviewed byOur Alabama Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Can Help You Get Justice
Senior Justice Law Firm represents Alabama nursing home residents and families in cases involving pressure injuries, falls, medication errors, infections, abuse, neglect and wrongful death. Alabama licensed attorney Avery Adcock and our nursing home litigation team investigate facility records, staffing evidence, care plans and corporate ownership to determine why an injury occurred and who may be responsible.
At Senior Justice Law Firm, nursing home abuse and neglect cases are all that we do. Our firm focus is fighting on behalf of wrongfully neglected facility residents and their families. We hold negligent healthcare facilities accountable for bed sores, broken bones and broken promises.
Call or live chat with our office today for a completely free Alabama nursing home abuse lawyer case consultation: 888-375-9998
Frequently Asked Questions of our Alabama Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
What is considered Alabama elder abuse?
Elder abuse is intentional abuse, along with withholding essential care to a resident or patient in need. This could mean everything from sexual assault to ignoring a resident, resulting in a fall. Elder abuse is a broadly defined term that means much more than physically hitting a nursing home resident.
Why bring a nursing home negligence lawsuit in Alabama?
These cases are about recovering monetary damages, but also deterring the nursing home from letting this happen again. By recovering damages in a nursing home negligence claim, yes, your family will get money. But more importantly, you are telling a for-profit nursing home company, you cannot get away with this. You cannot neglect your residents and allow this to happen again. This message is sent with every nursing home negligence settlement and verdict.
Why did this bed sore develop?
Bed sores are easily preventable. The nurse or aide needs to reposition the resident so that their weight shifts and the pressure is relieved. If not, they will develop bed sores, or pressure ulcers. Bed sores and ulcers are sadly our most common injury type.
How are falls prevented in long term care facilities?
Nursing homes are legally required under Alabama law to care plan for fall-risk residents. This means the nursing home should utilize fall preventative interventions. Some examples include floor mats, bed alarms, side rails, increased supervision, a frequent toileting schedule and quick call bell response time. Resident falls are a frequently litigated nursing home injury in Alabama.
Why should I choose Senior Justice Law Firm to be my Alabama nursing home abuse lawyer?
At Senior Justice Law Firm, elder abuse and nursing home negligence cases are all we do. We are not car accident lawyers. We do not handle premises liability claims. We are singularly focused on nursing home abuse cases. This likely means we have experience against the same company or corporations you will be suing in your nursing home neglect case.
How much do I need to pay to retain your firm?
Nothing. We require no retainer or out of pocket payments; ever. We work on a contingency fee arrangement. This means we only get paid if we make a recovery on your case. If so, Alabama law allows us to take a percentage of the total amount won for you and your family.
How long do you have to file an Alabama nursing home lawsuit?
The deadline depends on the nature of the claim. If the claim is governed by the Alabama Medical Liability Act, it generally must be filed within two years after the act or omission that caused the injury. If the injury could not reasonably have been discovered within that period, Alabama law may allow filing within six months after discovery, subject to an outside four year limit and limited statutory exceptions. See Ala. Code § 6-5-482.
An Alabama wrongful death action generally must be filed within two years after the resident’s death. See Ala. Code § 6-5-410. These deadlines can be complicated, and investigating a case does not stop the limitations period from running. Families should consult an Alabama nursing home lawyer as soon as possible.
Does Alabama’s Medical Liability Act apply to a nursing home lawsuit?
The Alabama Medical Liability Act, commonly called the AMLA, may apply when a nursing home claim arises from the provision of medical or healthcare services by a qualifying healthcare provider. If it applies, the AMLA can affect the filing deadline, pleading requirements, discovery, venue, standard of proof and qualifications required of expert witnesses.
The AMLA does not necessarily govern every incident occurring inside a nursing home. Whether it applies depends on the defendants, the conduct at issue and whether the claim concerns the delivery of healthcare services. Claims involving medical judgment, nursing care, wound treatment, medication administration or clinical monitoring are more likely to implicate the AMLA than claims unrelated to healthcare. An attorney should evaluate each potential claim individually.
Who can bring an Alabama nursing home wrongful death claim?
Under Alabama law, a wrongful death lawsuit ordinarily must be brought by the personal representative of the deceased resident’s estate. The personal representative is usually an executor named in a will or an administrator appointed by the probate court. A spouse, child or other family member does not automatically have authority to file the lawsuit merely because of that family relationship.
If no estate has been opened, it may be necessary to begin probate proceedings and obtain letters testamentary or letters of administration. Because the appointment process takes time and a wrongful death claim generally must be filed within two years after death, families should seek legal advice promptly. See Ala. Code § 6-5-410.
What damages are available in an Alabama nursing home wrongful death case?
Alabama’s wrongful death law is different from the law in every other state. Damages awarded under Alabama’s general wrongful death statute are punitive rather than compensatory. Their purpose is to punish wrongful conduct and deter similar conduct, not to calculate the monetary value of the resident’s medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost income or the family’s grief.
The amount, if any, is determined by the jury based principally on the wrongfulness of the defendant’s conduct. Wrongful death proceeds are not used to pay the decedent’s debts and are distributed according to Alabama’s statute of distributions rather than under the decedent’s will. Other claims or damages may sometimes require separate analysis, particularly when the resident had a pending personal injury action before death.
Where can nursing home abuse or neglect be reported in Alabama?
Complaints involving abuse, neglect, poor care, inadequate staffing, unsafe conditions or mistreatment in an Alabama nursing home can be submitted to the Alabama Department of Public Health, which acts as the state survey agency for nursing homes. ADPH provides an online Nursing Home Complaint Form and accepts complaints through its nursing home complaint email address. The ElderCare Hotline can also be reached at 1-800-356-9596.
Suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a protected adult may also be reported to the Alabama Department of Human Resources’ Adult Protective Services program. Families may contact Alabama’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program for assistance with resident-rights and care concerns. Call 911 or local law enforcement when a resident faces an immediate threat or a suspected crime has occurred.
Filing an administrative complaint does not file a civil lawsuit or stop the applicable statute of limitations. So if you would like to investigate an injury or death claim against a facility, speak with an Alabama nursing home abuse attorney today.
How can families obtain nursing home inspection and complaint records?
Recent federal inspection reports, health citations, penalties, staffing information and ownership data for Medicare or Medicaid certified nursing homes are available through Medicare’s Care Compare website and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ public datasets. A nursing home must also make the results of its most recent surveys available for residents to examine.
Additional state inspection and complaint investigation records may be requested from the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Health Provider Standards. A useful request should identify the facility, its address, the approximate date range and the records sought, such as annual surveys, complaint surveys, plans of correction, enforcement correspondence and license records. Some information may be redacted or withheld to protect residents, medical information or the identity of a complainant.
Inspection records can reveal regulatory deficiencies, but a citation does not automatically establish civil liability. Likewise, the absence of a citation does not necessarily mean that legally required care was provided.
What evidence should a family preserve after suspected nursing home neglect?
Families should preserve photographs and videos of injuries or living conditions; hospital and nursing home records; medication lists; discharge paperwork; care plan documents, billing records; admission documents; arbitration agreements; emails and text messages; and written communications with facility employees.
It is also helpful to create a dated chronology identifying changes in the resident’s condition, complaints made to the facility, staff responses, transfers to the hospital and the names of potential witnesses. Preserve the resident’s clothing or personal property if it may relate to an injury.
Who can be sued in an Alabama nursing home abuse or neglect case?
Potential defendants may include the licensed facility operator, management company, property or operating entities, parent company, staffing agency, administrator, medical provider or individual employee. However, a company is not liable merely because its name appears in the corporate structure. The evidence must establish a legally recognized basis for responsibility.
Relevant questions include which entity employed and supervised the caregivers, established staffing budgets, controlled policies, maintained clinical systems, provided management services or directly participated in the conduct that caused the injury. A staffing company may be responsible for the conduct of agency personnel, while a management or parent company may be liable if it exercised sufficient control or engaged in its own negligent conduct.
Nursing home ownership structures frequently include several related limited liability companies. A proper investigation may require reviewing state license records, Medicare ownership disclosures, management agreements, payroll and staffing documents, corporate filings and facility contracts before determining which parties should be named.
Speak with an experienced Alabama nursing home abuse attorney to learn more about how to determine who owns and controls the facility that harmed your loved one.
Alabama Law Protects Vulnerable Nursing Home Patients from Abuse, Neglect and Injury
420-5-10-.05 codifies Alabama’s nursing home residents’ rights. This protects Alabama’s most frail and vulnerable nursing home residents.
These protections include:
- the right to be treated with dignity, privacy and respect
- the right to live in a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, free of nursing home abuse and neglect
- the right to exercise their rights as citizens of the United States and of the State of Alabama
- the right to be fully informed in writing of all facility services and charges for those services
- the right to have their money and property protected
- the right to manage their financial affairs
- the right of freedom of choice to make their own decisions
- the right to privacy and confidentiality of their medical and clinical records
- the right to an accessible grievance procedure (complaints of nursing home neglect) that is easy to use
- the right to refuse to perform services for the facility unless they desire to do so and it is documented in the plan of care
- the right to be free from physical restraints or psychoactive drugs administered for discipline or convenience, or not required to treat their medical symptoms
- the right to be free of verbal, mental, sexual, or physical nursing home abuse
- the right to examine the results of the most recent Federal or State survey of the facility
- the right to be free of interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal from the facility in exercising these rights
- the right to be informed both orally and in writing of their rights and all the rules and regulations governing their conduct and responsibilities during their stay in the facility
Violation of the Alabama residents rights can result in a nursing home negligence claim.
What Our Lawyers Examine in an Alabama Nursing Home Case
Our Alabama nursing home lawyers examine far more than the resident’s medical chart. We investigate care plans, nursing notes, medication records, wound assessments, fall-risk evaluations, hospital records and electronic chart audit trails to determine what care was provided, when entries were made and whether documentation was altered or completed late. We may also analyze staffing levels, employee schedules, agency-staff usage, call-light response data, incident reports, surveillance footage, state inspection findings and prior complaints involving the facility.
Because nursing homes often operate through multiple related companies, we investigate the facility’s licensee, management company, corporate owner, staffing providers and other entities that may have controlled resident care, policies or staffing budgets. This evidence helps us determine how the injury occurred, whether it could have been prevented and which individuals or companies may be legally responsible.
Speak with an Alabama Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Now, For Free
Live chat with our office or call us today for your free Alabama nursing home abuse lawyer consultation: 888-375-9998.
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Alabama Nursing Home Abuse Law Firm
