Are you concerned that your loved one is being abused or neglect in a nursing home? Nursing home abuse and neglect occur too often. We have dedicated our website to providing the information and tools you can use to do something about the situation. You will find answers to hundreds of questions on our website and we are here to discuss your particular situation with you. We want to help.
One of the most helpful things to know is the difference between abuse and neglect. While the terms are used by some people interchangeably, they are different. Abuse is an intentional act that causes an injury to a nursing home resident. For instance, punching a resident is an abusive act. Neglect is harm that is caused unintentionally. For example, the nursing home may fail to get medical help for a resident when it is warranted. Both abuse and neglect can cause suffering and injuries or even death. Your loved one does not need to tolerate these types of actions.
Suing the facility. What to expect?
Lawsuits against nursing homes for abuse or neglect work slightly different than some other types of lawsuits. Nursing home lawsuits are often taken on a contingency basis. This means that you won’t have to pay anything up-front. Your attorney will be paid once the case is resolved. Your lawyer will need your help with some issues such as obtaining medical records for your loved one. Sometimes the nursing home will settle the lawsuit before it goes to court. If a fair settlement isn’t possible, your lawyer will represent your loved one in court.
It is helpful to understand that not all nursing home lawsuits are alike. Each situation has a unique set of circumstances and therefore each case will be different from the next. What occurred with one case may not happen in your case because of a varied set of factors. Count on your attorney to answer your questions and provide guidance throughout the process.
Is a nursing home trial expensive? How can I afford it?
Legal representation can sometimes be costly; however, in the majority of nursing home cases the attorneys take the cases on contingency. This means that as the client, you won’t need to pay for legal services until the case is successfully resolved. The attorney’s fees will be paid directly from the money that is provided as part of a verdict or settlement.
There are other expenses that you might encounter throughout the case. For instance, you might need to pay for copies of medical records or an expert witness may need to be retained. These costs may also be paid for by the attorney and you can repay them at the end of the case along with any other attorney’s fees that are owed. Therefore, you will not encounter any immediate expenses.
We are Schenk Smith, your Braselton nursing home lawyers.
We have a passion for what we do and it shows on our website. Our entire focus is on nursing home abuse, neglect and wrongful death cases. We understand nursing home abuse and neglect and want to help you understand it so you can seek justice for your loved one. We provide hundreds of blogs and videos as well as podcasts that provide answers to some of the most common questions.
If you look through our site and want to know more or have questions about your particular case, we are here to help. We are available to meet with you whether you are located near the golf club, Historic District or Braselton Park. We will be there to help.
Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect in Braselton, Georgia- What you need to know.
Braselton, Georgia is located in Gwinnett, Bartow, Hall and Jackson Counties and has a population of 8,409 residents. Of those, 12.10% are aged 65 and older. Nursing home abuse and neglect can occur anywhere, even in Braselton.
If I report abuse will it get worse?
An abusive situation should never be tolerated and must always be reported. Yet you or your loved one may worry that the abuse will get worse if it is reported. Rest assured that in most situations the nursing home will do everything possible to ensure that there is no further occurrence. Nursing homes must always provide a safe home for residents.
However, it can still be a scary and traumatic time for your loved one. You might wonder whether the nursing home handled the problem adequately and if not, your loved one could suffer again. While abuse may not continue or worsen, everyone may feel better if you move your loved one to another facility. This will ease your loved one’s concerns and put your mind at ease.
- Report abuse: Always report an occurrence of abuse to the nursing home management. They must make a report to document the situation and will need to monitor to ensure that it does not continue.
- File a police report: Physical and other types of abuse are unlawful. They are criminal behaviors that must be brought to the attention of the police. The police will investigate the matter and determine whether any actions should be taken against those who committed the abuse.
- Move to another facility: To ensure that your loved one is safe from further injury it may be best to move to another facility. This will allow your loved one the security and protection that is deserved and there will be no more worries that retaliation could happen.
Nursing home falls. How are they prevented?
Falls are among the most common type of injury in nursing homes. Falls occur for a number of reasons but with proper care and supervision they can be prevented.
- Facility safety: The nursing home must be safe for residents, visitors and caregivers. The floors must be kept clean and free from debris or liquid that can make them slippery. Railings and other devices should be installed to assist people as they move around the facility. Floors and carpets have to be inspected and maintained to ensure that they are not hazardous.
- Resident assistance: Many nursing home residents require help with mobility. Some need more help than others. Regardless of what is needed, there should be enough staff members to assist residents when they need to move around. If the facility is understaffed residents may need to wait long periods of time for help or might try walking on their own, even if they don’t feel safe.
- Proper staff training: Staff members have to receive proper training so they understand the needs of the residents they care for. When a caregiver doesn’t know how to properly assist a resident it can result in a fall. For example, staff members need to know how to safely transfer a resident from the bed to a wheelchair.
Where can I go to find out if this nursing home hurt other people?
Nursing homes often try to avoid giving out information about complaints and lawsuits against them regarding abuse or neglect. There are other places you can go to find out this information.
One of the best options that we recommend is the Nursing Home Compare Website. This website offers comparisons of services at all nursing homes across the country. It is provided by the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). They gather and compile data about all facilities in Georgia.
There is some important information you can find using this website. Some of the important data includes:
- Number of complaints: This will let you know how many complaints were filed in the last three years. Keep in mind that not all complaints result in lawsuits. However, a complaint could be serious.
- Federal fines: If the nursing home was fined in the last three years you will see the number of fines and the amount of the fines.
- Health citations: The nursing home may have been cited for health violations. The number of citations is listed as well as the date of the last health inspection. A health citation may sometimes be issued as the result of a call or complaint that was received.
For a free legal consultation with a Nursing Home Abuse lawyer serving Braselton, call (678) 823-7678
My loved one was hurt in a Braselton nursing home- What do I do next?
If your loved one was severely injured or passed away at a Braselton, Georgia nursing home, then we recommend that you act as soon as possible to protect your loved one’s rights.
First, report the incident to the appropriate Georgia authorities
Georgia Department of Community Health
The Georgia Department of Community Health’s Healthcare Facility Regulation investigates nursing homes for neglect and abuse. Their offices also regulate and certify nursing homes in Georgia.
You can file a complaint with the Georgia Department of Community Health, Healthcare Facility Regulation online by clicking this link. Here is additional contact information:
Georgia Department of Community Health, Healthcare Facility Regulation
Complaint Hotline: (800) 878-6442
Complaint Fax: (404) 657-5731
Georgia Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Another option available to you is to file a complaint with the Georgia Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. The ombudsman program has offices statewide. They have the training necessary to advocate on behalf of nursing home residents and their families. They work to resolve complaints between residents and nursing homes and are legally allowed to go into nursing homes to ask questions in an effort to find out about the complaint.
You can file a complaint with the Georgia Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman online by clicking on this link. Here is additional contact information:
Eastern Region – Georgia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
135 Hoyt Street
Athens, GA 30601-2646
Telephone: (706) 549-4850
Fax: (706) 227-8337
You may also report physical assault or abuse to local law enforcement
There are situations where your loved one has been physically assaulted, abused or physically injured or killed. . In these instances it may be necessary to file a police report. The police will investigate and if warranted, charges may be brought against the staff by the District Attorney’s Office: Gwinnett Judicial District.
For abuse occurring in a Braselton, Georgia nursing home, report the crime to the Braselton Police Department or to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department
Braselton Police Department
5040 Hwy 53
Braselton, GA 30517
Telephone: (706) 658-2852
Gwinnett County Sheriff
2900 University Pkwy
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
Telephone: (770) 619-6500
District Attorney’s Office: Gwinnett Judicial District
75 Langley Dr.
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
Telephone: (770) 822-8400
Find another facility for your loved one.
If your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect and has been injured, you may want to consider changing nursing homes. You can find another facility for your loved one where proper treatment and care will be provided. When you look for another nursing home it is recommended that you visit the facility and take a look around. Even if it looks good, you can still find out more information about it by going online to the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) website. They offer a useful tool on their Nursing Home Compare Website that gives you useful information such as the overall quality of care rating, the nurse to resident ratio, inspection scores and more.
Click here to go to the Nursing Home Compare Website.
For your convenience, a list of all nursing homes located within Braselton, Georgia is located below, along with their contact information and inspection scores.
Get the medical records from the hospital and the nursing home.
Your loved one’s medical records are an essential part of an abuse or neglect case against the nursing home. The records provide important information that details the injury, when it happened and how it occurred. The nursing home may try to say that the injury was part of a preexisting condition, even if it is apparent that the injury must have happened while under their care. Medical records will show that your loved one’s injuries were likely caused by abuse or neglect.
The law protects people’s privacy and therefore, you cannot simply ask for medical records, even for a relative. A spouse, sibling or child cannot obtain these medical documents. Only someone with legal authority can obtain the medical records of your loved one. Legal authority can be provided through durable power of attorney, a health directive or by legal guardianship.
If your loved one was injured in a Braselton nursing home it is likely that treatment was provided by one of the hospitals listed below. Once you have legal authority you may make a formal request to the ‘Release of Information’ Department of the hospital. The contact information for these departments is listed here:
- Northeast Georgia Medical Center – Braselton: (770) 848-8000
- Gwinnett Medical Center: (678) 312-1000
- Eastside Medical Center: (770) 979-0200
Begin the probate process if your loved one has passed away.
It is helpful to understand the probate process. When you are alive you have the right to file your own lawsuits if you were the victim of wrongdoing. That right continues even after your death. After death, a person’s affairs are handled by their estate. In the case of a lawsuit, the plaintiff would be the deceased’s estate. Before a lawsuit can be filed the estate must be established.
In order to establish an estate a surviving spouse or other relative may petition the Probate Court of the county where the person passed away. If your loved one passed away it is best to establish an estate as soon as possible so that various actions can be taken including filing a lawsuit if necessary.
When the estate is established the court will appoint someone to be the representative. That person may be called an administrator or executor. This person has the legal authority to act on behalf of the estate and can hire an attorney, file a lawsuit or take other actions as deemed prudent.
Click here for the Probate Court of Gwinnett County.
Gwinnett County Probate Court
75 Langley Dr.
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
Telephone: (770) 822-8250
Braselton Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Near Me (678) 823-7678
Nursing Homes in Braselton, Georgia
If you are looking for a nursing home you know that they are all different. This list of nursing homes in Braselton, Georgia provides you with useful information that will help you make a choice. This information was obtained from the CMS Nursing Home Compare Website.
| Winder Health Care and Rehabilitation Center
263 E May Street Winder, GA 30680 |
Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 (Much Below Average)
Number of Beds: 163 Number of Residents: 125 RN hours per resident per day: 10min (GA Avg: 34min) |
| Health Inspection Rating: 1 out of 5 (Much Below Average)
Staff Rating: 1 out of 5 (Much Below Average) Quality Measure Rating: 3 out of 5 (Average) Most Recent Health Inspection Date: 04-20-2017 Number of Health Citations: 9 Average Number of Health Citations in Georgia: 3.2 Number of Complaints in previous 3 years resulting in citation: 1 Federal fines in previous 3 years: 0 |
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Why Choose Schenk Smith as your Nursing Home Lawyers?
There are thousands of attorneys located in Georgia. We know you have options when it comes to legal representation. We want you to know that we would like you to consider our firm for your legal needs. Here are just a few of the reasons why we think our firm would be a good fit:
- Focus: We focus on nursing home lawsuits – it’s all we handle. That makes it easier for us to resolve cases and to help you achieve the best results. We provide quite a bit of useful information on our website to help you better understand nursing home abuse and neglect. We have hundreds of blogs, videos and podcasts on our website.
- Responsiveness: When you work with our firm we assign you to an attorney who will be your main point of contact. You will even have access to your attorney’s cell phone number. Our clients have provided good feedback and often report that we treated them like family.
- Experience: Our attorneys have the experience necessary to handle all types of nursing home cases. One of our founding attorneys, Schenk Firm, was a CNA at Georgia nursing homes for almost a decade. We know nursing homes and understand how to work with them and with their lawyers. We work hard to ensure that your loved one gets the best representation possible.
If your loved one was injured or died in a Braselton, Georgia nursing home, please call us at Schenk Smith (678) 823-7678 for a free consultation. You can also check out hundreds of video FAQs on our website.
Call or text (678) 823-7678 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form