If your loved one has suffered from neglect or abuse at a Hinesville nursing home, know that they are not alone. Both neglect and abuse occur way to often across various nursing homes in the state of Georgia. This is why at Schenk Smith we have dedicated all of our efforts and tools to help out elderly residents who have suffered from nursing home abuse or neglect. Once you’ve had the chance to visit our site, please contact us so that we can discuss your case. We’re here to help you.
Abuse and neglect occur often and both should never be accepted. Neglect is usually an unintentional act that results in a resident being injured. For example, if a nursing home staff member fails to follow the diet set forth by a resident’s physician, then the nursing home will be committing negligence. Abuse though is an intentional act done with the intent to harm. Abuse can come from either a nursing home staff member or another resident.
Can I sue on behalf of my loved one?
If your loved one is unable to defend themselves, or they are incapacitated in some form, then you may be able to file a suit on behalf of your loved one. In order to do so you will first need the proper authorization to do so, which usually comes in the form of a power of attorney. A power of attorney will give you the ability to file a suit on behalf of your loved one. At times a Probate court may appoint a guardian to a resident, when the resident is unable to defend themselves. Whoever is appointed will then have the ability to file a suit on behalf of the resident.
It is important to first contact an attorney to see what all of your legal options are. The legal process can be difficult at times, which is why having an attorney to guide you along the way is the best route to take. Your attorney can also help you obtain a power of attorney, so that you can then pursue a lawsuit on behalf of your loved one.
Who regulates nursing facilities?
The Healthcare Facility Regulation, which is a division of the Georgia Department of Community Health, regulates nursing homes in the state of Georgia. The Healthcare Facility Regulation licenses, oversees, and inspects Georgia’s health care facilities.
Within the Healthcare Facility Regulation, is the Office of Facility Licensure, which is responsible for licensing, certifying, and overseeing over 15,000 health care facilities, which also includes nursing homes. This office conducts investigations, receives complaints, and performs surveys. This same office provides applications and forms to health care facilities, which in turn gives these facilities a license or certification for their business.
We are Schenk Smith, your Hinesville nursing home lawyers.
At Schenk Smith we are completely dedicated towards helping elderly residents who have suffered from nursing home abuse or neglect. We do not represent any other types of clients, nor are we interested in doing so. We have dedicated all of our efforts and skills to making sure that elderly residents recoup what is rightfully theirs.
Our passion for nursing home law stems from our founding attorney Schenk Firm, who happens to also be a Marine. Before becoming an attorney, Schenk Firm was a CNA in nursing homes across Georgia, which is where our passion for nursing home cases comes from.
When you visit our site, you will encounter plenty of videos, podcast episodes, and blog articles which are all dedicated towards helping elderly residents who are pursuing a lawsuit against a negligent or abusive nursing home. After you’ve had the chance to visit our site and check out our resources, please give us a call so that we can schedule you a free consultation to discuss your case. It doesn’t matter where you live by. Whether you’re by the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Sanctuary, the Fort Stewart Military Museum, or the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, we’ve got you.
Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect in Hinesville, Georgia – What you need to know.
Hinesville, Georgia is located in Liberty County. The city has a population of 34,127 residents, of which 6.70% are aged 65 and older. Like in other nursing homes around the state of Georgia, neglect and abuse occur frequently.
What are the signs of neglect?
Nursing home neglect occurs when a nursing home fails to give a person the attention and care they properly need. The common signs of nursing home neglect are:
- Poor Hygiene
- Malnutrition
- Unexplained Injuries
- Changes in Behavior
- Unsafe/Unsanitary Living Conditions
Catching these signs early on is imperative in order to prevent the neglect from continuing. Neglect usually occurs when a nursing home fails to hire the right staff, or fails to hire enough staff. Nursing home staff members need to assist residents with basic activities such as bathing, brushing their teeth, brushing their hair, clipping their nails, and even changing their clothes.
Nursing home staff members are also required to provide their residents with a proper diet, while also maintaining a safe environment for them to live in. Failure to uphold any of these will usually result in some form of negligence, which can lead to injuries or sickness.
What are common bodily injuries in nursing homes?
Some of the most common forms of injury usually are cuts, bruises, bleeding, broken bones, and welts. These occur for a variety of reasons. They can happen from either negligent care, or they can come from some type of physical abuse. Usually when a nursing home fails to hire enough of the right staff, residents will be left alone, and at times may try to do their daily activities on their own, due to a lack of supervision. When this happens, residents are more prone to accidents such as slip and falls which can lead to a broken bone, or walking into the corner of a table, which can lead to a cut.
Another common form of bodily injury are bedsores. Bedsores, which are also known as pressure ulcers, usually occur when a resident is left in the same position for a long period of time. The pressure created on top of the bony part of their body will often lead to bedsores. Bedsores are usually easy to prevent, but when a nursing home is short on staff, or has a staff that simply doesn’t do their job, then bedsores will more than likely form on residents who are immobilized.
Why does nursing home neglect occur?
Nursing home neglect can stem from two issues, which are:
- Failure to hire the right staff
- Failure to hire enough staff
Elderly residents require a special type of care that usually requires a ton of patience. So when a nursing home hires staff members who lack the patience and knowledge needed to deal with elderly residents, negligence will usually take place.
Failure to hire enough staff will also leave the nursing home liable for neglect. Georgia law requires nursing homes to be fully staffed with competent staff members that can correctly assist elderly residents each and every day. When a nursing home fails to hire enough staff, they are left vulnerable to more elderly resident injuries. Not having enough staff means that residents won’t be monitored all day long as they should be, which leaves the door open for accidents that will ultimately leave the nursing home liable.
For a free legal consultation with a Nursing Home Abuse lawyer serving Hinesville, call (678) 823-7678
My loved one was hurt in a Hinesville nursing home – What do I do next?
If your loved one has been injured, abused, or has passed away at a Hinesville, Georgia nursing home, then we highly advise you to act immediately, in order to protect their rights.
First, report the incident to the appropriate Georgia authorities.
Georgia Department of Community Health
The Healthcare Facility Regulation division is part of the Georgia Department of Community Health which investigates cases of nursing home neglect and abuse against elderly residents. This division also regulates and certifies nursing homes in the state of 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
The Georgia Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman is another route that one can take. The Ombudsman are a group of individuals who are dedicated towards resolving cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. They are also authorized under Georgia law to enter nursing homes and ask questions so that they can seek answers.
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:
Middle Region – Georgia Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
239 NE Park Avenue, Suite C-1
Baxley, GA 31513
Telephone: (912) 367-4866
Fax: (912) 367-3849
You may report physical assault or abuse to local law enforcement
If your loved one has been assaulted by a nursing home staff member or another resident, then we highly advise you to file a police report immediately. Depending on the severity of the crime, criminal charges may be brought against the perpetrator by the District Attorney’s Office: Atlantic Judicial District.
For abuse occurring in a Hinesville, Georgia nursing home, report the crime to the Police Department of Hinesville, Georgia or the Liberty County Sheriff.
Police Department of Hinesville, Georgia
123 E M L King Jr Dr
Hinesville, GA 31313
Telephone: (912) 368-8211
Liberty County Sheriff’s Office
100 N Main St
Hinesville, GA 31313
Liberty County District Attorney’s Office
945 Elma G Miles Pkwy
Hinesville, GA 31313
Telephone: (912) 876-4151
Find another facility for your loved one.
If your loved one has suffered from nursing home abuse or neglect, then it is in your best interest to seek an alternative facility that is better suited for your loved one. When you begin your search and have identified a couple of potential locations, it is important to conduct walkthroughs. During these walkthroughs, it is best that you ask as many questions as possible, in order to get a feel for the facility and the staff itself. Another tool to utilize is the Nursing Home Compare website which is operated by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This site gives ratings to each nursing home in the county that accepts federal funding. These ratings are based off various factors including, nurse-to-resident ratios, quality, and inspection scores.
Click here to go to the Nursing Home Compare Website.
For your convenience, a list of all nursing homes located in Hinesville, Georgia is located below, along with their contact information and inspection scores.
Get the medical records from the hospital and the nursing home.
If your loved one has suffered an injury due to nursing home abuse or neglect, it is imperative that you obtain their medical records immediately. The reason this needs to be done quickly is because nursing homes will usually stop at nothing to place the blame on your loved one. For example, if your loved one suffers a broken bone due to a slip and fall over a wet surface, the nursing home will try to claim that their bone was already broken before the fall, even if the evidence shows that it wasn’t.
In order to protect your loved one’s rights, you’ll need to obtain those medical records because they will show who the primary physician was, as well as information from their hospital visit. It is also important to obtain the medical records from the nursing home itself, since those at times will show signs of neglect or abuse.
In order to obtain those medical records you will first need the proper written authorization form. This form can either be a power of attorney, a healthcare directive, or guardianship paperwork. Due to state and federal privacy laws, third parties are unable to obtain medical records without one of those forms.
If your loved one has been injured at a Hinesville nursing home, then chances are their medical records will be located at the hospital listed below. Once you’ve obtained the proper written authorization form, your next step will need to be to make a request to the Release of Information Department of the hospital.
Begin the probate process if your loved one has passed away.
If your loved one has passed away, they still have the right to pursue a lawsuit. A deceased person’s right to pursue a lawsuit is handed over to the Estate. For example, the plaintiff will go from being “Jane Doe” to “The Estate of Jane Doe”. In order to pursue the lawsuit, the Estate will first need to be established. This means that the surviving spouse, child, or relative will need to petition the Probate Court of the County in which the deceased has passed.
If you’ve found yourself in this scenario, then it is important to setup the Estate as soon as possible. While doing so, you will need to appoint a personal representative, who is often referred to as an Executor or an Administrator. This representative will then act on behalf of the Estate, and will make all the decisions with regards to the lawsuit.
Liberty County Probate Court
201 S Main St #2200
Hinesville, GA 31313
Hinesville Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Near Me (678) 823-7678
Nursing Homes in Hinesville, Georgia
Each nursing home has their own pros and cons, making all of them different from each other. Below are some nursing homes located by Hinesville, Georgia, along with pertinent information about them. This information is taken from CMS’ Nursing Home Compare Website.
| Harborview Health Systems Jesup 1090 W Orange St | Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 (Above Average) Number of Beds: 90 Number of Residents: 82 RN hours per resident per day: 20min (GA Avg: 24 min) |
| Health Inspections Rating: 4 out of 5 (Above Average) Staff Rating: 2 out of 5 (Below Average) Quality Measure Rating: 3 out of 5 (Average) Most Recent Health Inspection Date: 08-17-2017 Number of Health Citations: 1 Average Number of Health Citations in Georgia: 3.2 Number of Complaints in previous 3 years resulting citation: 0 Federal fines in previous 3 years: 0 | |
| Altamaha Healthcare Center 1311 West Cherry Street | Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 (Above Average) Number of Beds: 62 Number of Residents: 54.4 RN hours per resident per day: 9min (GA Avg: 24 min) |
| Health Inspections Rating: 4 out of 5 (Above Average) Staff Rating: 1 out of 5 (Much Below Average) Quality Measure Rating: 5 out of 5 (Much Above Average) Most Recent Health Inspection Date: 09-17-2017 Number of Health Citations: 0 Average Number of Health Citations in Georgia: 3.2 Number of Complaints in previous 3 years resulting citation: 2 Federal fines in previous 3 years: 0 | |
| Jesup Health And Rehab 3100 Savannah Highway | Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 (Above Average) Number of Beds: 72 Number of Residents: 61.7 RN hours per resident per day: 23min (GA Avg: 24 min) |
| Health Inspections Rating: 5 out of 5 (Much Above Average) Staff Rating: 1 out of 5 (Much Below Average) Quality Measure Rating: 4 out of 5 (Above Average) Most Recent Health Inspection Date: 07-07-2017 Number of Health Citations: 0 Average Number of Health Citations in Georgia: 3.2 Number of Complaints in previous 3 years resulting citation: 0 Federal fines in previous 3 years: 0 | |
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Why Choose Schenk Smith as your Nursing Home Lawyers?
When you begin searching for an attorney, you will encounter plenty of options to choose from. Even though you have options, we would like for you to consider us as the best choice. Here are a couple reasons why we think we’d be a great fit to represent you and your family:
- Highly Rated: Our attorneys have been selected as Georgia Super Lawyer Rising Stars, which is just one of the many reasons as to why we are the best Google reviewed law firm in Georgia that focuses on nursing home cases. We’ve received a lot of great feedback from our clients that you can check out for yourself by looking at their testimonials.
- Singular Approach: Since we solely focus on nursing home cases, we are very knowledgeable when there are any changes in law that may pertain to nursing home cases. Even though we offer free consultations to everyone, we are very selective with the cases we choose. But this means that we are ready and willing to see your case all the way through trial, in order to make sure that you receive the verdict or settlement you’re looking for.
- Leaders: Our attorneys are members of senior citizen advocacy groups. They also attend and lead legal education seminars dedicated to nursing home cases. These skills along with our passion has resulted in million in verdicts and settlements in just the last two years.
If your loved one was injured or died in a Hinesville, 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