Are you worried that your loved one was abused or neglected in a Suwanee nursing home? Nursing home abuse and neglect is not uncommon. That is why we provide you with the tools and resources you need to learn what to do to fight back. We provide answers to many questions online but if you have any additional questions please feel free to give us a call. We are here to assist you in any way we can.
It is helpful to understand the difference between abuse and neglect. Abuse occurs when someone intentionally does something to hurt another. For instance, if a staff member hits a nursing home resident it is likely considered abuse. Neglect is unintentional but can still be harmful. An example of neglect is when a caregiver fails to notice a bedsore and does not seek medical treatment. Abuse and neglect have no place in a nursing home and should not be tolerated.
What is the purpose of filing a lawsuit?
If your loved one was injured due to abuse or neglect in a nursing home, a lawsuit may be the best course of action. There are several reasons you may want to file a lawsuit. It is important to seek justice for your loved one. A nursing home should be held accountable for their actions and for harming residents. You want to report the situation and bring it to the attention of others so that the same thing doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Your loved one suffered injuries that may have been very costly. There were likely medical tests, hospital visits, surgery and recovery that are all expensive. In addition, your loved one was likely in a great deal of pain due to the injury. None of this should have occurred and the responsible party should pay for any expenses that were incurred as a result.
Should I use a hidden camera at a nursing home?
Although you may be tempted to use a hidden camera to document possible abuse or neglect, it may not be helpful. The camera might not capture the neglect and it might not show all of details of the occurrence. At the same time, your loved one may have privacy concerns about having a camera take videos of everything they do as they go about their day. This can be an embarrassing situation for your loved one.
If you have a feeling that the nursing home is abusing or neglecting your loved one you may be right. Rather than waiting for the actions to occur again, it might be a better idea to remove your loved one from the potentially harmful situation as soon as possible. Then, discuss the matter with an attorney to determine your options and decide what steps to take going forward.
We are Schenk Smith, your Suwanee nursing home lawyers.
You may see that we have a lot of information about nursing home abuse and neglect on our website. That’s because all we handle are nursing home lawsuits. We focus on only on nursing homes so we can provide you with the best representation possible. Our attorneys have the knowledge to resolve all types of nursing home cases and we also help educate the public about this terrible problem.
We are passionate about what we do and strive to fight for justice for those who were injured due to neglect or abuse in nursing homes. Feel free to view our videos, read the blogs and take a look at our podcasts to learn answers to your questions. We know you will have other concerns so please give us a call when you are ready. We are here for you and will meet you wherever you are located including near Fort Yargo State Park, Southeastern Railway Museum and the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids.
Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect in Suwanee, Georgia- What you need to know.
Suwanee, Georgia is located in Gwinnett County and has a population of 18,001 residents. Of those, 8.50% are aged 65 and older. Nursing home abuse and neglect can and do happen everywhere including in Suwanee.
What are some of the types of neglect?
Neglect is an unintentional act or lack of action that leads to harm or injury of a nursing home resident. There are several main types of neglect including:
- Basic needs neglect: Basic needs are food, water and shelter. A nursing home must provide all residents with a clean and safe environment in which to live. When your loved one is deprived of a basic need it might be considered neglect. For example, your loved one might be confined to a wheelchair and requires assistance to go from the wheelchair to the bed. If a caregiver fails to help and your loved one falls and gets hurt, the nursing home might be considered negligent.
- Medical neglect: When your loved one lives in a nursing home you expect that they will receive proper medical attention when it is needed. If the nursing home fails to seek medical care for your loved one it likely a sign of neglect. For instance, if your loved one developed an infection but it went unnoticed and untreated for several days it may worsen and could become life-threatening. The nursing home should have been aware of the problem and provided medical care immediately.
- Neglect of personal hygiene: Your one may require assistance to perform their daily hygiene tasks such as brushing their hair, washing their face and toileting. When help is not provided you may notice that your loved one looks unkempt or has soiled clothing. The nursing home is responsible for providing the help necessary to take care of a resident’s personal hygiene.
What is a bedsore? Is it the same as a pressure ulcer?
Bedsores are painful sores that appear on the body in areas where pressure continues to be placed on the skin. Bedsores are also known as pressure ulcers or pressure sores. Once they develop they can be difficult to heal and they may deepen and easily become infected.
- Diagnosis: Bedsores should not occur but if they do it is important that they be diagnosed quickly before they are allowed to worsen. Caregivers should look for red marks, particularly in areas where the body rubs against the bedding, such as the heels, tailbone and elbows. Bedsores should be examined by a physician immediately.
- Treatment: A treatment plan is essential to ensure that bedsores heal. They are often difficult to treat because the area often continues to rub in the same spot and that can make the sore deepen, open up and become infected. Treatment should start immediately to prevent infection. If an infection develops it must be treated as a medical emergency.
- Prevention: Nursing homes should prevent bedsores from occurring in the first place. Bedsores most often appear on those who are bedridden or immobile. These residents need to be repositioned every few hours since they are unable to do so themselves. Caregivers must be educated on how to identify bedsores in their early stages so that treatment can be provided.
Who is held responsible for the nursing home neglect?
If your loved one was neglected in a nursing home there may be one or more parties that are responsible. Sometimes the situation is complex and your attorney will need to investigate what caused the injury in order to ensure that the correct party is held responsible.
- Employee: The staff member, nurse or other employee who committed the neglectful act might be responsible for the injury. For example, when a nurse fails to change a dirty catheter it could result in a serious infection. However, the nursing home itself is generally responsible for the care that their employees provide.
- Nursing home: Many times, the nursing home itself is responsible for neglectful care of a resident. A nursing home is required to provide proper care to everyone who lives in the facility. They must oversee employees and make sure that the facility is safe. Ultimately, the nursing home is most often responsible for injuries caused by their staff members.
- Third party: In some cases, a third party could be responsible for an injury in a nursing home. For instance, if a resident is injured when a wheelchair breaks, the wheelchair manufacturer may be responsible if the wheelchair is proven to be defective.
My loved one was hurt in a Suwanee nursing home- What do I do next?
If your loved one was severely injured or passed away at a Suwanee, 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
One other option that is available to you is to file a complaint with the Georgia Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. The ombudsman program is designed to act as a liaison between residents and nursing homes. They advocate on behalf of the nursing home resident and are legally allowed to enter nursing homes to ask questions. They have offices across the state and are trained to work to resolve complaints.
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
You have the option of reporting an assault or other criminal activity such as abuse to the police. Once you file a police report the matter will be investigated and if warranted, criminal charges may be brought against the alleged perpetrator by the District Attorney’s Office: Gwinnett Judicial District.
For abuse occurring in a Suwanee, Georgia nursing home, report the crime to the City of Suwanee Police Department or or to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department
City of Suwanee Police Department
330 Town Center Avenue
Suwanee, GA 30024
Telephone: (770) 945-8996
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.
Sometimes the best thing to do is to find another facility for your loved one. This is particularly important in situations where your loved one is being abused or continues to be in danger. Finding a new nursing home can be a daunting experience. You want to choose a facility that will provide high quality care and protect your loved one from harm.
You may want to visit the nursing home and do a walk-through to see if the facility is clean and the care seems to be good. In addition, you can check out the ratings of the nursing home using a useful tool provided through the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). They compile data about nursing homes across the country. You can find useful information such as inspection data, nurse to resident ratio, quality ratings and more.
Click here to go to the Nursing Home Compare Website.
For your convenience, a list of all nursing homes located within Suwanee, 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 was abused or neglected in a nursing home you will need to gather medical records about the injuries. The medical records will be critical to your case because they will help prove when the injury happened, how it occurred and other information. The nursing home may dispute the complaint and may try to say that your loved one’s injury was preexisting or happened elsewhere. Therefore, you will need all medical records including those from the primary physician, hospital where treatment was provided and the nursing home itself.
Medical records are protected under federal and state privacy laws. The law prohibits medical records to be provided to anyone except the patient. Even a spouse or child cannot simply request records without legal authority. In order to obtain medical records for your loved one you will have to have durable power of attorney, a health directive or legal guardianship.
Once you have legal authorization you may make a formal request to the hospital where your loved one received treatment. If your loved one was injured in a Suwanee nursing home it is likely that treatment was provided at one of the hospitals listed below. You may make a formal request to the ‘Release of Information’ Department of the hospital. The contact information for the hospitals is provided here:
Begin the probate process if your loved one has passed away.
When a person is alive they are able to file a lawsuit on their own behalf and are considered the plaintiff. When someone passes away, they still have the right to file a lawsuit. However, it must be filed on their behalf by a legally authorized party. For example, the plaintiff would be the deceased’s estate.
In most cases, an estate needs to be established before a lawsuit can be filed. To establish an estate a surviving spouse or other relative must petition the Probate Court of the county where the person passed away.
When an estate is established the court will appoint an administrator or executor. That person is the legal representative and is allowed to make decisions on behalf of the estate. The personal representative will be able to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit on behalf of the deceased’s estate if wrongdoing caused your loved one’s injury or death.
Click here for the Probate Court of Gwinnett County.
Gwinnett County Probate Court
75 Langley Dr.
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
Telephone: (770) 822-8250
Suwanee Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Near Me (678) 823-7678
Nursing Homes in Suwanee, Georgia
If you are looking for a nursing home you know that they don’t all provide the same level of care. It is helpful to review the information below about the nursing homes in Suwanee. This information was provided through the CMS Nursing Home Compare Website.
| Salude – The Art Of Recovery
601 North Holt Parkway |
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 (Much Above Average)
Number of Beds: 64 Number of Residents: 62.8 RN hours per resident per day: 1hr 12min (GA Avg: 24 min) |
| Health Inspections Rating: 4 out of 5 (Above Average)
Staff Rating: 4 out of 5 (Above Average) Quality Measure Rating: 5 out of 5 (Much Above Average) Most Recent Health Inspection Date: 02-02-2017 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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| The D Scott Hudgens Center For Skilled Nursing
3500 Annandale Lane |
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 (Much Above Average)
Number of Beds: 32 Number of Residents: 30.7 RN hours per resident per day: 23min (GA Avg: 24 min) |
| Health Inspections Rating: 3 out of 5 (Average)
Staff Rating: 4 out of 5 (Above Average) Quality Measure Rating: 5 out of 5 (Much Above Average) Most Recent Health Inspection Date: 07-09-2017 Number of Health Citations: 3 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?
There are millions of law firms in the country so we know you have choices when it comes to representation. We would like you to consider our firm to represent your loved one. Here are just a few reasons why we think our firm would be a good choice for you and your family:
- Dedication: Our attorneys are dedicated to providing you with the best representation possible. That’s why we only handle nursing abuse, neglect and wrongful death lawsuits. Our focus means that we know the law and are very experienced in working with nursing homes and nursing home attorneys. We take a limited number of clients to ensure that each gets the attention they deserve.
- Respect: We have earned the respect of our many clients. We are the best Google-reviewed law firm in Georgia that focuses on nursing home cases. Our clients have given us excellent feedback and many say that we treat them like family. We have obtained millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for our clients over the last two years.
- Knowledge: Because we focus on nursing homes we are knowledgeable about the many forms of abuse and neglect and how to recognize them. We pass this knowledge along to the public through weekly podcasts and with our hundreds of blogs and videos.
If your loved one was injured or died in a Suwanee, 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.
