Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer
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The Best Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer in Reno, NV
Nursing home negligence or mistreatment of the elderly by caretakers is a serious and often under-reported issue. Abusive behavior by nursing home staff or caretakers can lead to high levels of mistrust by the victim and may result in permanent physical or mental damage. Nursing home abuse also includes neglect, which can lead to things such as wandering, bed sores, rashes, and any number of other equally damaging outcomes.
Negligence doesn’t always have to be physical or leave a visible mark. Verbal abuse or mistreatment by care workers or nursing home staff can have just as large of an effect as physical abuse. The emotional damage caused by verbal abuse can be difficult to quantify, but it is just as serious.
If your loved one has been abused or neglected in a nursing home or by a caretaker, give us a call. As a committed nursing home negligence lawyer team in Nevada, we will go over the details and get them the legal help they deserve.
There is NO FEE unless WE WIN!
Signs You Need a Lawyer for Nursing Home Negligence
Nursing home negligence by caretakers is a serious and often under-reported issue. Unfortunately, many elderly abuse victims are unable to speak up for themselves. When caretakers are not held responsible, the lack of consequence often leads to systemic negligence. This is precisely when you need an experienced lawyer for nursing home negligence to step in and investigate.
If you visit a loved one in a nursing home and are concerned about their potential mistreatment, please pay attention to the following signs of abuse. Recognizing these signs is the first step in deciding you need a legal advocate.
- Changes in personality, such as depression or timidness
- Appearance of unexplained bruises, cuts, or abrasions
- Onset of significant or rapid weight loss
- Poor personal hygiene (soiled clothing, unkempt appearance)
- Torn or blood-stained clothing or bedding
Nursing Home Negligence Services
As your nursing home negligence lawyer team, Jensen Personal Injury Law handles a comprehensive range of abuse and neglect claims. We investigate each case with the goal of proving that the facility or staff failed in their duty of care.
Bed Sores (Pressure Ulcers)
These are preventable injuries resulting from a lack of repositioning and care. We pursue claims when severe, untreated bed sores indicate clear medical neglect by the facility.
Falls and Fractures
When a facility fails to provide adequate supervision, use assistive devices, or implement a proper fall-prevention plan, they can be held liable for catastrophic injuries like hip fractures or brain trauma.
Malnourishment and Dehydration
These dangerous conditions often point to understaffing or a failure to assist residents with feeding and hydration, a fundamental requirement of their care.
Physical Abuse
This involves the intentional use of force that results in bodily injury, impairment, or pain. Our team works to secure justice against the individuals and the facility that allowed the abuse to occur.
Sexual Abuse
We handle these horrific and sensitive cases with the utmost discretion and commitment, ensuring accountability for staff members who violate the trust placed in them.
Wandering Off
If a resident leaves the facility unsupervised, it demonstrates a complete failure of supervision. This is especially dangerous for residents with cognitive impairments and can lead to serious injury or wrongful death lawsuit if they pass away.
How Our Reno Nursing Home Negligence Lawyer Builds Your Case
When you need a strong Reno nursing home abuse lawyer, you need a firm that’s prepared to move fast. Our legal team acts immediately to secure evidence, interview witnesses, and build a compelling claim in an effort to maximize your compensation.
Immediate Investigation
We dispatch investigators to the nursing home to document the scene and facility conditions before evidence can be altered or destroyed.
Evidence Collection
This includes medical records, facility staffing reports, training logs, incident reports, and testimony from staff, residents, and experts.
Expert Witness Testimony
If necessary, we work with medical experts, forensic accountants, and geriatric specialists to establish the standard of care and prove how the facility's negligence directly caused your loved one’s injuries.
Holding All Parties Accountable
We target not just the individual staff members, but also the corporate ownership and management for systemic failures like understaffing and poor training.
Report Nursing Home Abuse to Protect Our Seniors
If you’ve seen the abuse and suspect nursing home neglect, report the concerns to your local Adult Protective Services (APS) as soon as possible. The sooner you log a formal complaint, the sooner the abuse will be addressed. However, this also means that the nursing home will have time to destroy evidence. After reporting the abuse, your next step should be to contact a nursing home negligence lawyer.
Visit your state’s Adult Protective Services website for more information on filing a report:
Frequently Asked Questions About Nursing Home Negligence
If you suspect your elderly loved one has been harmed by neglect or abuse in a nursing home, you are likely feeling overwhelmed, worried, and betrayed. It’s an upsetting situation, and you deserve clear answers. This guide clarifies your legal rights under Nevada law and explains how to get help. Jensen Personal Injury Law steps in as your compassionate shield, acting immediately to secure justice and protect evidence before it can be lost. Our nursing home negligence lawyer team is here to help.
Recognizing Neglect and the Need for Action
Your loved one’s safety is the first and most important step.
- Get Immediate Medical Help: If the injury is severe (like a large bed sore, fracture, or head injury), call or transport them to a hospital. This creates an immediate, official medical record of the injury.
- Report the Abuse: Immediately notify the facility’s manager. Then, file a formal complaint with the Nevada State Board of Examiners for Long Term Care Administrators or Adult Protective Services (APS).
- Call a Lawyer: Contact an experienced personal injury attorney right away. Nursing homes are aware of legal reporting and will often try to destroy or cover up evidence immediately. Your attorney can send a legal notice to stop this.
The burden of proof falls on the family, which is why immediate action is critical. You do not need a completed investigation to call us, but start collecting:
- Photos: Take pictures of the injury, the resident’s room (poor sanitation, dirty linens), and any specific hazards (unbuckled restraints, cluttered aisles).
- Medical Records: Keep copies of all medical charts, especially those showing the progression of the injury (like weight loss or the worsening of a bed sore).
- Witness Notes: Write down the names and contact information of any staff members, visitors, or other residents who may have witnessed the neglect.
- A Daily Journal: Document your loved one’s condition, their pain level, and any staff interactions, noting dates and times.
Absolutely. Abuse is not just physical. Nevada Administrative Code 449.74491
protect residents from emotional and psychological harm. This includes:
- Verbal Abuse: Yelling, threats, or insults.
- Humiliation: Treating the resident like a child or exposing them unnecessarily.
- Isolation: Keeping the resident confined or cut off from visitors.
These types of abuse cause serious, long-term trauma, anxiety, and depression. A successful lawsuit can recover compensation for this emotional distress, even without severe physical injury.
This is a very common concern, and it does not prevent you from pursuing a case.
When a resident cannot communicate, we rely heavily on circumstantial evidence and expert testimony. Our investigation focuses on the facility’s records, including:
- Charting Failures: Were staff members properly charting the necessary care (e.g., repositioning every two hours to prevent bed sores)?
- Medical Experts: We use medical professionals to connect the injury (like a hip fracture or severe dehydration) directly to the substandard level of care provided by the nursing home.
Legal Process, Costs, and Financial Recovery
The time limit is called the Statute of Limitations, and it is strict. In Nevada, you generally have two years from the date of the injury or discovery of the injury to file a lawsuit. It is critical to act quickly. Waiting not only risks missing this deadline but also allows the negligent facility more time to destroy evidence or repair the hazard.
If the nursing home is found responsible for your loved one’s injury or wrongful death, you may recover damages for all the harm they suffered. This includes:
- Medical Costs: Past and future bills for treating the neglect (hospital stays, wound care, physical therapy).
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain, emotional distress, fear, and loss of enjoyment of life.
- Punitive Damages: In rare cases of extreme or malicious negligence, the court may award extra damages intended to punish the facility and deter future bad behavior.
No. Justice should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their bank account.
Jensen Personal Injury Law works on a contingency fee basis. This means:
- Zero Upfront Costs: You pay nothing to start your case, and we never send you a bill for our time or expenses.
- We Only Get Paid If You Win: We take a percentage of the final compensation we recover for you (either through a settlement or a verdict). There is NO FEE unless WE WIN! This eliminates your financial risk.
This is a common legal tactic used by nursing homes to avoid court. It is not necessarily the end of your case.
- Arbitration agreements are clauses buried in admission contracts that require disputes to be resolved by a private arbitrator instead of a public courtroom.
- We believe these clauses often betray public trust and should not apply in cases of egregious abuse. Our team has extensive experience challenging and defeating these arbitration clauses to get your case into the courthouse.
Any form of retaliation against a resident or family member for reporting abuse is illegal.
- Resident Rights: Under Federal law, residents have the right to voice grievances without fear of discrimination or reprisal.
- Legal Action: If the facility threatens to evict your loved one, refuses care, or moves them to an undesirable room, contact us immediately. We can take legal action to stop the retaliation and hold the facility accountable for those damages.
Family Advocacy and Systemic Issues
The best defense is constant vigilance. Visiting your loved one provides the opportunity to maintain a consistent presence and stay on top of lapses in care.
- Inspect for Bed Sores: Check for early signs of pressure ulcers daily on common bedsore locations, especially bony areas like the tailbone, heels, and hips. Look for signs of bed sores on dark skin, which may appear purple or darker instead of red.
- Ask for the Staffing Ratio: Demand to know the ratio of nurses to residents on every shift. Understaffing is the number one cause of systemic neglect.
- Track Medical Changes: Closely monitor weight, appetite, and mood. Rapid changes are often an indicator of malnourishment or untreated medical issues.
- Review Inspection Reports: Before choosing a facility, request its history of regulatory complaints and inspection results on the Nevada State Health Division website.
No. This is a critical distinction.
- Nursing Homes are medical facilities governed by strict Federal and state regulations because they provide skilled nursing care.
- Assisted Living facilities are generally residential and provide only non-medical custodial care, meaning they are often regulated only at the state level, and the legal duty of care may be lower.
We investigate the specifics of the facility’s license and the care they promised to determine the standard of care that applies to your case.
The emotional harm is devastating and long-lasting. Residents often experience:
- Fear and Anxiety: Constantly anticipating the next instance of neglect or abuse.
- Depression and Withdrawal: Loss of interest in activities and self-isolation.
- PTSD: Emotional trauma related to the abuse or injury.
We make sure the compensation we seek accounts not just for the visible injury, but for the invisible emotional trauma inflicted by the negligence.
Reno’s Trusted Personal Injury Lawyer
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