Pursuing Compensation For Maryland Nursing Home Negligence Victims And Their Families

When you entrust the well-being of your elderly or disabled relative to a nursing facility, you hope this decision will improve or stabilize their condition. When the facility fails to do so, or you notice signs of harm or distress, you must act.

At Fah Attorneys, our Maryland nursing home neglect attorneys protect vulnerable personal injury victims from the carelessness of others. That includes those who are too frail to care for themselves. We investigate claims of nursing home negligence and abuse in Maryland and help clients take the appropriate steps to move their claim forward.

Know The Warning Signs Of Nursing Home Negligence And Abuse

Before you can file a nursing home negligence claim, you must know what to look for in your loved one’s physical condition and behavior. Some common signs of nursing home negligence include:

• Poor hygiene or soiled clothes
• Dirty bedding
• Dehydration or malnutrition
• Missing belongings or unusual bank statements from their accounts
• Unexplained bruises or fractures
• Unexplained falls 
• Evidence of missed doses of medicine, over-sedation or mix-ups with meds
• Mood changes, avoidance or anxiety around certain staff, agitation and withdrawal

If loved ones are impacted by short-staffing or inattentive staff, you may see:

• Pressure sores from a lack of turning in bed
• Untreated urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Choking
• Wandering or elopement (escape from facility)
• Infections or sepsis

Nursing home abuse and neglect can negatively impact a resident’s long-term health.

Seek help for your loved one’s situation as soon as possible by calling the elder abuse attorneys at our office in Silver Spring at 301-960-5443.

What Should I Do If I Think My Loved One Is Suffering Nursing Home Negligence?

Sometimes a facility can correct lax behavior, but “waiting to see if it gets better” is never the best strategy for protecting your loved one’s health. Don’t delay seeking an attorney for your nursing home negligence case. Maryland enforces strict legal deadlines called the statute of limitations. Generally, you must file a lawsuit within three years from the date the injury occurred or was discovered, or your claim will be permanently barred.

Your first order of business is to have any urgent medical conditions treated as soon as possible. Beyond that, you’ll want to take the following steps:

1. Document the conditions or your loved one’s injuries with photos or video.
2. Make notes of what you see and create a timeline of events related to the situation.
3. Request an explanation of the situation and relevant records.
4. Ask the facility formally to preserve all evidence, including incident reports, call logs, staff schedules or video footage.
5. Discuss with other family members whether a transfer to another facility is necessary.

You may also want to consider reporting skilled nursing facility injuries to a relevant agency, such as Maryland Adult Protective Services or the state’s Office of Health Care Quality. These agencies are charged with investigating complaints and can produce a contemporaneous record of what is happening at the facility.

What Kinds Of Compensation Are Available For Nursing Home Negligence Claims?

You may only be concerned with restoring the health of your loved one, but you are allowed by law to demand accountability for neglect and abuse in nursing homes in the form of damages. Maryland allows plaintiffs in nursing home negligence lawsuits to request compensation for economic losses such as medical bills, costs of rehabilitation or future (elevated) care, or money lost through fraud or exploitation.

Maryland allows plaintiffs to seek noneconomic damages for pain and suffering in all nursing home negligence cases; however, Maryland law places a strict statutory limit (cap) on the maximum amount of noneconomic damages a plaintiff can recover. If your loved one died as a result of the inadequate care they received, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim, in which you may also request compensation for the deceased person’s final medical care and burial costs. At Fah Attorneys, our attorneys can guide you through the process of assessing damages for your claim, providing a calm and reassuring voice during an emotionally upsetting time.

Why Hire Fah Attorneys For Nursing Home Injury Claims?

If you have decided to file a civil lawsuit to seek justice in a nursing home injury claim, you want to hire a law firm that strives to deliver the results you are seeking. Our firm stands out in the personal injury landscape of Maryland in the following aspects:

1. Our attorneys handle many types of personal injury litigation and are trial-tested. We are never afraid to fight for you in court.
2. Our considerable experience with nursing home cases enables us to forecast how the attorneys for the other side will respond to your claim. We craft strategies designed to tell your side of the story in a compelling way.
3. We believe everyone should be able to access civil justice, regardless of their ability to afford it.
4. We believe in communicating with our clients in an honest, easy-to-understand way and being accessible to them when they need us.

Our firm’s attorneys and staff like to describe our firm as “fearless, agile and honest.” And we believe we are those things. In the end, our goal is to deliver legal services that make you feel like you are our priority, because you are.

Discover How Our Maryland Personal Injury Attorneys Can Fight For Justice For Your Family

Call our office in Silver Spring today at 301-960-5443 or fill out our contact form to schedule an initial case consultation. We serve clients across Maryland and in the District of Columbia (DC) area, as well as in the state of New York.