Abuse in Assisted Living Facilities in Colorado

Individuals in assisted living facilities should trust their healthcare providers to give them the highest level of care and help improve their quality of life wherever possible.

However, when these establishments fail to uphold their obligation to their residents, victims may have the right to compensation for their damages. Get help seeking the compensation you deserve when you contact Nursing Home Justice for a free consultation.

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Nursing Home Justice Gains Respect for Victims of Abuse

Abuse in assisted living facilities continues to be a major cause for concern across the state of Colorado. An experienced nursing home abuse attorney with an in-depth understanding of Colorado law is essential to your case. Nursing Home Justice doesn’t back down from large corporations and their insurance companies.

Attorney Mac Hester, leading Nursing Home Justice, has over 35 years of experience in compassionate legal advocacy. We’ll help victims of assisted living abuse regain their dignity and recover the compensation you need to get through these difficult times.

Contact attorney Mac Hester with Nursing Home Justice Today – (303) 775-8128

What is Assisted Living Facility Abuse?

Abuse in assisted-living facilities is far more common than you might think. Residents in assisted-living facilities may be more capable of completing their daily living activities; however, that does not mean their caregivers should not uphold their duty of care.

Assisted living facility residents have been known to suffer the same types of the abuse and neglect that occur in nursing homes and other types of disabled care facilities.

Assisted Living Facilities Vs. Nursing Homes

Many people assume nursing homes and assisted living facilities are the same. However, they are slightly different. In nursing homes, patients are usually elderly or disabled and require care around the clock.

They may need assistance eating, drinking, moving around, bathing, and otherwise completing daily living tasks. In many cases, patients may have limited mobility. Nursing homes often care for patients on a long-term basis.

Assisted living facilities are not as medically focused as nursing homes may be. Residents live in apartment-style housing where they are provided 24-hour supervision, meals, recreational activities, and more.

There are different types of assisted living facilities, and they are not always just for the elderly.

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Types of Abuse in Assisted Living Facilities

Abuse in assisted living facilities is quite similar to abuse endured in nursing home environments and includes:

Sexual abuse

When an individual engages in non-consensual sexual activity with residents living in an assisted living facility, this could be considered sexual abuse.

Emotional abuse

Verbal assault, degradation, intimidation, threats, harassment, and bullying are all examples of emotional or psychological abuse in Colorado assisted living facilities.

Physical abuse

Kicking, hitting, punching, slapping, and inappropriate or excessive use of restraints are examples of physical abuse in Colorado assisted-living facilities.

Financial abuse

When residents in assisted living facilities are taken advantage of financially, whether their money has been stolen or their financial power of attorney has been changed, they are subjected to financial abuse.

Consequences & Injuries from Assisted Living Facility Abuse

When assisted living facility residents are abused, they can suffer various injuries, illnesses, and consequences.

Some of these include:

 

Common Causes of Assisted Living Abuse

There are many parties who could share liability for the abuse you or your loved one experienced in an assisted living facility. These facilities are often operated by larger companies known as parent companies.

The parent company is often more concerned with making profits and compensating shareholders than they are with taking proper care of patients.

This makes assisted living facilities a profit-driven system across every job responsibility within the facility.

With that in mind, some of the more common causes of assisted-living abuse include:

Failure to Hire Qualified Staff

Assisted living facilities should provide an adequate background check on potential candidates to ensure caregivers with a history of abuse aren’t hired. When these facilities cut corners and don’t take the proper steps in hiring employees, they could put residents at risk of abuse.

Failing to Supervise Staff Members

Sometimes, understaffed assisted living facilities don’t have the personnel required to supervise caregivers. Staff could intimidate, hurt, or otherwise abuse residents without facing disciplinary action.

Underpaying or Overworking Staff

Due to the profit-driven parent companies, staff could work long hours with little pay. This stressful environment could cause staff to be violent toward their residents. Furthermore, low-paying positions might attract inexperienced workers that fail to care for patients properly.

Who’s Liable for Damages?

In assisted living facility abuse cases, establishing fault is critical. There are multiple parties who could share liability for the abuse you or your loved one endured.

Some of the parties that could be held accountable include:

  • The assisted living facility – The facility could be liable for not performing a background check on potential candidates or failing to supervise staff.
  • The assisted living facility’s management company – Management companies may be in charge of hiring qualified staff members and training them to do their job correctly. They could be negligent in providing such services.
  • Assisted living facility staff – Hostile staff members might target and abuse residents physically or emotionally.
  • Assisted living facility chain entities – The overarching chain entity could be held accountable for the abuse you or a loved one endured at an assisted living facility. Their low-cost approach to assisted living care could put residents in jeopardy.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

The compensation assisted living facility abuse victims have the right to recover is varied. You have the right to be made whole and compensated for every loss you endured.

When filing an injury claim, you could recover both economic and non-economic damages, such as:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Current and future medical expenses
  • Financial losses
  • Diminished quality of life
  • Relocation expenses
  • Caregiver fees

If you lost a loved one due to abuse or neglect in an assisted living facility, you might have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the liable party.

Here, you may have the opportunity to recover one or more of the following damages:

  • Burial and funeral expenses
  • Lost wages and earning capacity in some cases
  • The decedent’s medical expenses
  • Non-economic damages for pain and suffering, grief, and loss of companionship

What Evidence Helps Your Case?

When you have suffered abuse in an assisted living facility, the evidence needed to prove your case must be convincing.

Some of the more powerful types of evidence could include:

  • Medical records
  • Health insurance filings and billings
  • Medication documents
  • Patient notes
  • Communication exchanges with assisted living facility staff members
  • Videos and photos of the patient’s injuries

 

How Can You Report Abuse?

Reporting abuse in assisted living facilities will often assist you to get justice. There are several ways to begin the process of reporting your suspicions.

These include:

Warning Signs of Abuse

If you have concerns that you or someone you love may be suffering from abuse in an assisted living facility, consider these warning signs of abuse:

  • Your family member being intimidated by assisted living facility staff
  • Unexplained cuts, bruises, burns, or other injuries
  • Depression
  • Excessive use of physical or chemical restraints
  • Mental health deterioration
  • Unsanitary living conditions
  • Poor personal hygiene
  • Unexplained weight loss

 

How Nursing Home Justice Can Help

Nursing Home Justice is prepared to help you following the abuse you endured in your nursing home facility. You should have received the utmost compassion and care from your healthcare providers.

Attorney Mac Hester, leading Nursing Home Justice, will help you by:

  • Meeting with You & Exploring Your Options – Whether that be filing a complaint with the state, pursuing criminal charges, or civil litigation against the liable party.
  • Investigating Claims of Abuse – At this point, we will gather the evidence needed to support your case.
  • Recovering Maximum Compensation – Whether through court or a settlement, we will fight to recover all you lost and help you move forward with your life.