Damages in West Palm Beach Nursing Home Abuse Cases

Those who have suffered abuse while staying in nursing homes have the option of pursuing legal action. A person can recover damages for physical, mental, and emotional injuries in nursing home abuse cases. In the case of sexual abuse, people can recover damages in West Palm Beach nursing home abuse cases. Further, if someone took money from the person, they can recover for that. There is a broad range of damages that can be recovered when a nursing home abuses or neglects a resident. If you or someone you love has been a victim of nursing home abuse, get in touch with an experienced nursing abuse lawyer who can help build your case.

Establishing Liability

The lawyer establishes liability in a nursing home abuse case by conducting an investigation of what took place. They talk to anyone with knowledge about what happened, take depositions, gather documents, and get the best experts available. The information and data are marshaled together into a story so the jury can understand what somebody did that was wrong, and the terrible harm that was caused by that wrongdoing.

In all nursing home abuse cases, the lawyer must first prove that somebody did something wrong. The second thing to prove is that what they did wrong was the cause of the injury. Damages go hand-in-hand with liability. The person can only recover damages that are related to the wrongdoing done by the nursing home.

Recoverable Damages

In nursing home abuse cases, the lawyer can recover economic damages such as medical bills caused by the negligence and the future care a person needs because they were abused or neglected. The lawyer can also recover non-economic human damages for things like pain and suffering as a result of abuse and neglect. When the conduct is egregious enough, the lawyer can get punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to punish extreme wrong doing and deter others from engaging in that type of behavior.

Economic and Non-economic Damages

Recoverable damages in West Palm Beach nursing home abuse cases fall into three categories: economic damages such as medical bills incurred as a result of the abuse or neglect, money for future needs as a result of the abuse and neglect, and noneconomic or human damages such as pain and suffering caused by the neglect. Finally, when the behavior is egregious enough, the lawyer can get punitive damages for the abused. Punitive damages are designed to punish extreme wrongdoing and to deter other people in the future from engaging in that type of behavior.

One of the most unique aspects of damages in nursing home cases is that most of the plaintiffs and the residents are older and most of them cannot articulate for themselves what is going on with them. That is one of the reasons to have an experienced nursing home lawyer because they have the experience to present and organize the case when the resident cannot help themselves.

How a Life Care Plan Can Impact Damages

One of the most important things to evaluate when it comes to pursuing damages in West Palm Beach nursing home abuse cases is the cause of the failure of care for the resident as a result of the wrongdoing. When someone sustains a significant physical injury, the lawyer determines whether the person needs more care than they otherwise would have needed. They develop a life care plan that details the person’s future needs and what they cost as a result of the neglect of the nursing home. The development of that aspect of damages is most important to the victim to ensure their needs are met going forward.

Calling a Lawyer

If you or someone you love has been abused in a nursing home, get in touch with a nursing home abuse attorney. A skilled lawyer will have experience pursuing damages in West Palm Beach nursing home abuse cases and can advocate for you.