Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

There are many different types of nursing home neglect that may occur today. It’s important for you to be vigilant in looking for these things at all times. The best way to do so is to visit your loved one frequently. During those visits, there are a few things you should be on the lookout for.

Malnutrition

If your loved one is persistently hungry or has undergone unexplained weight loss it may be due to them not being fed properly.

Dehydration

Nursing homes are responsible for helping those who can’t drink on their own or tell you that they’re thirsty. Nursing home abuse occurs when this assistance isn’t given so the person grows dehydrated.

Poor Hygiene

Another possible sign of nursing home abuse is poor hygiene. This is something that caregivers should be assisting people with.

Bed Sores

When your loved one develops bedsores (a.k.a. decubitus ulcers) it’s usually because they’ve been undergoing persistent neglect. This is because these only develop when a person’s skin undergoes uninterrupted pressure. They’re particularly dangerous if left untreated because once ulcers form on your skin they can eventually result in an open wound that affects the tissue underneath it. They may even become infected if proper medical care isn’t provided right away. Once this occurs it’ll take a long time for your loved one to heal.

Unfortunately, anyone who’s bedridden is at high risk of developing these painful sores since they’re unable to turn over or adjust how they’re lying in their bed – things that caregivers should be helping them with. If caregivers are negligent in this regard it probably means that your loved one has been left lying in the same position for way too long of a time.

Medication Errors

Nursing homes are responsible for administering the medications their residents need. Failure to do so can result in your loved one experiencing any number of adverse effects.

Unexplained Injuries

There are many types of injuries that your loved one may experience simply because the nursing home hasn’t provided them with proper supervision or assistance. When caregivers are negligent in monitoring and helping residents who have mobility issues it can result in them getting cuts, bruises, or broken bones. Of course, these types of injuries may also be a result of
nursing home abuse. If you suspect this is the case, you should contact a lawyer right away.

Withdrawal

Aging can be psychologically complex. It can cause your loved ones to feel angry, anxious, socially withdrawn, or depressed because they’re experiencing many changes as they grow older. This is especially true when they first move into a nursing home. However, these issues may also be a result of neglect or abuse. This is why any significant change in your loved one’s personality or emotional state should be acted upon immediately.

Elopement

A nursing home must monitor its residents to ensure that they’re kept safe while in their facility. When this duty is neglected by caregivers residents may choose to move out of the facility. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case for someone who’s suffering from a cognitive impairment such as dementia. Instead, these people find themselves growing confused and wandering unattended throughout the facility or even eloping. These actions can put seniors at risk of serious injuries especially when exposed to the elements.

If you feel that your loved one is suffering from nursing home abuse you should contact Blenner Law Group St Petersburg in St Peterburg, FL. They have the resources to determine how your loved one’s injuries resulted from such abuse. In doing so they’ll be able to create a strong case on your behalf to ensure you get the full compensation you deserve.

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A: If there are no changes to be made, every 10 years your will and your estate planning documents should be reviewed. However, of course, if there are changes over the course of that 10 year period of time, if beneficiaries pass away or family becomes estranged then the changes should be made as needed. But if there are not pressing changes to be made, then every 10 years or so you should sit down and consult with an estate planning attorney to determine if all your needs are still currently met.

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Usually, the debtor in bankruptcy can keep the personal injury attorney of his choosing.  However, the bankruptcy trustee can hire a separate personal injury attorney to prosecute the claim, because the claim is part of the bankruptcy estate.

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, any personal injury claim that arising before the filing of the bankruptcy is considered part of the bankruptcy estate, and any settlement or award arising from the claim, is subject to seizure by the bankruptcy trustee.  If the claim arises after the filing of the bankruptcy, such claim is not considered part of the bankruptcy estate, and therefore protected from seizure or attachment by the bankruptcy trustee.

In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, any claim arising either before or after the filing of the bankruptcy is included in the bankruptcy estate, and some or all of the proceeds received in the personal injury action may be seized by the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee.  As a public policy issue, most trustees will not seek all of the proceeds from a personal injury award because it creates a large disincentive for the debtor or plaintiff to cooperate in such action.  In the Middle District of Florida, the trustee will usually request 50% of the net proceeds of the personal injury award or settlement.

Florida provides an exemption for any monies received in a worker’s compensation action, and such exemption also applies to any debtor in bankruptcy.  Although the proceeds from a worker compensation action are Exempt in bankruptcy, the trustee may nevertheless seek to acquire a portion of the proceeds by arguing such proceeds constitute disposable income or monies that exceed those that are reasonably necessary for the living expenses of the debtor.

There are other exemptions that the debtor in bankruptcy may employ to protect some or all of the monies received from a personal injury settlement or award.  For example, Florida permits a personal property exemption of $1000 per debtor and a super exemption, for those who do not own a homestead, in the maximum amount of $5000, if one includes the personal property exemption.

If a debtor converts his or her Chapter 13 bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and the claim arose after the filing of Chapter 13, the personal injury claim is not part of the bankruptcy estate, unless the conversion constitutes bad faith.  Judge Delano, in the Fort Myers division of the bankruptcy court of the Middle District, held that converting to a Chapter 7 for the sole purpose of avoiding seizure of one’s personal injury claim does not in itself constitute bad faith.  However, Judge Delano does maintain that such decision was heavily based on the facts of that particular case.  No one should rely upon this decision as a standard determination that such conversion would not be deemed in bad faith.

Author: Jay Weller is a bankruptcy attorney with offices in Clearwater, Brandon, Lakeland, and Port Richey, Florida.  Weller Legal Group, PA was founded in 1993, and is considered by many to be the most prominent bankruptcy law firm in the State of Florida, representing debtors in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

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While this may offend some, I ask them whether they’re middle class or wealthy.  An injury with a lots of time out of work can drain just about anyone’s savings to the point of living on credit cards and other economic distress.

Why is it relevant? Because once you file for bankruptcy, you’re no longer in control of your assets, and your personal injury case is an asset. You may have sustained the injury and suffered the pain, but any economic recovery coming your way will end up going not to you, but to the Trustee of the Bankruptcy Court to help satisfy the claims of your creditors. And, while I’m not a bankruptcy attorney, this is true whether you file for a straight Chapter 7 bankruptcy (discharge of all debts) or a Chapter 13 (reorganization and repayment of reduced debts).

It doesn’t matter if you’ve filed for bankruptcy before the collision with injuries or if you filed after the injury was sustained. Any claim made or settlement negotiated while one’s bankruptcy hasn’t been discharged by the Court still goes to the Trustee of the Court to hold on behalf of the creditors.

Theoretically if one is injured and then doesn’t made a claim for injuries until after the bankruptcy has been discharged, this may be okay since the asset (the claim) wasn’t realized until after the bankruptcy ended, but for further verification it’s essential to talk to a bankruptcy attorney.

It is ironic that the very legal mechanism that may protect someone from economic ruin may also be the one thing that comes between the injured person and a settlement meant to get them back on a firm financial footing.
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Since personal injury cases usually take months or sometimes years to resolve, an attorney doesn’t know the financial situation the client is in or will face in the near future and bringing it up early on is essential.

If an injured person doesn’t have medical or health insurance and they’re injured in an incident, the bills will soon begin to pile up. If they cannot work for a time or if they lost their job as a result of their injury, they may not even have any resources coming in to pay those medical bills and ordinary household expenses.

Here comes the dilemma: When the client is in a financial downspin as medical bills pile up, they sometimes panic and hire a separate bankruptcy lawyer to alleviate their monetary problems.

And here’s the bad news: Once a bankruptcy has been filed, you no longer are in full control of the destiny of your personal injury case. Any asset you have is essentially assigned to a bankruptcy trustee to help pay your creditors. Your personal injury claim is actually a future asset. It too will be assigned to the trustee and you most likely will see nothing from your claim because the bankruptcy. Your creditors will, though.

Oftentimes, bankruptcy attorneys don’t ask this of their new clients and most of the time the client doesn’t know enough to associate “assets” with an injury claim. This issue has plagued more than one client over the years. The ironic part is, many people in bankruptcy are there precisely because of their injury claim and the related bills. Now, after sustaining an injury through no fault of their own, their only legal remedy is taken away from them to satisfy creditors.

So, as always, be as candid as possible with your injury lawyer. Tell him or her everything of a personal financial nature, even though it might seem embarrassing. Complete candor can actually save your case.

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