At Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C., we have represented many clients victimized by abuse in a residential care setting, and our Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers are here and ready to fight for you if this has happened to you.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 1.3 million residents live in over 15,000 nursing homes across the United States. While many of these nursing homes provide high-quality care for patients, this is not true of all of them.
If you or someone you love is abused in a nursing home, you may be entitled to hold the home accountable for the harm inflicted in their care.
Give us a call today at 610-825-0500 to schedule your free consultation with a Philadelphia nursing home abuse lawyer to learn more about how we can help you.
Do you suspect your loved one is experiencing nursing home abuse?
Act Now. Call Our Philadelphia Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer.
Why Choose Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C.?
Nursing home cases pit a grieving family against a facility, and often a large corporate chain, with a legal team dedicated to minimizing what it pays. You need attorneys who know how these facilities operate and are prepared to hold them fully accountable.
Families across Pennsylvania choose our firm because:
- Our attorneys focus their practice on complex injury and medical negligence litigation, including cases involving nursing homes and long-term care facilities
- We are recognized as a Best Law Firm by U.S. News & World Report and listed in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- We limit our caseload so you work directly with an experienced attorney rather than a high-volume intake team
- We understand the regulatory framework governing Pennsylvania nursing homes and how violations of it can support a civil claim.
- We prepare every case as though it will go to trial, which strengthens our position in settlement negotiations
- We handle nursing home abuse and neglect cases on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover for you
Call (610) 825-0500 today to discuss what happened to your loved one and learn how we can help.
How Can A Philadelphia Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer from Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette Help You?
When abuse occurs in a nursing home, both the caregiver and the nursing home itself can be held accountable. Nursing homes are responsible for the on-the-job acts of their employees, as well as for any negligence on the part of the home itself, such as failing to perform appropriate background checks and screenings on staff members.
Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C. can provide help in:
- Identifying all defendants, including the nursing home itself.
- Determining the most solid legal arguments to make to prove liability.
- Gathering evidence of abuse, including from other residents and witnesses, as well as from experts.
- Proving the extent of the damage, as even emotional abuse can have physical consequences for seniors.
- Negotiating a settlement or going to court, our Philadelphia lack of informed consent attorneys are skilled negotiators who have also been recognized as top trial lawyers.
What Is Nursing Home Abuse?
Nursing home abuse occurs when residents of a nursing care facility are mistreated by care providers. Some common examples of nursing home abuse include:
- Physical abuse: This can include hitting, kicking, slapping, pushing, pinching, or causing any kind of physical pain or harm to a nursing home resident.
- Pharmacological abuse: This includes using medications in incorrect ways to control a resident’s behavior or make the resident easier to manage, rather than to improve the resident’s health.
- Neglect: Neglect is a form of abuse, and it includes ignoring a patient’s needs, such as not providing assistance with food and water or not helping a bedridden patient to move to avoid bedsores.
- Emotional abuse: Name-calling and verbal attacks can be a form of abuse that has physical and mental consequences.
- Sexual abuse: This includes taking advantage of nursing home residents through sexual assault, indecent exposure, or any sexual acts without consent or with a resident unable to give consent.
- Financial abuse: This includes taking money or any other items of value.
All of these forms of abuse can have serious financial, emotional, and physical consequences for vulnerable nursing home residents. The Philadelphia wrongful death attorneys at Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C., have represented those who live in nursing homes and their loved ones in taking legal action when abuse has occurred.
Why Does Nursing Home Abuse Happen?
Nursing home abuse and neglect often stem from systemic problems rather than a single bad actor. Common contributing factors include:
- Understaffing. Too few workers to care for every resident can cause basic needs like medication and hygiene to slip through the cracks.
- Cost-cutting by corporate owners. Facilities that prioritize profit over adequate staffing and training put residents at greater risk.
- Inadequate hiring practices. A failure to screen employees for a prior history of abuse or criminal conduct can put unfit caregivers in direct contact with vulnerable residents.
- Poor management oversight. Weak supervision and high staff turnover make it easier for problems to go unnoticed or unaddressed.
- Caregiver burnout. Overworked staff facing constant stress are more likely to become negligent or, in rare cases, abusive.
- A facility culture that discourages reporting. Some homes fail to take complaints seriously or actively discourage staff and families from speaking up.
- Individual misconduct. In some cases, abuse results from a specific caregiver’s intentional cruelty or financial exploitation.
Whatever the reason, abuse should never happen in a properly functioning facility.
What Compensation Can I Recover in a Nursing Home Abuse Claim?
Pennsylvania law allows victims of nursing home abuse or neglect to recover compensation for the financial and personal losses triggered by the abuse.
Depending on the circumstances, recoverable damages may include:
- Medical expenses, including hospitalization, treatment for bedsores or infections, and any needed surgery
- The cost of relocating your loved one to a safer facility
- Pain/suffering
- Emotional distress
- Permanent injury or disfigurement
- Punitive damages are meant to punish the facility
If nursing home abuse or neglect tragically leads to a resident’s death, surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Nursing Home Abuse Case?
Responsibility for nursing home abuse or neglect does not always rest with a single staff member. Depending on the facts, liability may extend to:
- Individual staff members, including nurses, aides, and orderlies, who directly abuse or neglect a resident
- The nursing home or its corporate owner, for understaffing, inadequate training, or a failure to properly screen employees
- Management companies, when a facility is operated by a separate management entity that sets staffing and budget policies
- Physicians and other medical providers, when a resident’s medical needs are negligently ignored or mismanaged
- Third-party contractors, such as staffing agencies that place unqualified or improperly vetted workers in a facility
Because large nursing home chains often operate through layers of related corporate entities, identifying every liable party can be essential to recovering full compensation and can require a careful review of ownership and management structures.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Injury Claims Involving Nursing Homes?
Pennsylvania law generally gives you two years to file a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524. Importantly, this two-year period does not always begin on the date of the injury. Because abuse or neglect is not always immediately obvious, the clock may start when the abuse was discovered, or reasonably should have been discovered.
If a loved one dies as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, surviving family members generally have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim.
It is important to consult an attorney as soon as you suspect a problem, rather than waiting until you are certain.
How to Report a Nursing Home for Abusive Conduct?
If you notice signs of nursing home abuse, reporting the suspected abuse protects your loved one and can create an official record that supports a future legal claim. If your loved one is in immediate danger, call 911 first. From there, Pennsylvania offers several reporting channels:
- The PA Elder Abuse Hotline, available 24/7 at 1-800-490-8505, for residents of any age
- The Pennsylvania Department of Health, reachable at 1-800-254-5164, which licenses and investigates complaints against nursing homes
- The Pennsylvania Department of Aging and local Area Agencies on Aging, which investigate elder abuse under the Older Adults Protective Services Act
- The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which advocates specifically for nursing home residents’ rights and can help pursue a complaint
Pennsylvania law also designates healthcare providers, social workers, and nursing home staff as mandatory reporters of suspected abuse involving residents 60 and older. A formal report does not just trigger a state investigation. It can also uncover a pattern of prior violations at the facility that strengthens your civil case.
How Much Does a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Cost in Pennsylvania?
Personal injury firms handle nursing home abuse and neglect cases on a contingency fee basis. That means there is no upfront retainer, no hourly billing, and no cost to you unless they recover compensation on your family’s behalf. Their fee is merely a percentage of your settlement or verdict, and Pennsylvania’s Rules of Professional Conduct require that fee to be reasonable in light of the case’s complexity.
Your law firm will also advance the costs of investigating your case, including obtaining facility records and consulting with medical experts, so your family is never asked to pay out of pocket to get started.
Call Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C. for a free consultation to learn more about our contingency fee agreements.
Call Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C. If You’ve Been A Victim Of Nursing Home Neglect in Philadelphia
At Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C., we will fight for the rights of nursing home residents victimized by abuse. We truly care about the damage done to some of the most vulnerable people in society who placed their trust in the wrong people, and our Philadelphia nursing home abuse attorneys will fight hard in these situations in the pursuit of justice.
Give us a call today at (610) 825-0500 to schedule your free consultation and learn more about how we can help.